Is BurrBrown DAC comes with Yamaha Receiver Any Good?

[skaveesh]

Yes, analog inputs to the avr can bypass the avr's dac, all digital would use the internal dac of the avr(hdmi, optical, coax, usb, internet/wifi) but as was said you'd have an ADC and DAC conversion in the background using any dsp. So just set the sound mode for the content accordingly. I have used avr dacs for a long time, they're quite good in that they are transparent....

Thank you for the response. what does it meant to be transparent in this context?

Amir mentioned in one review that the DAC wouldn't limit the amplifier performance with a SINAD of 10db better than the amplifier. The context was measuring the pre-out of an AVR and its internal amplifier. The scale is logarithmic so the better DAC performance quickly becomes negligible and there are probably negligible differences from lower than a 10db difference. My impression is that a system always falls down to the level of the lowest component so a sick DAC can't fix a weak amplifier or poorly performing speakers. The room and listening position is also huge of course.

Thank you for the response. My current DAC is not a very good one. So I'll get this AVR and use it with HDMI, so it'll use it's inbuilt DAC

 

[AnalogSteph]

Thank you for the response. what does it meant to be transparent in this context?

They work as well as any other decent DAC within the limits of human hearing. You shouldn't be able to tell one apart from a theoretical ideal, perfect DAC.

I wouldn't trust every DAC equally above 0 dBFS, but that's taken care of easily enough with 2-3 dB of digital attenuation if need be.

 

[Chrispy]

Thank you for the response. what does it meant to be transparent in this context?

Like AnalogSteph said. It means the DAC does it's job basically. It's a solved issue for quite a while in general. You can chase the best engineering/specs but when they're beyond audibility, does it really matter?

 

[Jdunk54nl]

I am not a fan of pure direct.
It eliminates all the work I did with the PEQ in my aventage a-1000.
Also eliminates bass management and my sub is better at playing.

my MIL purchased a new Yamaha last month (one of the 5.1 v series) and the ypao definitely improved her sound too. It doesn’t have a PEQ like my aventage (at least not that I found) but still did a decent job.

 

[GD Fan]

My suggestion is if you're going to stick with playing music from your computer, get an outboard DAC because you may well notice an improvement. If you want to switch to an AVR just let it use its built in DAC and save yourself the brain damage. Your time / money in that case are probably better spent on an AVR with sufficient enough pre-outs to add a good amp.

Either way, happy listening and welcome to the forum.

 

[skaveesh]

They work as well as any other decent DAC within the limits of human hearing. You shouldn't be able to tell one apart from a theoretical ideal, perfect DAC.

I wouldn't trust every DAC equally above 0 dBFS, but that's taken care of easily enough with 2-3 dB of digital attenuation if need be.

Thank you for the reply. Then I'm gonna stick with this AVR's DAC for a while

Like AnalogSteph said. It means the DAC does it's job basically. It's a solved issue for quite a while in general. You can chase the best engineering/specs but when they're beyond audibility, does it really matter?

thank you for the reply. of course it doesn't if it can't be heard

I am not a fan of pure direct.
It eliminates all the work I did with the PEQ in my aventage a-1000.
Also eliminates bass management and my sub is better at playing.

my MIL purchased a new Yamaha last month (one of the 5.1 v series) and the ypao definitely improved her sound too. It doesn’t have a PEQ like my aventage (at least not that I found) but still did a decent job.

Thank you for the reply. It's great to hear that v series also cable of good output

My suggestion is if you're going to stick with playing music from your computer, get an outboard DAC because you may well notice an improvement. If you want to switch to an AVR just let it use its built in DAC and save yourself the brain damage. Your time / money in that case are probably better spent on an AVR with sufficient enough pre-outs to add a good amp.

Either way, happy listening and welcome to the forum.

Thank you for the reply. I will use this AVR for music and also movies through HDMI from my laptop. This AVR is the only thing that I could find where I live. If I import it will have like 50% tax on that in this period.

