What is a DAC? Simple and Straightforward Explanation.

[@alanlee2751]

Thanks Matt. At last, someone who speaks English !! I now understand why I (might) consider buying one.

[@mattsmusichannel]

Cheers Alan, let me know which one you end up with and what you think of it!

[@bacarandii]

Well done! And much needed. I imagine that direct "digital" electronic signals (without a DAC) would sound a lot like those beeps and static we used to hear on old dial-up modems or fax machines. Not a faithful reproduction of music, but the sound of 1s and 0s being transmitted over the wires. When I got back into LPs about ten years ago, I was mystified by all the talk about boxes and USB devices called "DACs" in hi-fi magazines. I like the '70s hi-fi sound I grew up with, so I was entirely unaware of their existence -- because we never had a digital source that needed to be converted to analog until CDs came along. I just plugged my turntable into the RCA phono jacks on the back of my receiver and (later) the CD player into an AUX input and that was that. I've run into people in recent years who are amazed that pre-'80s amplifiers used to come with their own built-in phono stages. (They're returning now.) Standalone DACs, like external phono preamps, can definitely make a huge difference in the quality of sound. After burning my entire CD library (well, almost) onto hard drives, I often run Roon from a MacMini through a Cambridge Audio DacMagic Plus into my vintage Marantz or Pioneer or Sansui amp and it sounds very much like the analog records I remember...

[@gregh4292]

Great stuff Matt. I’m several decades old and love both Hi-Fi and music (more the latter, but sometimes only just!), and hearing your concise delineation of all things DAC was refreshing. You explained it superbly. Regards, Gregor.

[@mattsmusichannel]

Thanks for the kind words Gregor!

[@GeirRssaak]

Dear gregh! Trust your ears!!

[@GeirRssaak]

Some of the hifi reviewers today are the greatest conmen in America!

[@GeirRssaak]

Dear gregh! Try audigear in good listening conditions!please do not buy snakeoil!

[@JamieMcAlley]

Informative and interesting. I use a Cambridge Audio dacmagic 200 straight into my audiolab 8000lx (and then out to a pair of rare Polk RT16 speakers) with great results. The main input to my DAC is a Chromecast audio (different from a normal telly watching Chromecast) which can output an analogue signal (normal headphone 3.5mm jack) or in my case a digital optical out. Brilliant inexpensive streaming results with low cost gear.

[@mattsmusichannel]

Cheers Jamie, those Polk RT16's are very cool! I hadn't come across the Chromecast Audio until you mentioned it but it looks pretty nifty! Will it stream files from a local drive too? I've just ordered a CD burner with a view to building a music server filled with all the stuff in my CD collection so this might be an option for streaming from that if so.

[@JamieMcAlley]

@@mattsmusichannel the Chromecast audio is for sending audio to from your phone or laptop, via WiFi.. If the media player you are using supports Chromecast then It should work

[@Teen_Spirit_91]

Great explanation thanks !

[@mikespins5894]

Awesome channel, I just discovered you and subbed you up, great collection of music, "Selling England by the Pound" great record, thanks for sharing the music info, I mainly talk rock vinyl on my channel and I post a few concert clips, have a great week, thanks again, Peace!

[@tommy..980]

What kinda of good but cheap DAC do you recommend???? I have an old blue ray player and I would like to hook it up to my 1977 Marantz receiver that only have RCA hookups…. PS would a DVD player work better than my Blue Ray or would it be fine to use??? Thank you very much

[@happylifeman4306]

Hi there, my friend! I just wanted you to clarify me. I'm using my mobile to stream music from Spotify and KZbin to my Samsung party speaker with Bluetooth, and I have a 3.5mm jack as well as RCA input and output options. Will this DAC work well with this setup? I believe my Samsung speaker has analog input and output capabilities. Will it make any difference in sound quality? I'm particularly interested in using this DAC for improved clarity and sound separation.

[@mattsmusichannel]

Hi there! I this case, if you wanted to use an external DAC you could connect it to your phone via USB and then run the analogue outputs from the DAC into the analogue inputs of the speaker. This will bypass the DAC in the speaker that would be used if sending the music from the phone to the speaker over bluetooth.

[@GeirRssaak]

Analog-digital hifi machines were develloped by advanced companies as Philips, Sony and teac! Their advanced transports and inboard DACs are not outperformed by the new overprized snakeoil!

[@mattsmusichannel]

@@GeirRssaak You can buy very good sounding external DACs for not much money. The Fosi Audio Q4 I use is around £65 on Amazon. I wouldn't say that was overpriced. Also over the years, we have seen different types of DAC evolve. Sigma Delta, Mulitibit, Ladder, etc. All these have different sound characteristics and even different manufacturers of each type will design them in such a way as to recreate the analogue sound in their own way. I understand you think DACs are all the same, but they're not and they're certainly not (for the most part) snake oil. With that being said, as with everything in hifi there are laws of diminishing returns. If your speakers aren't capable of resolving the difference or your ears aren't what they I've were (like mine) then spending thousands on a DAC may not be wise. For my hearing and system I was able to achieve a very noticeable improvement in sound quality with the modestly priced Fosi. I'm not here too sell you one or argue with you though, so by so means don't get one of you don't want one!

[@GeirRssaak]

​matt, thank you!

[@GeirRssaak]

The DAC s can never outperform the cd-sacd formats! Stop promoting snakeoil!

[@mattsmusichannel]

The DAC can't outperform the format. That's not how any of this works. The DAC can only convert the information from digital to analogue. The differences between DACs are purely down to the way that is done. If you think all DACs sound the same then that's up to you. You happen to be wrong, but since you accuse me of promoting snake oil I don't see any point in attempting to change your mind lol.

[@GeirRssaak]

Dear matt! You might be right, but i have a solid education from Stanford California and Oslo university. I still think you are promoting snakeoil!