If hooked up to an external DAC and all it does is transporting 1s and 0s digitally, how can that affect Soundstage, how punchy the bass is, etc?
If hooked up to an external DAC and all it does is transporting 1s and 0s digitally, how can that affect Soundstage, how punchy the bass is, etc?
/Thanks! It strikes me that , then at a relatively low to low-midish price point in 2023, diminishing return should kick in and there should be little audible difference? What would be the price point of such a digital transport and DAC, respectively?
I think basic DAC+amplifier such as the Apple usb-c 3.5mm headset jack, which costs $10 is where it is already practically perfect. Seriously, this technology costs next to nothing.
I honestly don’t know. Price point is hardly relevant. I’m more into pro audio and have noticed that on recent higher end devices clock source makes little difference anymore.
It’s a design choice to trade of stability for jitter rejection, not necessarily a matter of cost. Digital audio products have used the same type of conversion chips for years and we have seen a lot of newer designs lately that include onboard digital PLLs or manage this problem by SRC. These ICs may be expensive but I don’t know how that is reflected in standalone DAC devices.
Tbh, I think any digital source connected to a decent DAC will give you decent results. I’m just trying to explain that in digital audio, the entire system is to be considered. A digital source may not have a “sound”, that does not mean the next device in the chain will perform optimally which may unfairly contribute to the “sound” attributed to a certain digital source device.