opaqueice;144311 Wrote: > You're surprised they sound similar since the chips are different? I > would guess the analogue stage, PSU, etc. has a much bigger effect on > the sound than the DAC chip at this point - I think the chips cost > maybe $10, which is probably a good indication the technology is mature > and they should all be more or less equivalent.
The majority of CDPs/DACs that that I have really enjoyed (Dodson, Resolution Audio, Bel Canto, Ayre, Sim Audio, BAT, etc) have all used Burr-Brown DACs, and they all share very similar qualities despite having significantly different analog stage designs (the common theme beyond the Burr-Brown chips has been good attention paid to the power supply design for the analog stage, but not necessarily the same power supply design). CDPs/DACs that I have not been fond of have usually used other DAC chips (Electrocompaniet, Audiomeca, etc). I don't necessarily think that the cost of the chip is a good reflection of the "character" that it imparts on the overall sound. FWIW, I know that both Dodson and Sim Audio use the "K"-series DACs from Burr-Brown..."K"-series is a categorization of chips that pass a certain quality-control level within a certain chip model; "K"-series chips perform in the top 10% within the testing tolerances Burr-Brown uses to verify the performance of the D-to-A performance of the chip. Dodson has access to higher level testing equipment, and actually throws out 30% of the chips they receive from Burr-Brown (really they just sell those 30% to other companies, not really throwing them out)...so for at least these two companies, the feeling is that these chips are not "all the same"... -- PhilNYC Sonic Spirits Inc. http://www.sonicspirits.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------ PhilNYC's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=837 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=28431 _______________________________________________ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
