Does a DAC need a large/strong power supply?


I see these inexpensive DACs on ASR that get great reviews, but people say they're not that good because of a weak power supply. Is this mostly true? Does a DAC sound better with an overkill power supply?

koestner

Showing 2 responses by audphile1

@tuberist Send it to Amir and find out exactly how badly you got screwed with this DAC. You could’ve just bought a $99 Chinese reference DAC that measures perfectly. Also, don’t forget to dig into that storage bin to pull some basic audio cables that came with your vcr 30 years ago. They’re just as good as high end cables. All you gotta do is just peel that yellow video cable off the RCA L/R and your all set!

ASR created a following of minions who like their opinions to be formed for them by someone else. Amir’s tests and measurements are questionable as he strives to “debunk” the high end “myths” and that’s how he gets his subcribers/audience.
In most cases no listening tests are done outside of an occasional comparison using headphones connected to his “reference “ $1000 DAC (I question the validity of this as well) and it’s very predictable what the outcome of each of his reviews is going to be. 

As for the power supply size, I’m no EE, but from my experience implementation is key. I don’t think you can generalize this into one definitive answer. I’ve owned components with switch-mode power supply, wall wart adapters that sounded better than the same type component with toroidal power supply. Just my $0.02