Is the DAC the digital equivalent of a cartridge.

@mikelavigne I'm not an engineer, but an RiAA curve is nothing like converting digital info into analog signal.  From my understanding an RIAA curve adjusts the high and low frequencies of the signal boosted by the phono stage.  Phonostages are super important, but they are nowhere near what DACs do.  

Nobody said RIAA EQ was anything like the number crunching, filtering, and shaping of DACs. This is a weak analogy to begin with - and the idea was that both phono stages and DACs do "signal processing", in a VERY broadly general sense. Which is true, if not very useful.

And personally I feel that the SONIC impact of phono stages in a high-end rig is extremely large - typically much more than the differences I’ve experienced between DACs. We're talking about voltage amplification factors beyond 1,000x (60dB), so there's that. But again, I’ve gone way further into analog playback than I ever did with digital.

Depending on the quality of the digital source you listen to, thru a good DAC, you will realize how much better the dynamics, noise floor, soundstage and accuracy of the music is, which you would never be able to get via listening to vinyl. Simply by the limitation of the technology and what you can ’cut’ into the groove of a vinyl, you are limited in the dynamics of the sound by at least about 6-8dbs in comparison to even the 44.1khz CD recordings. It is also a medium which gets destroyed every time you play it.  Furthermore, note that almost all vinyl after the 90’s is actually pressed from a digital recording anyway :-)

A good DAC is obviously very important not to add fatigue and or ’harshness’ to the sound.

Schiit bifrost2, Gungnir, Chord Qutest, RME ADI2 are some of the affordable and best DACs out there in the medium price range. There are a lot more, some cheaper and/or some more expensive ones obviously but these are smack in the middle of the range which would satisfy about 95% of listeners.

I’ve had two Schiit Yggdrasils and they don’t approach the musical satisfaction of ANY of the dozens of analog combinations I’ve had at home in the last 10 years. I don’t care about how wonderful digital is on paper. The Schiits also break down...a lot. And their customer service sucks worse than their name.