# Can one DAC (digital audio converter) be better than another DAC? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 15, 2020, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-dac-digital-audio-converter-be-better-than-another-dac/847980 "2020-02-15T16:39:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2020, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-dac-digital-audio-converter-be-better-than-another-dac/847980/1 "2020-02-15T16:39:16Z")
I was looking in to upgrading my audio system and was reviewing DACs (among other things). I see it is possible to get a [$2450](https://www.schiit.com/products/yggdrasil) DAC. That seems crazy to me. I assume it is doing something else than being a DAC. Can one DAC be better than another? Seems to me they all take a data stream and turn it in to an analog stream. Is there room here to do it “better?” My phone does this. You can get this stuff for free. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2020, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-dac-digital-audio-converter-be-better-than-another-dac/847980/2 "2020-02-15T16:57:18Z")
[“Do You Need a DAC?” from the SoundGuys website](https://www.soundguys.com/do-you-need-a-dac-13488/) Short answer, “yes” with an “if.” Long answer, “no” with a “but.” ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2020, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-dac-digital-audio-converter-be-better-than-another-dac/847980/3 "2020-02-15T17:19:35Z")
They can be technically better, and artifacts like bad jitter can be audible, but I would first of all worry about whether the master recording and production engineers knew what they were doing; I’ve encountered the occasional badly-mastered CD and there is little or nothing you can do to fix it after the fact. As for listening, I had a chance to hear $$$$ equipment (including $6000 power amplifiers and the rest) and it sounds pretty sweet, but unless money is no object it quickly becomes a case of diminishing returns once you have a decent set of speakers and the rest. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2020, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-dac-digital-audio-converter-be-better-than-another-dac/847980/4 "2020-02-15T17:58:45Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > I see it is possible to get a [$2450](https://www.schiit.com/products/yggdrasil) DAC. Cheap piece of junk. You need [_this_ DAC](https://www.msbtechnology.com/dacs/select-pricing/) :p. ---
**Author:** ![MikeG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikeg/32/4329_2.png) [@MikeG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeG)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2020, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-dac-digital-audio-converter-be-better-than-another-dac/847980/5 "2020-02-15T18:16:49Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > Cheap piece of junk. You need [_this_ DAC](https://www.msbtechnology.com/dacs/select-pricing/) :p. $19 grand for a clock? Amateurs. Might cover the tax on a A. Langhe datograph. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2020, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-dac-digital-audio-converter-be-better-than-another-dac/847980/6 "2020-02-15T18:26:51Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > …including $6000 power amplifiers… Sorry for the typo–that should have read $60000. Don’t want you to chuckle to yourself at how the guy was cheaping out on shitty amplifiers. They were some sort of high-end Nagra tube amps. ---
**Author:** ![lingyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d2c977/32.png) [@lingyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lingyi)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2020, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-dac-digital-audio-converter-be-better-than-another-dac/847980/7 "2020-02-15T18:35:18Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > They can be technically better, and artifacts like bad jitter can be audible, but I would first of all worry about whether the master recording and production engineers knew what they were doing; I’ve encountered the occasional badly-mastered CD and there is little or nothing you can do to fix it after the fact. This is the other side of the coin that always give me a chuckle. You can have the best DAC possible, but if the A/D hardware, software or engineers are poor, it’s Garbage In, Garbage Out! This is less of a factor in audio, since direct copies of the digital output (of course equalized for consumer level listening) are available, but in the video world, I LOL at people claiming their 80GB 4K UHD HDR video is a “master”. No it’s not! The video master is a multi-terabyte uncompressed, non-color graded version that will likely never been seen by anyone other than the video editors, producers and possibly director(s). ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2020, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-dac-digital-audio-converter-be-better-than-another-dac/847980/8 "2020-02-15T18:45:22Z")
> [@MikeG](#): > > $19 grand for a clock? Amateurs. Might cover the tax on a A. Langhe datograph. To be fair watches like that are more a work of art than anything else. No mechanical watch will ever keep better time than your cell phone (really) but they are amazing feats of engineering. They are only worth that much the same way art is worth its price. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2020, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-dac-digital-audio-converter-be-better-than-another-dac/847980/9 "2020-02-15T19:15:33Z")
A nit, but it’s a “digital to analog converter”. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2020, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-dac-digital-audio-converter-be-better-than-another-dac/847980/10 "2020-02-16T20:26:11Z")
On the low end, it matters. The one I got turned out to be mono-only, despite claiming to be stereo. And they even set it up where you couldn’t return it, without revealing this before sale. (I’ve never not been able to return something on Amazon.) I would have at least figured they’d allow returns, but just make sure the cost is too low to justify the postage. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2020, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-dac-digital-audio-converter-be-better-than-another-dac/847980/11 "2020-02-16T21:52:48Z")
I bought Mr. Athena a turntable for his birthday a few years ago. I knew we’d have to buy more stuff, because a turntable on its own is useless. I figured he’d have fun picking out some speakers and an amp. Fast-forward to now. The loft above our great room that used to be a library is now a stereo room. I just asked him what we have - he said “it’s a full Benchmark stack with a Benchmark DAC3.” I’m pretty sure it was not cheap (I’m afraid to ask. Our financial guy still tells us we can retire someday, so I guess we could afford it?) He went through a few DACs before settling on this one, and I can honestly say I could tell the difference between what he had previously and this one. It’s been really fun to get back into music; we listen all the time now, and it sounds spectacular. It seems the ease of phones & bluetooth speakers have really decreased audio quality compared to what most folks had in the 80s & 90s, and it’s cool to get back to a real stereo system. And, lest you wonder why a turntable led to a full digital/streaming system, we also remembered that albums are a pain in the ass. I much prefer the ease of streaming. ---
**Author:** ![road\_lobo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d78d45/32.png) [@road\_lobo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/road_lobo)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2020, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-dac-digital-audio-converter-be-better-than-another-dac/847980/12 "2020-02-17T07:34:47Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > Can one DAC be better than another? Yes. Is this a serious question, or just an excuse to goof on “audiophiles?” ---
**Author:** ![ZonexandScout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zonexandscout/32/544_2.png) [@ZonexandScout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZonexandScout)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2020, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-dac-digital-audio-converter-be-better-than-another-dac/847980/13 "2020-02-17T19:23:44Z")
> [@road\_lobo](#): > > Yes. > > Is this a serious question, or just an excuse to goof on “audiophiles?” I actually expected this thread to morph into a discussion of $1500 power cords and $3000 speaker cables.