Dac Technology Mature?

Archimedes has firmed up at 2 to 1 odds, but I heard someone was offering 200 to 1 odds that Plato invented Delta Sigma theory. How do I get some of that action?!

Let's go back to 1948 at Philips a couple of geeks there started it all off.
https://ibb.co/fGLL89

Cheers George

More specifically,

”The principle of sigma-delta modulation, although widely used nowadays, was de- veloped over a time span of more than 25 years. Initially the concept of oversam- pling and noise shaping was not known and the search for an efficient technique for transmitting voice signals digitally resulted in the Delta Modulator. Delta modula- tion was independently invented at the ITT Laboratories by Deloraine et al. [11, 12] the Philips Research Laboratories by de Jager [10], and at Bell Telephone Labs [8] by Cutler. In 1954 the concept of oversampling and noise shaping was introduced and patented by Cutler [9]. His objective was not to reduce the data rate of the signal to transmit as in earlier published work, but to achieve a higher signal-to-noise ratio in a limited frequency band. All the elements of modern sigma-delta modulation are present in his invention, except for the digital decimation filter required for ob- taining a Nyquist rate signal. The name Delta-Sigma Modulator (DSM) was finally introduced in 1962 by Inose et al. [25, 26] in their papers discussing 1-bit converters. By 1969 the realization of a digital decimation filter was feasible and described in a publication by Goodman [16]. In 1974 Candy published the first complete multi-bit Sigma-Delta Modulator (SDM) in [6]. Around the same time the name SDM was introduced as an alternative for Delta-Sigma Modulator and since then both names are in use. In this book the oversampled noise-shaping structure will be referred to as SDM. According to the author SDM is the more appropriate name since the integration or summing (the sigma) is over the difference (the delta).”

In short, "Yes" to the OP

But:
Tube DACs are still evolving, though at a slower rate than 10-20 years ago

SS Dacs will continue to diversify on tried and true principles, but now with more hybrid designs (not just tube/SS, but now SS and Class D) and now incorporating more R2R designs

Class D is as mature as it has ever been right now, but will continue to get better as the tech progresses (eg, from primordial switching tech to ICE modules, to NCORE modules TOTL)

That said, I found an old Sony CD/DVD player from 2000. MSRP = $3000, mine for $40. has a R2R CD DAC and is just a smidge below the SQ of my $3000 Sim CDP (2005) and $5000 Bel Canto 3.7 DAC (2015)

whitestix298 posts08-04-2018 10:08pm

improvement over, for example, the internal DAC in the Oppo 205.  

Hmm, I thought my Oppo 105 sounded excellent (pretty sure it has the identical dac section as the 205) until I replaced my preamp with an Audio Alchemy DDP-1 Dac/Pre, just for the pre, but once I got around to trying the DAC portion I was shocked that the AA DAC was light years ahead

I did own a California Audio Labs delta sigma some 30 years ago.

IMHO, one of the main issues/obstacles is the transmission line from trans> dac> pre. One of the few cable mfgs who actually knows what he's talking about is WireWorld. His Mini Eclipse series is a serious bargain, as are his power cords

Another is how well the AC is filtered. I have a Core Power Tech 1800 plugged into a 20 amp dedicated line