dacs are really big diffrents at all ???

Sounds cards are no competition for a good DAC. Not even close.

However, spending at least $1K for a DAC is a good idea if you want to get close to the best sound quality.

Dont expect the USB interface to be excellent however. Very few DACs have good USB interfaces. You can add an outboard USB converter to most DACs that have S/PDIF input to improve the USB interface.

As for your playback software, I recommend you try Foobar2000 with Jplay plug-in in ASIO mode.

Steve N.
Empirical Audio

If you don't hear the difference, it would be silly to spend a lot of money.

Agree with Chayro. There are huge differences, but since you admittedly don't hear them, then why spend the money?

Admittedly, the type of music you listen to, as well as the file format, will contribute to whether a more expensive DAC pays off. I think that if you listen to Van Halen MP3s while you're vacuuming the rug, one DAC is the same as the next. Nothing wrong with Van Halen, mind you -I just don't think it's the kind of music to judge an audio component with. Unless it's sound reinforcement gear. IMO, you need to be listening to acoustic music recorded at full bandwidth (CD quality at least)with some attempt at fidelity to appreciate the difference between a $500 DAC and something more expensive. Then you may hear the spaces between the notes, the accuracy of timbre of the instruments, the small vocalization sounds, etc. I think this kind of stuff matters to a very small percent of the population - although I would think that anyone owning Leben and Devore would be in that group.

Start with an inexpensive, well reviewed DAC (there are plenty) and A/B test (blind ideally) your way up the ladder until you can't tell a difference.

ok first thanks alot for the response. but still my friends you not convince me (i know you dont try) that there is a diffrent between the dacs.
i tell you what dacs i try and how i do my test (tell me if something wrong pls) :
ARCAM RDAC , ORB JADE2 ,CAMBRIDGE AUDIO AZUR 840C ,TEDDY PARDO DAC .first i must say the ORB DAC was really bad sound broken like sick dac lol. then i test rdac and teddy dac connect them to my leben input and switch between them all the time for 1 hour for few days and me and friends and musicall people that was i invite to my house say we not feel no change no diffrent and i say to them the 1 you hear now is arcam coast 450$ and the seconed is teddy dac coast 1500$ and they all say lol for what people throw they money and i say to my self what the all big deal ??
i like to know my friends what you really think and another thing im listen to good music not mp3 i use flac use foobar so dont let feel stupied that i dont know what i m doing and if there abig diffent i need to hear it and its not matter what im hear its bullshit music is music im hear rock soft rock like dire starits ,sting and more like the corrs and more im not hear a classic music so ???
i m sorry if i was alittle bit decisive but im really like to know what i was wrong ?
and i like to know please what you think about this dacs and what your imperssion and what you think on hegel dac is it better then teddy or better then metrum octave mini nos dac ???

decisive

I think you've proven there are no differences between DACs. Nothing else to say. Over and out.

Maybe it's the rest of your system that makes all DACs sound more or less the same. Audition a few at a dealer and see if you notice. If you are happy with the sound you are currently getting then even better, no need to spend more money. Otherwise your remedy may lie outside the DAC.

I think that if you can not hear a difference you should not get one. That's the most important thing. Do not feel as though you're missing something you're not missing. Save your money and buy more music. Enjoy the time you have with your friends and family. I cannot tell the difference in sound with a lot of different tweaks and gear and I consider myself lucky. There's either a great synergy between all your components or you're going deaf.

The ORB DAC sounded different... so they don't all sound the same.

Digital Playback Quality can be summed up in 1 sentence after 30 years:

There are only 2 Designs out there, those which produce Headache and those you can bear for more than 10 minutes.

Price has no influence.

Eugene makes a revelant point. If you are using an inexpensive active preamp, then all bets are off. The distortion, noise and compression caused by this will undoubtedly mask the differences between most DACs.

Replace that thing with a good transformer passive linestage and you will begin to hear the live music.

The digital source jitter is critically important. If you are using an inexpensive CD transport to drive the DAC, this will kill the SQ from the start. Replace it with a more expensive low-jitter transport or with a good computer audio source with low-jitter.

This is like buying a $10 turntable and tonearm and then putting a $100 cartridge on it.

Steve N.
Empirical Audio