The Need for a DAC

What is a DAC? Why do I need one? And what makes a good DAC?

All these questions answered and more in this video, including the importance of a good DAC and how a Cambridge Audio DAC can improve the sound of your music.

[stevebirmingham]

Some very informative short video clips at a level which a non technical person can make sense of, its a shame more hifi companies dont do the same thanks cambridge your doing a great job as well as producing some outstanding equipment, your video clips help to explain the technology very clever.

[MykeHawke-rr]

Dude, I just liked and subscribed to this video just because I had a Cambridge audio when I was younger, and I haven't seen them in a while

[XFileWrightonite]

The main factor in sound quality in playback is not Just the DAC itself - but the output stage. You can take the same DAC's - and install them in two different CD players - and you very well might get different sounding results based on not only the power supplies used in the units - but what type of output stage was used. YES - Everything in the chain has an effect on the final sound. This - I believe - (IMO) is why some people say - oh I like the sound of a CS4398 or PCM7155 over the WM8740 - it may not Just be The Chip set itself - but rather - the output stages of those paticualuar DAC's.

[woopygoman]

Solid science, no bs. Thumbs up!

The digital filter is indeed a big part of what differentiates one USB DAC from another.

[wesleyleigh]

honestly the more metal boxes of various sizes that I own the saner i feel which seems off

[chrisferrett]

Is the black box still worthwhile? I just bought an axr100 amp and wondered if the yrs past have made the internal one in the amp better than my old one?

[ApsterP]

I have a pair of speakers (Argon 7460A) and I've found out it has a DAC inside of the active speaker. Will I be able to buy a DAC and hook it up to my speakers through the RCA output and still achieve a better sound quality?

[robinmurray]

I have a Cambridge CD player with twin Wolafson DACs. Am I going to notice any difference if I upgrade to and external DAC like the Dacmagic? Or is that pretty much the same DAC?

[stevenbond]

What’s your honest opinion on the DAC that is in my Arcam fun receiver? Do you still suggest Cambridge for far superior sound or is it just not enough audible difference to buy additional DAC

[dodibenabba]

Surely from your TV you can just run a digital optical cable to the back of an amplifier and use the dac in that??

[HeavyProfessor]

But isn't there a point where filtering becomes pointless because it will have no effect on the sound anymore?

[rookiexreviews]

very intresting subject facts are facts not sure how theres such a argument

[jamieanderson]

I don't buy the "lower the jitter the better the sound". DACs can sound hugely different from one another but I don't think jitter specs have any influence whatsoever.

[Catasmith]

Hello! I`ve buyed recently one piece of AudioTechnica AVC500 and i dont have an dedicated sound card on my pc. The sound experience is the worst i ever listen ..but.. soon.. is coming the DAC FiiO E10K. Could this make my headset Hi-Fi to sound great than without a sound card?

[JustinMurrayfin]

@ Cambridge Audio ~ I like your videos, subbed & all that jazz but so far I've yet to see you answer a single question in the comments section which suggests to me that your customer care is, well frankly lacking & to that end I will make a concerted effort to never purchase any of your products.

[Grassy_Gnoll]

Show an example of jitter, please. It's a Boogeyman that nobody has ever seen. I'll not hold my breath since this point has been made for decades. I think the first CD players had jitter issues, but nothing since. Show me a DAC I can buy right now that will show this jitter.

[notimput]

Again, a bad explanation by Cambridge Audio: analog-to-digital conversion CREATES extra data outside the audible band?? Analog to digital conversion only creates sampling points at where ever the input analog signal happens to be at the point of sampling. Aliasing, as you are trying (but failing) to explain, happens, because the incoming analog signal contains frequencies ABOVE the so-called Nyquist frequency, which is at half the sampling sampling frequency (24kHz @48kHz sampling rate). You need to filter the incoming ANALOG signal BEFORE converting it to a sampled digital representation, because you'd otherwise get aliasing.

Yet, all this does not even touch on the DAC (the digital-to-analog converter, or, the opposite of the previous process, the ADC, I just wrote about). You just make a quantum cognitive leap from (incorrectly) explaining why filtering at analog-to-digital (ADC) conversion is necessary and then conclude that filtering at the DAC side is necessary. This is complete corporate BS!

While you are right to say, that low-pass filtering after the DAC is also good practice, it is not as necessary and does not cause any aliasing (as far as the digital domain is concerned). EDIT: high frequencies produced by a DAC are called imaging frequencies and are an essential part of the But, I want to see a regular hi-fi speaker that is able to produce ultra-sounds, because this is where these imaging frequencies would lie with a signal sampled at 44.1kHz or 48kHz. If you're afraid ultra-low energy ultra sounds (f>20kHz) might cause problems in your speakers (which they should naturally filter due to their relatively high mass in relation to these tiny wavelengths), then, yes, be sure to filter you DAC output properly. Any potential corruption done to the signal during or after conversion from digital to analog has to do with poor equipment AFTER the DAC or a faulty DAC itself. A cheap DAC still reconstructs the sampled values faithfully unless it is so trash I cannot correctly associate the digital values to the correct voltage amplitude.

What you should have explained instead is how expensive DACs use better word clocks (no mention of clocks when talking about jitter) and apply complicated interpolation algorithms to combat quantisation noise and return to a more truthful representation with a higher SNR (it always only mostly comes down to noise floors that are way below audible levels even in complete silence).

No one should take these videos as "educative". They are misleading and should be taken down.

[mypicks]

I have yhama home theater.... actually i need a dac

[Lobo]

A cd player that cost $1500 dollars need a separate DAC ????

Get a turntable and a tube amplifier, no need for expensive DAC, vinyl sounds better. Vinyl, tube amp and our ears are ANALOG.