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Question about Burr Brown DACs

I am a bit confused about the different Burr Brown DACs and how they relate to the overall sound of a player. Currently the Burr Brown 1790 seems to be in use in many universal units like the Denon 2900 and 5900. In Stereophile's recent review of the Musical Fidelity DAC it mentioned that it used the latest Burr Brown DAC - the 1792. I took a quick look at the Burr Brown website and they make mention of a new generation chip - the 1796.

So my question is...

Is the newer DAC an indication of potentially "better sound"? In other words does a 1792 DAC make a 1790 sonically obsolete and likewise does the new 1796 make the 1792 yesterday's news? Would an upcoming stock unit with a 1796 make a modded unit based around a 1792 DAC sound ancient?

If the 1796 is going to be a sonic improvement over the 1790 I would assume it will start cropping up in new players. I am currently using a CEC transport and Audiomeca Enkiathus DAC but I am interested in migrating over to a universal player (perhaps a modified unit like the Exemplar Denon 2900 or the Goldmund Eidos 18) but I'm not in a rush...I'm getting great sounds but I always want better.

Are significantly better sounding units on the horizon?
lasercd
audioengr
3,282 posts
 
There is no guarantee that a better chip will sound better in a particular design. A poor board layout and parts choice can easily make a better DAC sound worse than an older generation DAC.
slappy
903 posts
 
A newer model does not always mean better sound, it might produce identical sound but do it more effieciently, cost effectivly, and with less power. There is also a good thance that the improvement is so slight that nobody could tell.

If you had a system with 3 identical sources with identical setup, but one had the 1970 DAC, one with the 1972, and one with the 1976, and some Golden-Eared superguy sat there and took a listen, i doubt he would be able to tell the difference each time. If he was actually able to nail which DAC he was listening to with over 70% accuracy, i would eat all three sources.
:)
sean
6,231 posts
 
Audioengr: Thanks for posting a simple and to the point answer.

Slappy: You should only make such an offer if you have a really good appetite or to those that have severe hearing loss / don't know how to fully utilize the hearing that they have : )

Lasercd: Obviously, technology in this area is moving ahead at a great rate. Whether or not a designer / manufacturer knows how to fully impliment that technology is another matter.

Having said that, it is not uncommon for even the designer / manufacturer of an integrated circuit to be up in the air about what makes their design perform optimally and what hinders performance. This is what R&D ( research & development ) by the company using this product has to determine. There are many products using the same or quite similar parts that produce very different results, both sonically and measurably.

If you wait for the latest and greatest, you'll be waiting forever. Technology and use of that technology is ever expanding and ever changing. Sean
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