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dac chip vs analog stage as to sonic impact

when buying a cd player or dac, which has more impact on the sound of the component, the dac chip or the analog stage ?

to what extent can a tube analog stage "offset" the effects of a dac chip ?

if one were to assign a percentage contribution to the dac and analog stage as to the affect upon the overall sound, what might the numbers look like ?
mrtennis

Showing 2 responses by aplhifi

aplhifi
515 posts
 
"if one were to assign a percentage contribution to the dac and analog stage as to the affect upon the overall sound, what might the numbers look like?"

70% DAC

30% Analog stage

Regards,
Alex
aplhifi
515 posts
 
Mrtennis, that is exactly correct. Masking inferior digital design and DACs with tubed analog stage sounds really bad indeed, IMHO.

At the same time, carefully designed digital with an appropriate DAC can do miracles with just a few Op Amps and all solid state output buffer.

Of course, the "real deal" (for me) is superior digital/DAC design combined with fast and transparent tube output stage.

Regards,
Alex
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