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Can a dac really be future proof?

I’m talking via firmware/ software updates. I do get that some integrated amps ( McIntosh, etc) allows you to swap out the entire dac unit/card or whatever. 
I do get having firmware updates to improve stability, etc while the dac is fairly new. Or even let a new format “ kick in” due to final prep ( example MQA). 
How far can firmware - software upgrades carry you as dac chips and other hardware items improve? I can’t see a dac from 5 years ago with older generations of dac chips performing on par with the latest and greatest. Of course, I assume one’s listening taste is consistent for a particular chip/component. One may actually prefer the sound of an older dac over new one. Outside of that, how many years can software upgrades carry a Dac?

aberyclark
in_shore's avatar
in_shore
596 posts
 
I have such a dac and just received a firmware update from Vlad of AudioMirror , though it’s almost twice as much as his own fabulous Tubadour 3 SE dac I instead chose this FPGA 1 bit dac , AudioByte Hydra Vox stack with yet to be released streamer .

Recent dacs PS Audio dac senior, Denafrips Terminator, Rockna SE the Hydra Vox performance is head and shoulders above the others I’ve owned  .
in_shore's avatar
in_shore
596 posts
 
I meant to add the firmware update for the Vox is sound quality related nothing else.
nyaudio98
420 posts
 
There is one coming on the market that will have internet upgrades
soix
9,732 posts
 
No.  It’s a total pipe dream.  
spatialking's avatar
spatialking
610 posts
 
Really future proof?  As in SW only upgrades without a hardware upgrade?  I don't see how future proof is possible in that light.   SW upgrades will keep obsolescence at bay but Hardware moves on every year.   So you spring big bucks for a 24 bit, 196 KHz DAC, there is no software upgrade going to covert that to a 32 bit, 384 KHz DAC.  Software might increase the clock frequency on a one bit DAC to improve Signal to Noise ratio but that analog output stage will still have the same SNR and that limits the effect number of bits (ENB).  So for the short term, SW upgrades will keep things current but at some point in the long term, you will need a hardware upgrade.
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