 

[Vasr]

One caveat, even though most modern DAC chips are pretty good (even the motherboard onboard chips from Realtek or Cmedia) with noise and distortion in the range of about 90 to 120, there seems to be a loose (but not perfect) correlation between use of cheaper DAC chips and the quality of the analog circuitry that accompanies it primarily because the lower bar for goals go hand in hand or the analog section may be designed to color sound based on the target audience (exaggerated lows, highs etc). May result in audible artifacts due to interference, crosstalk, IMD distortion, etc., or in tonal balance.

 

[skaveesh]

One caveat, even though most modern DAC chips are pretty good (even the motherboard onboard chips from Realtek or Cmedia) with noise and distortion in the range of about 90 to 120, there seems to be a loose (but not perfect) correlation between use of cheaper DAC chips and the quality of the analog circuitry that accompanies it primarily because the lower bar for goals go hand in hand or the analog section may be designed to color sound based on the target audience (exaggerated lows, highs etc). May result in audible artifacts due to interference, crosstalk, IMD distortion, etc., or in tonal balance.

I need to study on what you have mentioned here; crosstalk, IMD distortion etc. Thank you for the reply.

 

[BDWoody]

Thank you for the response. what does it meant to be transparent in this context?

Think of it like looking through a glass window. Assuming grades of glass clarity, at some point along the line, you won't notice any more clarity. You could buy the most super-special ultra pure glass, but it won't make the sunset or kids playing in the yard any more clear, as your eye can only resolve to a certain limit.

DAC's and electronics in general got to that 'transparent' place a couple decades ago. Those who make claims of massive improvements from one decent DAC to another (or cable, or whatever) are almost certainly making those comparisons in a completely uncontrolled way, meaning they aren't accounting for the very real and insidious human biases that effect us all. A volume matched blind test with music in any normal listening environment will make most differences disappear, unless something is wrong or broken.

Basically... Don't worry as much about stuff without moving parts. Focus on your speakers and room (with room correction software and/or physical treatments).

 

[skaveesh]

Think of it like looking through a glass window. Assuming grades of glass clarity, at some point along the line, you won't notice any more clarity. You could buy the most super-special ultra pure glass, but it won't make the sunset or kids playing in the yard any more clear, as your eye can only resolve to a certain limit.

DAC's and electronics in general got to that 'transparent' place a couple decades ago. Those who make claims of massive improvements from one decent DAC to another (or cable, or whatever) are almost certainly making those comparisons in a completely uncontrolled way, meaning they aren't accounting for the very real and insidious human biases that effect us all. A volume matched blind test with music in any normal listening environment will make most differences disappear, unless something is wrong or broken.

Basically... Don't worry as much about stuff without moving parts. Focus on your speakers and room (with room correction software and/or physical treatments).

Thank you for the nice explanation. And yes, I'm willing to do more on the room correction with acoustic treatments. Thanks again

 

[Astrozombie]

thanks for the suggestion. but Aventage is way beyond my current budget

I bought mine used. Planning on adding an Amp later. Though they now say Denon is better for this these days.

 

[skaveesh]

I bought mine used. Planning on adding an Amp later. Though they now say Denon is better for this these days.

I have brought vintage stereo amplifier which is made 45years ago. no issues on that, buying used ones.

but when it comes to AV receivers I've a concern buying used ones because more functionalities means more issues

 

[valerianf]

I got a Yamaha RX-A700 which use a Burr Brown PCM1681 (105dB typical, THD+noise 0.002% typical).
I am fully satisfied with the sound quality.
When I will update the AVR I will be careful to buy an Aventage that have better DAC.

 

[skaveesh]

I got a Yamaha RX-A700 which use a Burr Brown PCM1681 (105dB typical, THD+noise 0.002% typical).
I am fully satisfied with the sound quality.
When I will update the AVR I will be careful to buy an Aventage that have better DAC.

Yeah Premium Receivers comes with premium price. I would like a Aventage too. but......