A sixteen bit CD player is a standard DAC. A DAC works to convert digital to analog by inputing the binary word (in this case 16 bits long) into a resistor ladder, which converts the information into a voltage. The longer the word length, the more information that can be extracted. There are 2^16 possible inputs with a 16 bit DAC. The higher bit DAC "upsample" the input from the transport, because all CD's (well, most) are encoded in 16 bit format. The upsampling adds high frequency air, and can sometimes reduce transport induced jitter. A 20 bit DAC, for example, has 2^20 possible variations in input, which smooths the waveform (think of having to chop a sine wave into little rectancular pieces vertically...the smaller the chop, i.e. the more bits, the smoother the reconstruction would be). Dual DACs are generally used for balanced operation, that is, the left and right channels are seperately decoded.
A one-bit DAC is a different animal. These are more correctly called noise-shaping, Delta Sigma, or Upsampling DACs. One bit DACs don't use a resistor ladder (which has different resistors for different bit weightings)...they simply have two states: on and off. Ladder resistors have to be VERY accurate in order to precicely recreate the analog signal (which is why good DACs cost so much). A one-bit DAC doesn't have this problem. But, one-bit DACs have to operate at a MUCH higher frequency in order to produce the analog signal in real time. Consequently, the clock is much more important in a one-bit DAC. Older one-bit DACs tend to lack bass response, because there is a lot of stuff going on in order to convert the bits to a voltage (it's quite complicated, and this is going on too long already). But nowadays, they are very very good. IMHO, a one bit DAC can perform as good (or better) than most ladder DACs on the market. But just listen for yourself. Execution is key in the digital game, not numebrs. Don't judge the purchase of a CDP or DAC based on its conversion alone. Listen to a good batch from both crops (also compare 16 bit to 20 bit and beyond). It's makes for an interesting listening experience. Hope I haven't confused myself! Cheers!!!
A one-bit DAC is a different animal. These are more correctly called noise-shaping, Delta Sigma, or Upsampling DACs. One bit DACs don't use a resistor ladder (which has different resistors for different bit weightings)...they simply have two states: on and off. Ladder resistors have to be VERY accurate in order to precicely recreate the analog signal (which is why good DACs cost so much). A one-bit DAC doesn't have this problem. But, one-bit DACs have to operate at a MUCH higher frequency in order to produce the analog signal in real time. Consequently, the clock is much more important in a one-bit DAC. Older one-bit DACs tend to lack bass response, because there is a lot of stuff going on in order to convert the bits to a voltage (it's quite complicated, and this is going on too long already). But nowadays, they are very very good. IMHO, a one bit DAC can perform as good (or better) than most ladder DACs on the market. But just listen for yourself. Execution is key in the digital game, not numebrs. Don't judge the purchase of a CDP or DAC based on its conversion alone. Listen to a good batch from both crops (also compare 16 bit to 20 bit and beyond). It's makes for an interesting listening experience. Hope I haven't confused myself! Cheers!!!