how many DACs are out there?

[Sal1950]

(a lot, it turns out)

Probably a thousand +

 

[HarmonicTHD]

yes, home hifi only.
It basically came from me looking to buy a new DAC / streamer, so I wanted to know what was out there..
(a lot, it turns out)

Yep. And that is not really a new insight as some posters already pointed out when referring to the many DACs which have been measured and reviewed on this site. Therefore this sites ranking list gives you an indication which DACs to weed out and to safely choose a DAC which performs state of the art and which you can choose based solely on your feature and budget requirements. But to each it’s own.

 

[pma560]

Yep. And that is not really a new insight as some posters already pointed out when referring to the many DACs which have been measured and reviewed on this site. Therefore this sites ranking list gives you an indication which DACs to weed out and to safely choose a DAC which performs state of the art and which you can choose based solely on your feature and budget requirements. But to each it’s own.

Yes, thanks.

This is the page, really: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...lList?cmd=search&t=electronicsall&psearch=dac

 

[HarmonicTHD]

Yes, thanks.

This is the page, really: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...lList?cmd=search&t=electronicsall&psearch=dac

Yep. Filtering is a bit cumbersome but that’s it. There is or at least used to be also a bar chart which was easier to read. You might find the bar chart in any recent DAC reviews.

 

[pma560]

There is or at least used to be also a bar chart which was easier to read. You might find the bar chart in any recent DAC reviews.

that huge "SINAD" bar chart?

 

[HarmonicTHD]

that huge "SINAD" bar chart?

Yes. I know. Difficult to read.

 

[Trell]

yes, home hifi only.
It basically came from me looking to buy a new DAC / streamer, so I wanted to know what was out there..
(a lot, it turns out)

Audio interfaces are quite popular as well for desktop hifi as well.

 

[pma560]

Very happy to have found this site

Also love the Youtube videos, by the way, catching up on those now.

Funny how, while watching "Do Audiophile Network Switches Make a Difference",
I get recommended the video "The sound of network switches"

 

[HarmonicTHD]

Also love the Youtube videos, by the way, catching up on those now.

Funny how, while watching "Do Audiophile Network Switches Make a Difference",
I get recommended the video "The sound of network switches"

The forum section Audio Reference Library section contains also very interesting Infos and busts many audio myths in an expertly fashion. For someone like you who is open and willing to consider new / other aspects probably a good source of info.

 

[pma560]

The forum section Audio Reference Library section contains also very interesting Infos and busts many audio myths in an expertly fashion. For someone like you who is open and willing to consider new / other aspects probably a good source of info.

Thanks for the pointer, very useful. Again, happy to have found all this before making a purchase

The sales guy of course rated them in order of price

And likely, also in order of his commission.

This reminds me of a "sales manual" I read ages ago, targeted at sales people in a book store.
Lots of stuff about how to classify a customer as they walk in the door, tricks to steer the conversation with a customer, etc.

There must be something similar for high end audio
(trying to find something online now..)

 

[pma560]

Added 17 (!) more brands (Xindak, Accuphase, Yamaha, Orpheus, Creek, North Star Design,
Boulder, YBA, M-Audio, iBasso, Channel Islands, Singxer, Micromega, AVM, Hawk Audio, Stack Audio, van Medevoort).
(https://the.dac.guide/dac_brands)

I should maybe add a flag for brands that are no longer operating: from the
looks of it, Channel Islands, North Star Design, and Hawk Audio.

For the Chinese brands it is a bit more difficult to find company info.
Can someone help me out with the founding years for:

Gustard, Holo Audio, Maverick, Micca, and Okto (CZ) ?

 

[pma560]

13 more added, slowly going crazy

It is sometimes interesting to read the background stories though (I try to dig up the founding year of each brand).


Thinking of training a neural net with the founding stories, so I can auto-generate new ones

It should even be easier to train a net with "audiophile reviews" and make all reviewers obsolete

 

[pma560]

8 more added (Block, Sabaj, Dion, Goldmund, Devialet, MHDT, Spectral, California Audio Labs)

There are many more high-end audio brands than I thought.
It must be a lucrative business.

 

[Count Arthur]

It must be a lucrative business.

Given that the actual chips in many DACs cost somewhere in the region of £5.00 to £50.00 and the finished products are sometimes tens of thousands, there of scope for a significant mark-up.

https://www.mouser.co.uk/c/semiconductors/audio-ics/audio-d-a-converter-ics/?m=ESS%20Technology

 

[pma560]

added a couple more, total stands at 149
(https://the.dac.guide/dac_brands)

Some of them I had listed as being from Hong Kong, updated those to China.

This makes 26 (!) brands from China, almost all founded after 2000
(for 5 companies I could not find a founding year though).

Is it maybe true that a bunch of them are brands from the same company? (Shenzhen?)

Or do many of them just happen to be from Shenzhen?

 

[pma560]

Counter is at 157.

I'm also finding there are relatively many small outfits that produce low volume high priced stuff.

 

[Jimbob54]

added a couple more, total stands at 149
(https://the.dac.guide/dac_brands)

Some of them I had listed as being from Hong Kong, updated those to China.

This makes 26 (!) brands from China, almost all founded after 2000
(for 5 companies I could not find a founding year though).

Is it maybe true that a bunch of them are brands from the same company? (Shenzhen?)

Or do many of them just happen to be from Shenzhen?

Shenzhenaudio is the company that distributes a lot of the Chinese brands. I would imagine, given Shenzhen (the city/ area) has a lot of such manufacturing companies the SA company initially started with brands from that area, hence the name. Linsoul is another company that does similar.

My very simplistic understanding is that the chinese model for such companies isnt the same as the US/ EU. The brands have more of a presence through distributors than either their own site or dealers. "Western" brands seem to have more of a meaningful online and physical presence. Also,some chinese brands sometimes may be no more than a logo sticker or slight twist on a virtually identical model with a different brand on it (see the many variations on the Sendy Aiva headphone- others arent clones, they are literally from the same production line with different colours/ shells from the same core components).

That said, I also believe SMSL, Topping and others do design units unique to them. But then brands like Sabaj I think have links to SMSL- so who knows!

 

[Womaz]

Counter is at 157.

I'm also finding there are relatively many small outfits that produce low volume high priced stuff.

Surely you can make better use of your time
I admire your dedication to the cause but surely just get a shortlist based on the advice above and go from there.
Enjoyed the thread though

 

[pma560]

Surely you can make better use of your time
I admire your dedication to the cause but surely just get a shortlist based on the advice above and go from there.
Enjoyed the thread though

No, absolutely, no real point yet.
I just add a couple every few days or so.

I do enjoy learning a bit more about the market though.
Funny to read how many of the high-end "about us" stories are similar

 

[Sokel]

Rockna is very popular (low)high end also (along with their smaller Audiobyte).