Daft Question re DACs

[doctorf]

Sorry to ask a daft question but my knowledge regarding dacs and bit rates is poor. I use a Creative powered Bluesound N130 which has a dac chip handling up to 32-bit/384kHz.
If I use an external dac which only handles up to 24-bit/192kHz, does that mean it can never sound as good, or is that logic flawed??
I generally listen to Tidal or flac files.
Cheers,

Simon

 

[Dave H.]

There are technical differences between 32/384 and 24/192, but you won’t hear them.

It’s also vanishingly unlikely that you have any files at 32/384, so irrelevant anyway.

I wouldn’t worry, just go with what you like the sound of.

 

[doctorf]

Btw, the dac I’m going to try is an old Musical Fidelity M-Dac which I found in a cupboard.

 

[Dave H.]

Btw, the dac I’m going to try is an old Musical Fidelity M-Dac which I found in a cupboard.

There’s a lot of arguing about DACs if you look hard enough online.

But on a strictly subjective level, old doesn’t necessarily mean bad when it comes to DACs. The one I use is based on a relatively ancient and technically deficient chip (TDA1543). But having compared a fair number of DACs it’s the one I stuck with on sound.

Hope the M-DAC works for you.

 

[Bronzeage]

That logic is, sadly, completely flawed. There are many factors, such as quality of output stage, power supply and many others that affect overall quality. The number of bits the dac chip handles, beyond 16 bits, is probably the least of all factors.

 

[doctorf]

That logic is, sadly, completely flawed. There are many factors, such as quality of output stage, power supply and many others that affect overall quality. The number of bits the dac chip handles, beyond 16 bits, is probably the least of all factors.

Thanks.
That was my understanding, despite the lack of logic.

 

[shevans]

The Bluesound NODE (N130) and any Bluesound device to date only supports bitrates of upto 24/192.

 

[doctorf]

I got my info from ChatGPT!

 

[colasblue]

A dac can only reproduce up to the bit depth and sample frequency of the incoming bitstream irrespective of whether it's capable of handling greater depth or sampling frequency.

CDs are all 16 bit 44.1 Khz so either dac should theoretically give the full available quality and any difference in SQ is down to its implementation.

AFAIK there is virtually no commercially available material at more than 192 Khz 24 bit.

 

[James Evans]

I got my info from ChatGPT!

The danger of assuming information supplied by AI is accurate right there!