What's DAC? (1 Viewer)

[Ferdinand*T]

I'm researching DVD players and I read people mentioning and comparing DAC chips and what not but what does this mean? Now lets see if I'm right. DAC stands for Digital Audio Converter right? This basically convert the data from a DVD or CD into analog which is what you hear right? If this is the case would a higher quality DAC have a better sound? Right now I'm looking at the Denon DVD-2200 and the Denon DVD-2900. I guess the 2200 uses a standard 1791 DAC chip and the 2900 uses custom DAC chips which is suppose to give you a better sound. Least that's what I got from it all. Help me understand. :frowning:

 

[Michael Reuben]

Digital Audio Converter

Not quite. It's digital-to-analog converter. DVD players have both audio and video DACs.

M.

 

[John Garcia]

DAC = Digital to Analog (D/A) Converter. Receivers have DACs too.

Yes, the DACs are one of the most important things that will determine the quality of the sound from a given unit. The 2900 uses multiple Burr-Brown DACs, which are very nice. The 2900 is one of the best sounding units I've listened to, and I have been wanting to get one since it came out, it's just a little more than I'd like to pay right now. The shop I went to did not have a 2200 hooked up for me to listen to for comparison with SACD though, so I can't comment on it. I may just pick up a 2200 this weekend, take it home and listen to it for a few days to see if it is any good, or if I will hold out for a sale on the 2900.

I looked up the 2900 and also found that the DACs are 192/24 (kHz/bitrate), and I am guessing the 2200 uses 96/24 DACs, so that will also make a difference in sound quality.