Are "vintage" DAC's worthwhile, or is this a tech that does not age well

...a vintage converter will stomp all over the new stuff no contest.

Yes, I agree with you.
Thank you and all memebers for comments and your opinions.

There was an almost identical thread recently.  You ought to look it up.  I wont repeat the lengthy post i made, but i will say:
1. I have no dog in this fight, yet.2. I totally disagree that DACs sound alike. And i run single blind experiments all the time.3. Some excellent old DACs still can equal or outperform many current DACs. I have two that do, from 1991 and 19994. Lots of DACs are datasheet engineered and suck. The fact that they get good (typically user anecdotal) reviews supports the hypothesis that its all snake oil. LISTEN!5. Overall, tat said, DACs have progressed steadily over the years6. Most advances int he last 10 years have been in up/oversampling algorithms and timing/jitter, IMNSHO.

BTW DACs have no wear parts to speak of except for electrolytic caps, typically only a few int eh power supply. So they can last a long time. The DAC caps are mostly ceramic and film which last pretty much forever.
G

Sounds oxymoronic to me, but what do I know: Music Choice only goes back to the 80s, no 60s!!!!

I listen to an old (late 90's?) Theta ProBasic III DAC and use digital for CD's only.

Sounds great to me and much better than the half dozen ESS DACs my local audio dealer let me audition at home about a year and a half ago.

I was in his store yesterday and he was playing Sonus Faber speakers, (higher model range than Sonnetos) through Prima Luna electronics, and a Lumin streamer. The sound was veiled and the bass was muddy.

Now there are tons of variables, but I got home and enjoyed my Thiel CS5's with the Theta DAC. My sound was better.

If the DAC is implemented well and has a good analog output on it, it will still sound good.

Thanks for istening,

Dsper
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I cannot attest to vintage vs new but feel compelled to assure you there are SQ differences between DACs.  I believe most have/would agree. My limited experience is using a Bluesound Node2i with my Audio Research GSi75.  The comparison of analog out of the Node to optical out is beyond night and day.