giant3 t1_jdmvkmx wrote on March 25, 2023 at 4:09 PM

Reply to comment by hurtyewh in What does a high end DAC really offer? by hurtyewh

The highest quality DACs are only around $10 in 1k units. With components+testing+profit, a very high-end unit like JDS Element is only $450.

What does it offer? Pitch-black background,neutral sound and sufficient power for any headphone.

A high quality DAC is transparent and doesn't colour the sound.

hurtyewh OP t1_jdmysrz wrote on March 25, 2023 at 4:32 PM

Well DAC chips yes, but those can of course be implemented very poorly or very well. A good $50 dongle DAC seems indistinguishable from the cheap Toppings etc which measure far better than most TOTL DACs and the JDS Element.

giant3 t1_jdn2wm4 wrote on March 25, 2023 at 5:01 PM

I agree. Even $75 DAC from FiiO or iBasso is good enough and you don't need anything more.

I was answering the, "What does it offer?" In general, higher quality DACs offer extremely low distortion even at low digital volume levels while cheaper DACs measure very well at 0dBFS, but degrade at -30 or -40 dBFS.