Best DAC chip
- Thread starter lico
- Start date
xero-D-hero
Super Member
If the Luxman was the LUXMAN DA06, it was very well reviewed by stereophile, and uses the Burr-Brown PCM1792 DAC chip.
Burr-Brown made the AD1865 chip, in a lot of peoples views the best dac chip ever.
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I have always gravitated to Burr Brown chipsets , I have had most of the top rated chips from AKM Wolfson ESS and I always go back to Burr Brown . My Musical Fidelity Trivista 21 Dac uses a Burr Brown DSD1792A 24/192 DAC in PCM mode and is by far the the best sounding I have had . If there was such a thing as a 3D holographic dac on the market this would be it .
Audiofreak71
Audiofreak71
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[Cough cough]....Analog Devices. Burr-Brown was bought by Texas Instruments some time back, which might be where the confusion came from, but I believe Analog Devices is still an independent company.
I've heard the PCM1704 implemented well in several TOTL Denon machines and always loved that sound.
Of course you are correct
Always difficult keeping up with companies changing, even worse looking at vacuum tubes these days, one company bought out most names in the beginning of this century 
mjw21a
Super Member
Haven't heard the last 4 though the best I've heard/owned is the Philips TDA1541A S1 in my Muji Studio DAC II. OPAMP rolling really made this DAC though (2x LM4562NA + 2x Burson V6 Vivid). Still running the stock NOS Philips ECC88 tubes and haven't touched the caps in the signal path yet.
The best modern DAC I've heard is the AK4497EQ though it doesn't really compete with the old TDA1541....
Lol... You know I only paid attention to who I was quoting before clicking on submit. How's things Ian
even worse looking at vacuum tubes these days, one company bought out most names in the beginning of this century
New Sensor Corp?
All good here, MattHaven't heard the last 4 though the best I've heard/owned is the Philips TDA1541A S1 in my Muji Studio DAC II. OPAMP rolling really made this DAC though (2x LM4562NA + 2x Burson V6 Vivid). Still running the stock NOS Philips ECC88 tubes and haven't touched the caps in the signal path yet.
The best modern DAC I've heard is the AK4497EQ though it doesn't really compete with the old TDA1541....
Lol... You know I only paid attention to who I was quoting before clicking on submit. How's things Ian
New Sensor Corp?
Yeah, New Sensor, originally a distributor....but I give them credit for the new tubes, being the KT120 and KT150
Yup, everything else will dictate how much performance you get out of a given chip especially power supplies and output stages, but the list is long All things being equal, the best implementation of each
Edit: of course, at the end of the day with everything in this hobby, personal likes and dislikes play a big part too.
especially power supplies and output stages, but the list is long All things being equal, the best implementation of each Edit: of course, at the end of the day with everything in this hobby, personal likes and dislikes play a big part too.
Unless the models in question use identical power supplies and analog output stages, you are really not comparing the DAC chip(s) themselves.
I'm far more interested in finding units with class A zero feedback discrete output stages fed by a stiff linear as opposed to using cheap op amps powered by a SMPS.
xero-D-hero
Super Member
The op-amp thing is no biggie IMO,just roll in some Burson -or- Sparkos discretes and you've basically got that deal covered.
The power supply situation is another story,it often is what it is.
My current favorite DACs are the Parasound D/AC-1000 & D/AC-1500 along with the Adcom GDA-600,all of which are PCM63.
I own two D/AC-1000 now and I plan to find a D/AC-1500 and a GDA-600 later on when I have a bit more ample surplus funds.
I'd also love to track down a nice vintage TDA1541 DAC (or two) just for good measure,LOL.
I do currently have a couple Magnavox CDP's that use the TDA1541 though,and I definitely enjoy them.
And fwiw I only listen to redbook,no high res @ all.
So no doubt that affects my preferences somewhat.
JM2¢
Bret P.
The power supply situation is another story,it often is what it is.
My current favorite DACs are the Parasound D/AC-1000 & D/AC-1500 along with the Adcom GDA-600,all of which are PCM63.
I own two D/AC-1000 now and I plan to find a D/AC-1500 and a GDA-600 later on when I have a bit more ample surplus funds.
I'd also love to track down a nice vintage TDA1541 DAC (or two) just for good measure,LOL.
I do currently have a couple Magnavox CDP's that use the TDA1541 though,and I definitely enjoy them.
And fwiw I only listen to redbook,no high res @ all.
So no doubt that affects my preferences somewhat.
JM2¢
Bret P.
Understood. Which is exactly what I did with a Music Hall DAC 25.3. Such was facilitated by the original op amps being socket mounted. Not so much for many like the Teac and the minions of low priced Chinese sourced DACs as those are wave soldered to the board. It also uses a low noise R-core tranny in the power supply.
As Bot implied, there are other factors, too. Among them are use of separate clocks for 44/88/176 vs 48/96/192 content and the use of multiple DAC chips in series to lower noise. My Audio Research DAC8 uses both those strategies with quad PCM1792As. Along with completely separate power supplies for the digital and analog sections using separate transformers.
I regularly enjoy 24 bit content up to 192. For me higher rez content (88/24+) blends the best of the analog and digital worlds not requiring brick wall filtering at the top.
mjw21a
Super Member
Aye, implementation is critical though so too is the chip used. Using a garbage chip and implementing well is like putting lipstick on a pig.
I found OPAMP rolling made a massive difference in my Muji Studio DAC II. The 4x NE5532 it came with stock didn't do it justice. A combination of LM4562NA and Burson V6 Vivid are spectacular in this. A pity they weren't socketed from stock.
I'm in complete agreement
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The UD-501 looks like a nice unit, I have the matching integrated AI-501 with lesser DAC. I added pre-amp outputs so it can be used with other power amps as a standalone DAC. Has linear supply. Analog output stage is NE5532. Sounds very nice playing thru my cadre of class A/B amps, the built in class D one isn't bad either.
pete_mac
Super Member
To take it a step further, imagine that there were only a handful of engine manufacturers out there, and that each car manufacturer had to select an engine from those few manufacturers to put in their car.
Some car manufacturers might choose simply plonk the engine in the car with the basic, OEM ECU tune, a basic exhaust, crappy 3 speed auto gearbox, and call it day. There are DACs that fit this description - plenty of them! The car would perform just fine... but it's not necessarily optimised.
Others might tweak the ECU tune, fit high performance exhausts, a nice DSG dual-clutch gearbox, and derive noticeably better performance from the same base engine. There are DACs that fit this description too - where greater attention is paid to the analogue and digital stages, and the power supplies vs the standard 'datasheet' implementation that is so often trotted out. Same engine, different implementation, different result.
The DAC chip itself is only part of the sonic equation.
