How did a DAC that was way behind the times 30 years ago (TDA1541) magically become good?I’m no believer in ’magic’ but seems to me that times changed in the direction of better numbers (THD, SNR) and not in the direction of better sound. So ’behind the times’ is just a piece of propaganda - in fact TDA1541A is the best measuring 16bit DAC chip out there.
R2R Ladder DACs or All in One Streamer Solutions
I am soon to own a Pass INT 25 integrated amp. I also own an Oppo 205.
I am now searching for a separate DAC to replace/improve the DAC in the Oppo.
Budget $2k. Used preferred.
I like the R2R ladder sound and want a tube inside for a little balance with the Solid State gear.
My current source is the Oppo 205.
I am also shopping for a Streamer/Ripper/Storage device. Roon friendly and DSD capable.
Budget also $2k. Used Preferred.
It seems that the few offerings of these all in one solutions all contain a DAC.
My thought is that the DAC included will not be any better than the Oppo so it is of little use.
Has anyone been down this road lately?
Am I missing something?
Thanks in advance for sharing your experiences!
I am now searching for a separate DAC to replace/improve the DAC in the Oppo.
Budget $2k. Used preferred.
I like the R2R ladder sound and want a tube inside for a little balance with the Solid State gear.
My current source is the Oppo 205.
I am also shopping for a Streamer/Ripper/Storage device. Roon friendly and DSD capable.
Budget also $2k. Used Preferred.
It seems that the few offerings of these all in one solutions all contain a DAC.
My thought is that the DAC included will not be any better than the Oppo so it is of little use.
Has anyone been down this road lately?
Am I missing something?
Thanks in advance for sharing your experiences!
- ...
- 50 posts total
Surely if there are classic cars, classic homes, classic amps, there can be classic chips. Occasionally, people know WTF they’re doing and they implement things beautifully. "Oh, that old Frank Lloyd Wright house? Who’d want to live in that?" Um, me. Oh, and: http://www.lampizator.eu/lampizator/TDA1541%20corner/TDA1541.html The point is simple: one can dispute that this chip sounds good or assert that there's a better chip which has come along, but resting one's argument on the fact that something is old is facile. |
Classic cars are nice to look at. Put it on the track with something modern and it gets trounced. Those who claim classic cars are "better" than modern cars are using the same congitive dissonance of those claiming that the TDA1541 magically enabled better DACs 30 years after it became functionally obsolete. I am making the argument that there is nothing inherently "good" about TDA1541 DACs just that they are the flavor of the month for a subset of the audiophile community. They DACs they enabled sounded bad 30 years ago. Their performance hasn't changed .... the audiophiles who support them ... |
The owner of MHDT, Jiun, reportedly started buying up as many of these chips as possible and they became the foundation of an enormously popular model of DAC. Clearly it's not "functionally obsolete." You can read around to see others on this chip. A classic car does not get "trounced" by a modern piece of junk. Indeed, it becomes "classic" not just because people are sentimental but because of design. That's why the reference to Frank Lloyd Wright is in my post, too. I can explain it to you, but I can't understand it for you. Over and out. |
- 50 posts total