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Why a separate DAC?

Hello, I have a 3 yr old Yamaha CD player with Burr Brown DAC chip. What are the advantages of having a separate DAC? What would you recommend to compliment and upgrade this for under $1,500? Thank you.

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phill55

Showing 1 response by mike_in_nc

mike_in_nc
1,166 posts
 
Wow, a lot of sincere advice given. I would agree with some but find that I think differently from several points in the previous responses. In my opinion,
  • There is nothing wrong with digital (at least nothing worse than is wrong with analog). The medium is fine for listening to music.
  • The brand or type of chip in the device doesn't matter as much as the overall quality of engineering.
One thing I do agree with is that you can't know if a given DAC will be an improvement until you try it.  This is an area where auditions count for a lot.

In your price range, the Audiolab MDAC+ has gotten good reviews and (if you are in the USA) is available by mail order with return privileges. I have not heard it myself.
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