Another dumb question: What is a DAC?

realjimjim

realjimjim

Well-Known Member
And why would I need one?

What do they do?

Oh, maybe this will have something to do with this . . . I'm using a Pioneer SX-1050, SX-1280, several assorted Sony STRs . . . and various CD players.

Can some please explain DACs to me in very simple terms that a dummy like me can understand?

Thanks!
 
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Well a Dac can be a (Digital to Analog Converter) it takes a digital signal like optical, and turns it into RCA
 
Ant1-Hero said:
Well a Dac can be a (Digital to Analog Converter) it takes a digital signal like optical, and turns it into RCA
Click to expand...

But what does that mean?

An optical is a CD player, correct?

And an "RCA" is a what?

Why would I want to convert a CD to a "RCA?"

What would this do? Make it sound better?
 
A DAC is what you need when you have a digital signal and need to convert it into an analog signal. DAC stands for Digital to Analog Converter. One example is when you hook your cable box up to your home theater receiver with an HDMI cable, optical cable, or digital coaxial cable. Those cables carry digital signals only. Your receiver has a DAC inside, so you never have to think about it. It converts the digital signal to analog so it can be amplified and played through yoiur speakers. If your cable box has an option to use the left and right (red and white usually) cables known as "RCA cables" then it can send an analog signal, too. Those don't require your signal to go through a DAC after it leaves the cable box.

CD players have DACs inside. They can convert the digital signal and output through RCA cables and go into the amplification process inside your receiver. But, newer CD players have the option of sending a digital signal out through the digital optical or digital coaxial. Some audiophiles like to put a good DAC between the CD player and the receiver and bypass the inferior DACS in both of those. You can get better sound this way.
 
gotvinyl said:
A DAC is what you need when you have a digital signal and need to convert it into an analog signal. DAC stands for Digital to Analog Converter. One example is when you hook your cable box up to your home theater receiver with an HDMI cable, optical cable, or digital coaxial cable. Those cables carry digital signals only. Your receiver has a DAC inside, so you never have to think about it. It converts the digital signal to analog so it can be amplified and played through yoiur speakers. If your cable box has an option to use the left and right (red and white usually) cables known as "RCA cables" then it can send an analog signal, too. Those don't require your signal to go through a DAC after it leaves the cable box.

CD players have DACs inside. They can convert the digital signal and output through RCA cables and go into the amplification process inside your receiver. But, newer CD players have the option of sending a digital signal out through the digital optical or digital coaxial. Some audiophiles like to put a good DAC between the CD player and the receiver and bypass the inferior DACS in both of those. You can get better sound this way.
Click to expand...

WOW!

I really appreciate you taking the time to type all that up . . .

Now I need to digest it all.

So for an average guy like me who just wants to listen at high volume to the Kinks, Stones, etc., i.e., not an audiophile, I would not need something like a DAC?

Thanks for taking the time to type all that up for me!
 
That depends. If you have a digital source, like itunes from a home network system, and you want to get it wirelessly to your receiver, you might. Apple TV is $99 now and it can hook into your receiver and pass all of your itunes music through your regular receiver - not to mention movies, youtube,pandora, etc. if its a home theater receiver. If you don't have a receiver that accepts digital signals, you can buy a DAC for anywhere between $50 and several thousand dollars and make it work. The old Apple TV, which you might be able to get used, had a DAC inside and RCA outputs, but it was about $250.

I have the old Apple TV, but when I get the new one, I anticipate buying my first stand alone DAC. I have heard it is going to sound better than my record collection. We'll see. CD's never have.
 
By the way, you are very welcome. I am just paying it forward. I have learned a lot from others on this site.
 
Indeed, a DAC transforms the digital signal, which is comprised of Ones and Zeroes, and changes it into the actual analog sound signal that can then be amplified and sent to the speakers.

Most consumer-grade and audiophile CD players have their own DAC integrated; some have a digital output to allow you to use a different separate DAC; some players are transports only and do not have a DAC, requiring an external one because, let's be honest, ones and zeroes don't sound all that good! :D

az
 
Your SX-1050 and SX-1280 accept analog. Everything that plugs into them must be analog. Therefor anything that outputs digital must be converted to analog to plug into them. When they made the 1050 / 1280 there probably were no digital players or very rare.

CD players have an internal DAC because the CD is digital but must be plugged into analog. It has to convert in order to work. But this is invisible you just plug it in and it works.

