How old is too old for a Dac?

spoogemonkey

How old is too old for a Dac?

Been out of the loop for a good bit, and wondering how much things have changed in digital. In other words, how old is too old for a dac?

If just listening to CD's (pcm 16/44 or 24/96) or DXD then go for a good Multibit dac/cdp.
  
If you plan on listening to dsd, sacd then you have to go for the newer bitstream delta sigma based dac or cdp's, but the pcm stuff above will take a hit.

Cheers George 

I agree with Erik that there are many modern DAC designs that do Redbook very well. These DAC’s are not simply using a Delta-Sigma dac chip, many have added a FPGA (field-programmable gate array), which is programmable by the designer to process the 16/44.1 standard and hirez. Examples; Chord, PS Audio.

There are now quite a few multi-bit ladder DAC’s that can read Redbook in it’s native form. Example; Schiit, Cyrus.

Also, I think today’s designs have better analogue stages than older DACs. This may be the reason for the most dramatic difference in performance between DACs. This allows a more natural presentation, even in the budget models.

^ @lowrider

When you say "today's designs", how far back does that encompass? 

" Also, I think today’s designs have better analogue stages than older DACs. This may be the reason for the most dramatic difference in performance between DACs. This allows a more natural presentation, even the budget models."

@lowrider57 just curious what makes you say this? I don’t think analog output stages have changed that significantly in the last say 25 years or so if not longer. A well designed output stage is something you can find on many older well designed units including the AN dac i mentioned above/

spoogemonkey, I'm not sure, since I only moved up to higher-end gear about 12 years ago. I've noticed the most noticeable improvement is in budget DACs and CDPs. New units sound smoother, more realistic than those of the 1980's and 90's.

I have an older ARC CDP ($5000), and there are better sounding units for less than $2000 now.