burr brown 192/24 dac versus outboard DAC

M

mkp

Audiophyte
Hi all
I own a yamaha RN 303 amplifier and have been considering a schiit modi 3 as an external DAC between my macbook pro and the amplifier.
Is it better thna the inbuilt dac on my a,mp - a burr brown 192/24?
Will there be a noticeable difference between the two DACs for the better?
Or will they both be similar sounding more or less?
thanks for your inputs.
 
slipperybidness

slipperybidness

Audioholic Warlord
Not worth the time, added complexity, nor even worrying about it.
 
Pogre

Pogre

Audioholic Slumlord
Agreed. If you're looking for improvements look to your speakers. One DAC that with less inaudible distortion than another is just a lateral move, imo.
 
P

PENG

Audioholic Slumlord
Hi all
I own a yamaha RN 303 amplifier and have been considering a schiit modi 3 as an external DAC between my macbook pro and the amplifier.
Is it better thna the inbuilt dac on my a,mp - a burr brown 192/24?
Will there be a noticeable difference between the two DACs for the better?
Or will they both be similar sounding more or less?
thanks for your inputs.
You can't just go by "burr brown 192/24..", you have to know the DAC's model number, download the datasheet and compare the specs.

As far as I can tell from the Yamaha website, the RN 303's DAC is the ES9006AS so I don't know why you say it has a Burr Brown DAC. Edit: Yamaha website does not say which DAC chip is used in the R-N303.


1597073199275.png


The Modi 3 supposedly has the AK4490

The AK4490 chip has much better THD specs than the E9006 but implementation also matter so it is hard to tell but as others mentioned, you won't likely be able to hear the difference.
 
Last edited:
AcuDefTechGuy

AcuDefTechGuy

Audioholic Jedi
Both DACs will sound the same whether they are Burr-Brown, Sabre (E9006 = THD 0.00079%, SNR 120dB), AK (AK4490 = THD 0.00025%, SNR 120dB), etc.

We can't even hear THD of 0.1% unless you have "golden ears".

So as you can see, nobody is going to hear a difference between THD of 0.00079% and SNR of 120dB vs THD of 0.00025%. :D
 
Last edited:
M

mkp

Audiophyte
You can't just go by "burr brown 192/24..", you have to know the DAC's model number, download the datasheet and compare the specs.

As far as I can tell from the Yamaha website, the RN 303's DAC is the ES9006AS so I don't know why you say it has a Burr Brown DAC.


View attachment 38710

The Modi 3 supposedly has the AK4490

The AK4490 chip has much better THD specs than the E9006 but implementation also matter so it is hard to tell but as others mentioned, you won't likely be able to hear the difference.
The one you've shown is the Yamaha 803. It has the sabre chip. I have the Yamaha RN 303.
 
P

PENG

Audioholic Slumlord
The one you've shown is the Yamaha 803. It has the sabre chip. I have the Yamaha RN 303.
Sorry, my mistake, post edited. Do you know which DAC is used in the R-N303?
 
lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
I can't imagine adding another dac is going to improve anything or add any functionality....
 
BMXTRIX

BMXTRIX

Audioholic Warlord
If you want to improve audio, throw out the computer.
:D

Not really, but people often look towards sideways solutions or options when bigger options may be addresses their sources and speakers. Perhaps their amplification. If you want a more noticeable improvement, I think that might come by using a more audiophile grade streaming device like a Bluesound.

Then speakers, of course, can make a huge difference.

I don't know your setup, and I'm not actually picky enough to care if I'm listening through my PC, or my Roku, or my Sonos. But, if I were, then that is where I would start if what I had in terms of other electronics was already of decent quality.

Oh, and add 3 or 4 subwoofers. You can never go wrong doing that. ;)
 
M

mkp

Audiophyte
The speakers are Elac debut. I'm pretty happy with those. The amp is 6 months old, so too early to upgrade. I was just thinking will adding an external DAC make any difference?This is what I found under a comparitive review regarding inbuilt DAC.
1597302358979.png
 
M

mkp

Audiophyte
You can't just go by "burr brown 192/24..", you have to know the DAC's model number, download the datasheet and compare the specs.

As far as I can tell from the Yamaha website, the RN 303's DAC is the ES9006AS so I don't know why you say it has a Burr Brown DAC. Edit: Yamaha website does not say which DAC chip is used in the R-N303.


View attachment 38710

The Modi 3 supposedly has the AK4490

The AK4490 chip has much better THD specs than the E9006 but implementation also matter so it is hard to tell but as others mentioned, you won't likely be able to hear the difference.
1597302415870.png
 
slipperybidness

slipperybidness

Audioholic Warlord
The speakers are Elac debut. I'm pretty happy with those. The amp is 6 months old, so too early to upgrade. I was just thinking will adding an external DAC make any difference?This is what I found under a comparitive review regarding inbuilt DAC.
View attachment 38787
Sure, adding an external DAC will make your wallet lighter and your setup more complex and cumbersome, that's the big differences that you will see.
 

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