Which of these DAC's is "best"?

[Dave_]

As long as you know that it's not facts or reality but just a robot opinion from a somewhat well-informed base

Well informed 🤣

I wouldn't trust most audiophiles to tie their shoelaces unsupervised....

 

[Ohmish]

Your better of Listening to them both but its not just the DAC its also what your amplifier & speakers add in the mix to the over all sound .
Its a choice you have to make yourself afraid and trust your own ears and for get what magazines say or the internet sound is a personal choice .

Yeah tomorrow I get my optical cable, then I'm gonna test it out
I don't expect to hear a difference between the two
Does that mean it doesn't matter at all? hmm maybe
If I can't hear a difference (one being better than the other) I will just use the optical connection and let the receiver-amp handle the DAC

 

[Blacksabbath25]

Yeah tomorrow I get my optical cable, then I'm gonna test it out
I don't expect to hear a difference between the two
Does that mean it doesn't matter at all? hmm maybe
If I can't hear a difference (one being better than the other) I will just use the optical connection and let the receiver-amp handle the DAC

what ever pleasing to the ear really

 

[SteveH72]

Yeah tomorrow I get my optical cable, then I'm gonna test it out
I don't expect to hear a difference between the two
Does that mean it doesn't matter at all? hmm maybe
If I can't hear a difference (one being better than the other) I will just use the optical connection and let the receiver-amp handle the DAC

Now we’re into the realm of expectation bias……

 

[Ohmish]

Now we’re into the realm of expectation bias……

I don't expect anything. And that's the best unbiased entry. Holy smoke

 

[landco]

All DACs perform the same, regardless of brand and price tag. Everything else is marketing.

 

[davidf]

All DACs perform the same, regardless of brand and price tag. Everything else is marketing.

Ok. Moving swiftly on...

 

[Ohmish]

All chairs are the same: You sit on them
In a way it's true, but only function-wise

 

[Al ears]

All chairs are the same: You sit on them
In a way it's true, but only function-wise

All chairs are designed to suit a function, they don't all offer the same comfort. Same with DACs.....,
You are correct.

 

[Ohmish]

Anyway I tried both DACs. Could not detect any difference
So I just forget-about-it, use the optical connection and let the receiver-amp handle the DAC

 

[Gray]

I don't expect to hear a difference

⬇️

Anyway I tried both DACs. Could not detect any difference

👍

 

[Ohmish]

⬇️

👍

hehe
Well I listened with no expectations, a lot of curiusity and open ears
"I don't expect to hear a difference" does not mean "I expect to hear no difference" 😀

 

[Blacksabbath25]

Probably depends how much you want to spend on a DAC as there are some crazy DACs on the market that cost ££££ and a bit more .

 

[boband212]

Hi
I got a Yamaha R-N600A receiver amp, and just bought a used Yamaha CD-S300 CD player/deck (don't have it yet)

Both have optical connection. And I'm wondering if I should use it or not
Which unit do you think has the best quality DAC?

The R-N600A has "SABRE ES9080Q 384kHz/32-bit (ESS)" DAC
CD-S300 has "Burr-Brown 192kHz/24-bit" DAC

If the R-N600A has the best DAC then I will use the optical connection and let the receiver handle the conversion.
If the CD-S300 DAC seems best then I will use its analog outputs instead

Maybe it's much a matter of "which sound character do I like most" of the two DAC's, and maybe I gotta try it out
But would like to know which one is technically best

Thank you

I would surely try using the CD-S300 without a DAC first. I have the S303 and it sounds great. Of course if you have a DAC in the amp then try both. No one can tell you which will sound best to you. A copper connection with a coaxial cable will give you better bass then the optical connection.

 

[Angle Poise-Lamp]

A copper connection with a coaxial cable will give you better bass then the optical connection.

How did you arrive at that conclusion?

 

[Jasonovich]

How did you arrive at that conclusion?

I hypothesize, this possibly due to optical having a restricted bandwidth than coax?
I don't know if there's been any meaningful tests out there, to validate these claims?

 

[Angle Poise-Lamp]

I hypothesize, this possibly due to optical having a restricted bandwidth than coax?
I don't know if there's been any meaningful tests out there, to validate these claims?

Optical bandwidth is beyond that of CD standard, 24bit 96KHz I believe, COAX goes to 24bit 192KHz. Still shouldn't have any detrimental affect for most digital music, especially as only short cables will be involved.

 

[Jasonovich]

Optical bandwidth is beyond that of CD standard, 24bit 96KHz I believe, COAX goes to 24bit 192KHz. Still shouldn't have any detrimental affect for most digital music, especially as only short cables will be involved.

Yep that's very true.👍 Maybe there's another explanation, Confirmation bias, placebo? 🙂

 

[nopiano]

Yep that's very true.👍 Maybe there's another explanation, Confirmation bias, placebo? 🙂

Must be. Because the bandwidth of a digital signal couldn’t change the tonality, even if it could reduce the bit depth.

Everyone knows that copper cable sounds warmer than that glassy or plasticy optical stuff though! Don’t they? 🤭😉😇

 

[Ohmish]

Magic vs Logic 😊