On Mon, 2005-11-28 at 22:22 -0800, Brad Smith wrote: > I want to jump in here with a more beginner level question...
Beginners always welcome. But be warned, this can be an adiction > when you > are referring to an external DAC, I assume you mean using the optical > out to process it by another device, such as a receiver. When audiophiles talk about an external DAC, they mean an external box that just does Digial to Analog Conversion. Whether the optical or SPDIF wire is used is a separate issue. It usually does not mean a receiver, at least a mass market receiver. An example of a mass market receiver is the Sony that I use in my home theater. It does audio and video switching, converts AC3 using an optical link to 5.1, and includes 6 channels of 70 watt amplification. It cost about $400. The DAC in such a box is aimed at voices in dialog, some background music and wild explosions. Audiophile level quality is not in the design criteria. An audiophile DAC example is a Benchmark DAC-1, it costs $1000. You put digial in, and get stereo audio out. With it, you still need an amplifier. HTH -- Pat http://www.pfarrell.com/music/slimserver/slimsoftware.html _______________________________________________ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
