What does a DAC do?

N

Nick_Leo

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Jun 26, 2007
Messages
1,631
i was reading about spaceman and his little dac and i was wondering what does it exactly do? I have a panny xr-55 and im wondering what i can do to make it better sounding?
 
A digital to analog converter does just that- converts digital sound data into analog. The idea is simply that you're spending money on a specific component, compared to a collection of parts in a receiver.

However, since the xr-55 is a digital receiver, you're better off allowing it to work with a digital signal than analog due to extraneous conversions.
 
Your audio files are in a digital format. Speakers and Headphones output sound in an analog format. That means that somewhere along the line, the digital signal has to be converted to analog. A separate DAC has the advantage that you can use the same (presumably high-quality) DAC chip regardless of your setup and change sources and amplification without worrying about that component. It's most often used because, for instance, most computer sound cards have overall crappy DACs and piping a digital signal to an outboard DAC can improve the sound if your speakers are good enough to differentiate.
 
illgiveumorality said:
A digital to analog converter does just that- converts digital sound data into analog. The idea is simply that you're spending money on a specific component, compared to a collection of parts in a receiver.

However, since the xr-55 is a digital receiver, you're better off allowing it to work with a digital signal than analog due to extraneous conversions.
Click to expand...

That doesn't make sense, just because it's a digital receiver doesn't mean the signal remains in digital the whole way through. It still functions as any other receiver and has its own DAC and converts said digital signal into analog which is then amplified by the digital circuit.
 
Pinipig523 said:
That doesn't make sense, just because it's a digital receiver doesn't mean the signal remains in digital the whole way through. It still functions as any other receiver and has its own DAC and converts said digital signal into analog which is then amplified by the digital circuit.
Click to expand...

That doesn't make sense, either - an analog signal cannot be amplified by a digital circuit. The digital circuit may control how much amplification the analog amps provide, but that's it.

Yes, I realize that's probably what you meant, but what you said was very confusing.
 
Nick_Leo said:
i was reading about spaceman and his little dac and i was wondering what does it exactly do? I have a panny xr-55 and im wondering what i can do to make it better sounding?
Click to expand...

Make sure the connection from your PC to the receiver is digital - that's about it. If you're using analog then the receiver is performing double conversion, which will result in the loss of some of the signal's quality.

An external, stand-alone DAC has the advantage of using a better DAC chip and op-amps for the analog output stage. A good DAC will have better error correction and conversion resolution then a cheap DAC.

Also, another tip would be to look at the termination of your speaker cables, bare wires will oxidize and reduce the quality of the signal. Soldering a banana plug or spade (bananas preferred, if the speakers/receiver supports them) to the ends of your cables will help.
 
Pinipig523 said:
That doesn't make sense, just because it's a digital receiver doesn't mean the signal remains in digital the whole way through. It still functions as any other receiver and has its own DAC and converts said digital signal into analog which is then amplified by the digital circuit.
Click to expand...

If he feeds the xr-55 analog, it converts it to digital and then back, if I'm not mistaken.
 
i have a coxail or whatever from my x-fi smart jack to the coxail digitial input on my xr-55. Im thinking about going higher end so im wondering if like dac and stuff are worth it over my xr-55.
 
Nick_Leo said:
i have a coxail or whatever from my x-fi smart jack to the coxail digitial input on my xr-55. Im thinking about going higher end so im wondering if like dac and stuff are worth it over my xr-55.
Click to expand...

You'd be better off getting a better set of speakers, but I'm not sure what you mean by 'higher end'. If you want to get a significantly better system then you're looking at spending some serious cash.
 
A receiver is a preamp/processor and amplifier in one.

Basically if you want to upgrade your DAC you have to ditch your Panny.

The problem is its hard to find a good processor/preamp. A commercial pre-amp with a top-shelf a top-shelf DAC probably costs several grand by my reckoning. Most of the pre/pros under around $1000 don't even have $10 DACs in them, which is fairly sad. The $7000 AVP-A1 Denon processor/preamp only has the Ti PCM1796 DAC which has a 20.5bit SNR. Ti has several DACs that are superior (one that goes up to 22bit SNR...and costs $13).

I'd be more than willing to pay $1000 for a competent DIY project that can make a good pre-pro with top shelf components instead of skimping on everything save for a pretty (and costly) heavy steel case and the nameplate.
 
no, you can still upgrade and keep the panny. What I have is a usb to digital converter. It basically improves/cleans the signal coming from the pc. The result is more detail and overall better sound.

Your Panny has a pretty good dac already.

The upgrade would be worth it b/c it is one that you should keep for a long time while upgrading the rest of your gear.

Trends Audio TD-10 is what I use.

I also suggest the Lite Dac Ah with passive mods for the best bang for the buck stereo dac out there atm.
 
I don't get it, guys.

If he buys an external DAC, he's going to get worse performance on the specific receiver he has. No matter what, the sound is going to end up going through the XR-55's DAC, it's just a matter of how much it has to go through before that.
 
I was not implying that he should purchase an external dac. Sorry if that was unclear. I was suggesting that the Trend TD-10 would improve the SQ overall with his existing setup as well as future stereos.
 
spaceman said:
I was not implying that he should purchase an external dac. Sorry if that was unclear. I was suggesting that the Trend TD-10 would improve the SQ overall with his existing setup as well as future stereos.
Click to expand...

I don't get it... what are you implying then?
 
I can't find any info online to support this belief, but doesn't 6-channel direct RCA input go directly to the amp and skips the DSP?

If that is the case, if you don't mind losing 6-channel direct capacity and just want to listen to music, it would be a good choice. Of course if you are like me and use the PC as a media center, I don't want to bother switching receiver sources constantly (not to mention enabling and disabling "USB speaker")

Of course this is sort of moot point the DAC on the Panny is very very good, at least according to Sound & Vision the PCM conversion is excellent. It bests the HK AVR-347, the Yamaha RX-V661, and the Denon AVR2308. All of which, are much more expensive (but with more features) than the Panny.
 
You know, I think you should just stick with the Panny and scrap the outboard DAC idea. Unless you have enough money to spend on a good quality DAC or have speakers that are resolving enough to flaunt the new improvement, I would say just stick with the Panny.

It's a waste of money.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top