What a difference a DAC makes?

[admin_exported]

Hi there,

At the moment when I listen to digital music it's typically through a PCI M-Audio Audiophile 2496 in my computer (less frequently through a Technics SL-PS7 CD Player). I was just wondering how much difference a DAC would make, especially connecting the sound card to an external DAC.

From looking around on the internet it appears that the Audiophile has an AKM AK4528VF DAC/ADC (data sheet). Is that a good DAC? It seems to me that the chip is what matters -- is that actually true? Are there other factors in a DAC? How would I compare an external DAC's specs to this?

Having read the CA DacMagic reviews on this page it seems tempting -- but how much of a difference will it actually make?

(Also, the soundcard is currently hooked up by RCA to an Audiolab 8000a -> MS Avant 906i floorstanders. I mostly listen to late 70s-early 80s punk/rock/new wave.)

 

[the record spot]

Depending on budget, try out either the Cambridge DACMagic 2 (£200) or the Stello SA100 Signature (£650) which should give things a run for the money. M-Audio makes some very good products however, usually aimed at the professional market, but from that same marketplace, don;t write off Behringer too who I hear make some good stuff.

 

[Anonymous]

lydgate:
It seems to me that the chip is what matters -- is that actually true? Are there other factors in a DAC?

It's actually the opposite.

. The chips themselves are inexpensive, the most expensive costs maybe...10 dollars? The chip quality is important, but more important is how you implement it (do you use only one dac, two per channel, four? Is the circuit balanced?), and also the quality of the opamps and capacitors.

That's why you can find the same chip used in a NAD 542 and a Primare which costs 3 times as much. Even high end CDPs sometimes don't use the most expensive chips available. For instance, the highest grade of the Burr Brown brand is the "K" grade, but I know of no high end manufacturer who uses it. I know only a very small manufacturer in the US, whose slogan is "high end, low price", who uses K grade DAC chips on his external DAC.