What is the average life expectancy of a DAC?

@aamiransari
1st, I commend you for asking a good question! Some of the questions in this forum are, well, let’s say interesting. And sometimes the comments are unhelpful. I appreciated several of the responses to your question.
2nd, I’m not an expert nor an audio engineer.
3rd, I have done a lot of research and have spent substantial $$ on both a headphone system (amps & DACs and MQA) and a stereo system (McIntosh, high end speakers...). I read countless reviews, watched innumerable youtube reviews, and focused on so-called top-rated DACs. I have purchased and A-B tested several. I ended up settling on the NAD C658 (around $1600) and the Topping D90 MQA (around $800) for my headphone set up (Sennheisers, Focals, and Shure 846s). In my experience the past year +, I’ve concluded at the rate of DAC entries, they will be an evolving tech (clock rates, chipsets, MQA or not, other enhancements yet to come). At some level, $500 - $1500 may not be that big of a price tag for a component that you may enjoy for 3-5 years. More specifically, are you a person who enjoys the audiophile hobby and looks to upgrade items over time?
4th, one factor that I settled on (and this, too, is debated. Heck, everything in the audiophile world is debated!) was balanced connections. I wanted XLR balanced connections and that narrows the field some.
Last, I was seriously tempted to buy the Holo-May DAC until I watch Zeos’ review. It was at once good and also hysterical. Some of the comments to Zeos’ review were spot on. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOqgEJVvld0&t=1966s As always, the proof is in your listening experience / enjoyment. Hope you find what you want!

Commended for asking a good question?
How do you know when it reaches its expiration? 
Does it get moldy like bread?

jasonbourne52

Nobody can tell a $100 DAC from a $1000 DAC if they listen blindfolded

That’s an interesting claim. Please tell us about your listening tests that have led you to this conclusion.

Here’s a 140 page read on the topic. Many more on the same site and around the web. The only folks who can ever tell the difference are doing sighted or otherwise biased “tests”.


https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/serious-question-how-can-dacs-have-a-soun...

larshepping

The only folks who can ever tell the difference are doing sighted or otherwise biased “tests” ...

And you claim this based on the work of ASR and its obvious agenda? You might want to see if you can participate in some actual blind testing yourself. You might be surprised what you learn!

Just curious how everyone thinks about FPGA systems like the PS Audio Direct Stream versus chip based D/A systems.  Does the ability to modify the system via a software update give FPGA systems a longer significant lifetime and therefore do they warrant a higher used price?