If DAC Chips Perform Perfectly Then Why Don’t All DACs Sound the Same?

 It is likely the audiophile forum Audio Science Review that should get credit for starting this thread talking about digital to analog converters and the vast improvements in today’s DAC chips. The question was “Do All DACs Sound the Same?” The question gets asked because of the Wild Wild West situation that is the semiconductor world these days. New, highly effective semiconductor chips are creating a disruptive (the positive meaning of the world, like they say in Silicon Valley) situation in the audiophile business. Amazingly, today semiconductors can make relatively lower-cost audiophile power amps sound just like the best tube or Class-A amps while using very little power and not breaking the bank. That’s changing the game for many audiophiles who are value-oriented today. So, if a $50 DAC chip can product literally a perfect sine wave, then why should you spend on anything other than the least expensive DAC? That’s what people are asking, and it is easy to understand why.

Even If the Best DAC Chips Perform “Perfectly,” Not All DACs Deliver the Same Sound

Let’s assume that together we were building an audiophile digital to analog converter-type component. If you go by the letter of the law from the forums, then all you would need is a great DAC chip, and you are pretty much done. There is zero possibility that one complete DAC could really be much (or any) better than another using the same chip, even with vastly different implementations. I know audiophile reviewers who see things pretty much this way. I know professional audio experts who also mostly adhere to the “$300 DAC is as good as the $13,000 DAC” philosophy. 

Simply put, the performance of DAC chips has improved drastically in the modern era, along with many other semiconductors in the tech space. Audiophiles can only dream of a day when the new Semiconductor Act (CHIPS) kicks in, nine (yes, nine) new gigabit factories open right here in the United States, and we no longer depend on Taiwan for the chips that we need. We also will be able to make smaller, better and faster chips, but that’s in the coming years. For now, DAC chips are cheap and quite fantastic, so why don’t all DACs sound the same?

There’s a lot that goes into a DAC beyond the selection of the semiconductor. Specifying the chipset is a great first start, but there are all sort of other elements that factor into the sound and performance of an audiophile DAC today. 

• In any audiophile component, and especially in digital ones, using a robust power supply is the best way to achieve overall great performance. That’s not anything new to audiophile engineers, but the point gets an exclamation point today because of what we’ve learned from the new school, class-D amps, streamers and of course… DACs. 
• Top-performing DAC chips, like the AKM option found in many of today’s sexiest Chi-Fi digital audiophile products, aren’t sold just as a digital solution, as it is bundled with what is needed to make the analog section work. These chips cost roughly about $50 and a accomplish a lot, but they don’t fit every design criteria for a top-performing DAC.
• Some DACs use multiple semiconductors in their design. Benchmark and PS Audio use four each. Bricasti, in its more expensive DACs, offers chips more suited to DSD, and then another for PCM. That changes the complexity of the unit, the parts cost and the sound of a DAC in nearly all cases.
• The issue of jitter is a big one for many of the digital audio engineers who design our DACs. Reclocking the digital signal can help on that front. All sorts of design tweaks can help make incremental improvements in the jitter department, and each of those benefits can add up to overall better sound from one DAC to another.
• Filtering can be viewed as a negative by some audiophiles, but many higher-end DACs offer the ability to change the sound of their DACs to suit the tastes of the listener. The Benchmark Media DAC that I am using now is the opposite of that, but Paul Wilson’s $19,000 Bricasti offers options to slightly change the sound of the DAC to your tastes. That might not be the purist way to go about things, but neither is dropping a small ice chip inside of your Macallan 18 – it just tends to make the Scotch taste better, aka “opened up.” 
• With the rise of a new class of semiconductors known as FPGA chips, companies can make updates to modern DACs to keep them state of the art for much longer. This was a legitimate reason why many audiophiles refused to invest in “bleeding edge” digital audio in that with one hot, new chip to hit the market and their $30,000 investment just lost half of more of its value in the audiophile resale market. Today’s audiophile DACs are much more able to stay current without any meaningful, additional investment which removes some of that ugly, “boat anchor” effect to buying high end, audiophile digital components. 
• The physical build quality of a DAC can matter to its sound especially on digital audio components that spin or rip discs be it some permutation of a music server or Compact Disc player. Using better metal work or internal bracing or even absorptive feet can help make an audiophile DAC perform incrementally better. Larger-sized components also have more room for better power supplies, which we’ve already established is a major upgrade to digital audio components, be they DACs, Class-D chip-based amps and beyond. 

Are Today’s Internal or Included DACs as Good as Standalone Components?

Normally not, but the DACs that come inside of many of today’s stereo preamps are really, really good these days. I’ve got a 32-bit DAC inside of my Anthem STR, and it is quite capable. At $4,000, I get all of the benefits of a full-feature stereo preamp. including ARC room correction, as well as a high-end DAC. In comparison, the internal DACs don’t quite sound as good as the aforementioned standalone $1,895 Benchmark Media DAC3 B. Sharing a power supply is one potential issue. Another trick that the component needs to master is that there are only so many design resources that can go in these affordable audiophile products, which combine so many incredible and compelling features.

Should you shy away from a product that takes on more than one audiophile challenge? Absolutely not. Just know that, as your system gets more and more sophisticated, that you might enjoy the benefit of a standalone component (DAC, in this case) over one combined into another component. Is that an audiophile law? No, but it is a good place to start with your overall system upgrade strategies. 

So, What Should You Do When It Comes To Buying a DAC?

It is easy to understand how people get pissy or even a little bitter about very high-priced audiophile components. Conversely, are there also bullshit products in the uber-high end of digital audio? Oh, God, yes, there are, just as an $87,500 phono stage is too expensive for even Powerball winners to afford over on the analog side of the argument. The idea that all DACs are the same or sound the same is downright incorrect. There are subtle or not-so-subtle differences between good DACs, ranging from the affordable to the less-than-affordable. They don’t all sound the same. They just don’t. 

What any new or upgrading (aren’t we all upgrading?) audiophile needs to determine is if he or she can justify the cost of a digital audio product like a DAC in their system. If you do a volume-matched comparison between an entry-level $400 DAC with a certain chipset and another $10,000 DAC with the same chipset and you can’t hear the difference, then you know what to do. Run, don’t walk, away from the expensive one. The burden is on the expensive DAC to deliver enough sonic upgrade to justify the additional cost. If you don’t hear it, then do not spend on it. 

Remember that audiophile systems evolve as we upgrade, and that when you get towards the top of the mountain, often it is the small differences that are all that is left. Like an F1 race team, advanced audiophiles are looking for any and every possible performance advantage. Often what the uber-high-end products in the audiophile space are selling is just that level of outrageous performance. Others are selling voodoo and/or vapor ware. As long as you are testing the gear that you are evaluating with your volume matched and your system fairly/equally assembled and balanced, you should be able to draw your own fair conclusions. 

In the end, what matters is that the upgrades that you invest in make you more and more happy with your system. You are are still allowed to “be in the audiophile club” if you decide that your current system (or DAC) is good enough, even if it is a $400 Chi-Fi darling. Many others who can hear and justify the difference in a more expensive component can make their moves accordingly. There is no right or wrong here, and there should be no techno-shaming, either. In the end, you need to justify the investment that you make in your system, as it is designed, first and foremost, to sound great to you. 

This has been a controversial topic for many audiophiles. Where do you stand on the matter? Comment below (politely, please) in our moderated comments. We look forward to hearing from you!