What is the average life expectancy of a DAC?

It'll last longer if you brush it with First before each use.

aamiransari
What is the average life expectancy of a DAC?

If solid state and good design and treated well, I say it’s the most reliable component in the audio chain.
I've seen over 30 year old Wadia's than need no servicing, and still sound like they did.
Cheers George

I had a Levinson No 39 purchased in the late 90s. Six or so years ago, I bought a Wyred4Sound DAC-2 based on the positive reviews and thinking that technology had progressed so much that even a less expensive DAC (the W4S was about $1500) would surely be better. Not even close (although I was only using with Redbook CDs). 

I eventually sold the No39 when I bought an Yggy A2 which did sound a bit better. But the main reason I replaced it was that it didn't have USB and at the time I was just using a PC to drive it.

I still own the Yggy, but this is now relegated to a secondary system. I bought a Terminator and then replaced it with a Terminator Plus. 

I think a well-built higher end SS DAC will last for decades and will hold it's own for many years. Will you be able to better the sound in five years for the same money. Probably, but I think the improvements will be subtle. 

The more likely issue will be some new interface that becomes popular that isn't supported on existing DACs. This was the problem I had with the Levinson. 

With a dac there is not life expectancy issues but there are planned obsolescence issues like new technologies and formats that always appear.

What a great question as it addresses both reliability and obsolescence. Imo DAC design and the chips have made significant advances over the last decade. The main concerns will likely result from connections (usb, wireless, ethernet etc) and possible sampling changes i.e. MQA. Buy the best you can afford and if those factors change significantly sell for ~50% of what you paid. You will have had 3-5 years of enjoyment at least. While above my intended budget, I just dumped $6k on a streamer/dac and couldn’t be happier. 100,000 + tracks to explore and enjoy at my fingertips and sound quality close to +/- with my vinyl depending on source quality. If I sell in 4 years at 50% my out of pocket for those thousands of hours of enjoyment is ~ $60/month. Not nothin but life is short and we are all here for the love of music.