2. digital
  3. 1417757498

DAC improvements slowing down?

24/192 optical in
24/96 USB

It seems like those two figures would be the highest values most supposedly audiophiles need to have capable.

Beyond that how are DACs going to be a game changer? Most sources are regular CDs and streaming audio, no SACD for 99% of us supposedly audiophiles.

I read that people recommend using an external DAC as the technology is constantly improving but have we hit the point of diminishing returns or is there a good argument for using an External DAC still?
dinmax82
grannyring's avatar
grannyring
6,464 posts
 
Well stated Steve.
scvan
99 posts
 
I see mentions of jitter. I believe most jitter on modern DACs is around 2ns and the BBC did studies that said people could not distinguish below 50ns of jitter. Can anyone tell me what jitter sounds like?
lloydc's avatar
lloydc
749 posts
 
it's irritating, like the BBC.
scvan
99 posts
 
better than PBS...
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,094 posts
 
Low jitter is worth it. Many ways to achieve that these days for reasonable cost if done right. Has probably only gotten to that point in recent years, so older gear in general will tend to be more problematic.
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