DA converters.

[businessjeff]

Whats the deal with these, I dont where or specifically what I was reading but, they were making mention to the DAC's used in various pieces of equipment (cd or dvd players maybe?) and how a $800 Onkyo brand had the same DAC as a 5K XYZ brand...


Are the actual DAC part of electronics made by a select few different companies which are then in turn sold to manufacturers of audio equipment? (JBL, Onkyo, Sony, ect..)

Ive always thought that when converting an analog signal to digital, some units must do it better than others, so by knowing which DAC is used thats going to be the best way to determine that when comparing, correct?

How are they rating these? What specs do they use? Thanks.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Here, check this out:

http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=43946

 

[businessjeff]

yah thats the thread I was talking about!! so how does one go about finding out what DAC is being used in hardware, like my USB turntable, I would like to know what is can convert audio to, as well im looking at mixers and other pieces of hardware that would have to have some sort of DAC in it to connect to PC.

I will give that a look over now, maybe my answers are in there, Thanks.

 

[Votrax]

Whats the deal with these, I dont where or specifically what I was reading but, they were making mention to the DAC's used in various pieces of equipment (cd or dvd players maybe?) and how a $800 Onkyo brand had the same DAC as a 5K XYZ brand...


Are the actual DAC part of electronics made by a select few different companies which are then in turn sold to manufacturers of audio equipment? (JBL, Onkyo, Sony, ect..)

Ive always thought that when converting an analog signal to digital, some units must do it better than others, so by knowing which DAC is used thats going to be the best way to determine that when comparing, correct?

How are they rating these? What specs do they use? Thanks.

Manufacturers second source many of the IC's in a receiver. Some popular DAC manufacturers are Analog Devices, Texas Instruments, Maxim, and Cirrus Logic. The difference between the manufacturers is miniscule. The circuitry between the DAC and speaker output predicts the price more than the DAC itself. Plus more expensive receivers use higher end video processors as well.

 

[10010011]

Ive always thought that when converting an analog signal to digital, some units must do it better than others, so by knowing which DAC is used thats going to be the best way to determine that when comparing, correct?

I know I am just nit-picking here but...

DAC Digital to Analog Converter

ADC Analog to Digital Converter

Two different devices for two different purposes.

But in reality is is not worth wringing your hands over what brand DAC or ADC chip is on any device. As others have stated specially in the case of DAC's the analog circuitry that follows the DAC is going to have more influence in sound quality than the DAC chip it's self.

 

[businessjeff]

why am I not seeing any mixers or interface boxes for live and recording audio that use any ADC higher than 24/96?

Do they or could you make a stand alone ADC converter? one using a chip that can do 32/385? or at least better than 24/96

 

[10010011]

why am I not seeing any mixers or interface boxes for live and recording audio that use any ADC higher than 24/96?

Probably because 24bit sampling at 96Khz is plenty of resolution for audio.

Do they or could you make a stand alone ADC converter? one using a chip that can do 32/385? or at least better than 24/96

None that I know of. I am sure it could be done but I probably couldn't make one at home.