Bottlehead Forum

Other Gear => Digital => Topic started by: BNAL on October 15, 2009, 04:10:36 PM

Title: Can't wait until this is in the Bottlehead Kits catagory
Post by: BNAL on October 15, 2009, 04:10:36 PM

Looking forward to that day.

Title: Re: Can't wait until this is in the Bottlehead Kits catagory
Post by: Geek on October 15, 2009, 04:21:05 PM

We could use a nice DAC, yes ;)

Cheers!

Title: Re: Can't wait until this is in the Bottlehead Kits catagory
Post by: groomster on August 05, 2011, 03:59:51 PM

Enjoying my crack with pleasure!!!!!!!  Still new to the audio world.  Could someone please explain what a DAC is/ does?...... Also, any chance that bottlehead will have an affordable DAC kit in the future or is there already one?  

Doing a quick search on Ebay... will this work with my crack? (lol).... DAC PCM2706 (I2S) + CS4398 USB DAC Kit WLX-3 (roughly $22 dollars)    (will it improve the sound quality???)  (I'm currently only listening to music on my computer via I-tunes.)

R/  Groomster

Title: Re: Can't wait until this is in the Bottlehead Kits catagory
Post by: Mr. Davis on August 05, 2011, 04:10:08 PM

Quote from: groomster on August 05, 2011, 03:59:51 PM

Enjoying my crack with pleasure!!!!!!!  Still new to the audio world.  Could someone please explain what a DAC is/ does?.bottlehead will have an affordable DAC kit in the future or is there already one?  



R/  Groomster

Here is my beginners explanation of a DAC.  A DAC is a digital to analog converter.  Its takes the digital signal from your computer ( i-tunes or foobar 2000) and converts it to an analog signal.  The DAC then sends the analog signal to your headphone amp.

 

Title: Re: Can't wait until this is in the Bottlehead Kits catagory
Post by: groomster on August 06, 2011, 10:43:14 AM

Thank you Mr. Davis!!!  I think I might find a cheap kit on Ebay and see what it will do for sound quality!

Title: Re: Can't wait until this is in the Bottlehead Kits catagory
Post by: porcupunctis on August 07, 2011, 06:09:19 AM

If you are listening to music from your computer through the Crack amp, then you already have a DAC (somewhere).  If you are using a sound card on your computer then the DAC is embedded on that card.  DACs are everywhere in this day and age.  Every digital music music player has one built in, every cell phone, just about any signal processing gear for music or instruments will have a DAC if it is digitally based. 

That being said, not all DACs are created equal.  Some will only convert the basic digital files like the MP3 and MP4/AAC with 16-bit quantization.  These are what you find in portable music players like the ipods and others and here the term "DAC" would be used to refer to the specific microchip used to perform the actual conversion.  Other DACs can handle some amazingly high-resolution files like the 24/96 (and higher) digital files sold at HDtracks and other places.  They also have much more sophisticated analog circuitry and come at a much higher price.  Many of these "DACs" are usually stand-alone units with no storage, just digital-to-analog conversion.  Others provide interface software to control your computer library (like the Logitech series) and still others offer storage space for your music files (think super-fancy desktop-sized mp3 player).  Here the term "DAC" is used more generically for the whole device.

In a quality audio system, the DAC can make quite a difference indeed.  It will be well worth your time to do lots of research first.  Become and expert, then make an informed decision based on your needs, budget, etc.