Some internal DACs are not considered that good, so you get a better external DAC to bypass the inferior DAC. A typical example is PC which usually have inferior DACs.

For example if you want to hook up a PC (as music player) to your 1280 you might consider getting an external DAC. This is what I do (except SA9800 instead of 1280).
 
Various CD players: each CD player has a DAC.

Swap them around with same receiver and CD to see if they sound different. If so, that is what it is all about - which DAC sounds best?

If none of your CD players sounds good thats when you consider an external DAC as replacement.
 
If you are interested in using your computer as a music source, a DAC is useful. If you are fine with your CD player as the source component, your CD player already has a DAC. As someone said above, many CD players come with digital input these days, so you can do both, use the CD player as you always have and use a computer to feed a digital signal via toslink or USB (depending on the CD player input) to your CD player.
 
gotvinyl said:
That depends. If you have a digital source, like itunes from a home network system, and you want to get it wirelessly to your receiver, you might. Apple TV is $99 now and it can hook into your receiver and pass all of your itunes music through your regular receiver - not to mention movies, youtube,pandora, etc. if its a home theater receiver. If you don't have a receiver that accepts digital signals, you can buy a DAC for anywhere between $50 and several thousand dollars and make it work. The old Apple TV, which you might be able to get used, had a DAC inside and RCA outputs, but it was about $250.

I have the old Apple TV, but when I get the new one, I anticipate buying my first stand alone DAC. I have heard it is going to sound better than my record collection. We'll see. CD's never have.
Click to expand...

I thought that the apple tv had digital out that could be hooked up to receiver through optical connect. Now if you have a analog only receiver I understand. My plan is Apple TV so my computer can work all music and sound better than hooking up headphone jack from the Iphone.
 
realjimjim said:
WOW!

I really appreciate you taking the time to type all that up . . .

Now I need to digest it all.

So for an average guy like me who just wants to listen at high volume to the Kinks, Stones, etc., i.e., not an audiophile, I would not need something like a DAC?

Thanks for taking the time to type all that up for me!
Click to expand...

Oh your a audiophile alright! :yes:
 
Just wanted to echo what some others have said here:

1) I also use my laptop as my main audio source, with iPod and CD as seconda and third sources, and I've found an external DAC to make phenomenal improvements.

2) I use a tube DAC distributed by Grant Fidelity (which also has a forum on audiokarma). It's not too expensive, super easy to set up, and the tube sound is chill, takes a bit of a metallic edge off of pure digital. There are a bunch of similar DACs on the market, almost all of them Chinese.

3) Dude, if you're on this forum and asking questions like this, you're totally an audiophile. Doesn't mean you need every single $10,000 gadget that comes out (though it does mean that for some). Just that you know what sounds good...
 
VICIII said:
I thought that the apple tv had digital out that could be hooked up to receiver through optical connect. Now if you have a analog only receiver I understand. My plan is Apple TV so my computer can work all music and sound better than hooking up headphone jack from the Iphone.
Click to expand...

New Apple TVs have an optical digital out and HDMI digital out. Old ATVs have optical digital out and RCA analog out.

whatis_gallery_slide220100901.jpg
 
VICIII said:
I thought that the apple tv had digital out that could be hooked up to receiver through optical connect. Now if you have a analog only receiver I understand. My plan is Apple TV so my computer can work all music and sound better than hooking up headphone jack from the Iphone.
Click to expand...

Old Apple TV does have digital output connections, including HDMI and optical digital, but most receivers will not play digitally input music in Zone 2. It has to be analog. So, I hook up old apple tv through HDMI for movies and music in Zone 1 (my main listening area) and through RCA for zone 2 (4 other areas of my house that are hard wired to my main receiver). You can't do this in zone 2 with the new Apple TV unless you have a DAC, because it outputs only digital signals.
 
how would you hook one up to a laptop? if the sound is already comming out the speaker jack hasnt it already been thru the DAC on the laptop? I use my laptop for all my music also but it doesnt sound as good as a CD player. I hear very subtle changes in sound level. I know its there I have been listening to these albums since the late 70's. The laptop has a bunch of gadgets like equ and wow effects its all shut off. Think an external DAC is the way to go?
 
elabinao:

Yes speaker jack uses laptop DAC. If you get external DAC and connect either optical or USB it will bypass the laptop DAC. This should hopefully improve sound.
 
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