This post is the first in our series: A Deeper Dive into DACS written by our founder, Scott Bierfeldt.
In our last post, I tactfully avoided answering the question, “What is the best DAC in the market?" as I truly believe that there are many “bests” depending on your systems and taste. However, I do believe there are some standard steps you can take on your journey to buying the best DAC for you. Below I outlined the best way to approach buying a DAC and would love to hear from you if you have any other ways you may prep to buy an expensive piece of equipment. - Scott
How to choose a DAC
When choosing a DAC, there are multiple factors you should consider in terms of sound, along with practical things like input and features that you want or need. We covered a chunk of this in our last Blog Post, “What is the Best DAC?” Today we want to cover the process of narrowing down the dozens of units available to get to the optimal choice for you
Why so many options?
Recently I had a conversation with one of my distributors and he commented that we carry too many DACs. My argument back was that each of our brands meets a different consumer need either in terms of price, sound or feature set.
The first thing you need to do is decide what you want in terms of feature set. Here are a few questions you should ask yourself:
- Are you looking for a full preamp with DAC and phono stage?
- Are you looking for a DAC plus streamer?
- Do you need a volume control?
- What about DSPs?
- Are you a purist or do you want to tweak your sound?
Once you settle on the feature set you want, then sound profile matters. However, sound profile only matters in the context of your system. I can tell you a product is warm, neutral or bright and that is true independently of your system. The tonal balance of your system will dictate the right choice.
If your system is laid back or a little dark, a bright DAC will help add top end energy and bring things more into balance. If your system is currently bright, that same DAC could make it ear bleeding.
How to prep for shopping
When you are ready to start shopping, the first thing you should do is really listen to your system. Play a wide range of tracks. Some bright, some laid back, different styles of music, some you may not even listen to frequently. Take notes about things you like and don’t like -- even pick out small moments that you may like and or dislike.
For example, there are horns at the end of “Take the Long Way Home” from Supertramp. In the wrong system, this is painful and so in your face I need to lean back. In the right system, it is amazing. Pick songs that you love and hate to listen to and try and identify what you think is right and wrong. Bring that to the conversation when you shop. This is not just for DACs. This should be done for every part of your system. The problem might also not be tone. It might be you want more detail or a better image. Prepping your likes and dislikes and being able to explain what you want to be different will help immensely in terms of narrowing the field of available products.
We are also going to need to know the components of your current system your listening behavior, layout of your room, and anything else that you think might be relevant. Having this all ready will help make an informed choice and when you want to demo an item, it radically increases the likelihood of getting it right.
Budget is critical here as well. When working with someone, my goal is to help you find the best unit possible within the price range you are looking at. I really try not to deviate up as that is not fair. If you come to me and say this is my cap, it is our job to help you within those parameters.
There is no hard, fast rule as to what percentage your DAC should be in terms of spend for your system. That said, I have found DACs to be a relatively big variable in terms of component and you can reap benefits of nicer units even in moderate systems.
We have done a lot of research in advance and want to arm you with as much information as possible. Check out this link on Audiogon where we have evaluated dozens of DACs. This testing was done on the same system for quite a long time and we actively recalibrated when I moved to a new system. Again, no desire to say what is best but what each unit sounds like so we can help you make the right choice.