What about all those Chinese DACs?

It seems like everywhere I look, there are DACs from China that have these amazing specs on paper. SNR: >133 dB; THD: 0.000004%;

Dynamic Range: 124dB. If you really think about it, these were specs that almost didn't exist outside of pro-audio gear. A lot of these units have chips from ESS, Cirrus Logic, Texas Instruments and very sophisticated conversion circuitry.

So, my question is, what do you all think?

usatran05-02-2026 4:02am

...
71 posts total
View entire discussion

jjss49 Details Discussions Posts This discussion Message User 6,920 posts 05-02-2026 at 04:41am Copy Comment URL Report Comment Edit Delete specs really don’t matter - what does is whether a dac makes music sound good some chinese made dacs sound good, others don’t same for dacs made in other parts of the world
knotscott Details Discussions Posts This discussion Message User 1,384 posts 05-02-2026 at 10:43am Copy Comment URL Report Comment Edit Delete Specs don't tell the whole story. I've heard DACs from Oppo, Topping, Geshelli Labs, SMSL, FiiO, and Wiim that all sounded good.....different, but good. Many can be enhanced with opamp or power supply changes that can be perceived as sounding better, but that would almost certainly change the specs.
sls883 Details Discussions Posts This discussion Message User 1,055 posts 05-02-2026 at 12:17pm Copy Comment URL Report Comment Edit Delete I've had Chinese dacs at various price points. The cheap dacs sound good, but don't perform miracles. The sound quality got better as I moved to more expensive models. My current dac is excellent. I've also heard a LTA Aero dac in my system and it was difficult to pick a favorite. I recently added a new ddc and it really sounds excellent.
mahgister Details Discussions Posts This discussion Message User 15,045 posts 05-02-2026 at 01:11pm Copy Comment URL Report Comment Edit Delete I never succeeded to replace my old NOS SPS TDA 1543 battery French dac by any Chinese one. Anyway i was totally satisfied by my old dac and now i will never change it. It work since 15 years i think. ( i pay it new 20 bucks on Ebay bid sold by Christoph Mariac... who higher his price higher up after ) I like all my low cost Chinese piece of gear ( my Edifier speakers/sub work fine and my Douk tube pre-am /EQ work more than fine for peanuts costs... My other Chinese LPS , DDC, Isolator,Buffers/filters has done miracles for peanuts too... But no Chinese dac i bought (three different one) touch the French minimalistic designed dac...They are all in my trash bin. I am 75 and i want to die with my dac ( plenty of details with absolute musicality and no electronic glare or microscopic clarity resembling artificial light ....) My experience had any meaning only for low cost products, it goes without saying but it is better to say it...
ted_b Details Discussions Posts This discussion Message User 66 posts 05-02-2026 at 01:21pm Copy Comment URL Report Comment Edit Delete The Chinese HiFi industry has certainly advanced DAC development and substantially raised the bar with respect to price/performance value over the past decade or so. The impact this has made on accessibility and the future of HiFi is undeniable. That being said, impressive SINAD figures don't tell us the whole story. A DAC that relies upon op amps and high negative feedback may give impressive measurements, but that doesn't translate into equivalent soundstaging capability or engaging audio performance.