I2S input is good example of such unnecessary extra... Much less useful for general consumer market than direct mode.
While admitting that I’m not entirely clear on how you’re using these terms, I’m not sure that the consumer market and pro market for DACs are all that divergent anymore. Again, DAC technology has exponentially progressed over the last two years, and it’s becoming increasingly unjustified to spend high dollar for a DAC for any implementation anymore.
We’ve seen a slew of reviews on here of late demonstrating one after the other of “perfect” performing DACs, with nuances in measurements that are out of the range of human hearing. I’ve seen plenty of folks trading in their $10,000 DACs of days old for one of Amir’s top ten. The flagship price point has simply dropped as technology has
brought professional grade DA converters to the masses, and this makes sense—the emergence of so many affordable lossless streaming services has made audiophile-grade sound a more universal consumer demand.
This is really what all of my posts have been referring to from the beginning, before things got sidetracked into this RME battle. The advances of just the past 6 months have called into question the adage of “you get what you pay for” when it comes to DACs. And I think a new form of snake oil has become charging DAC consumers outlandish amounts for “prestige” names like PS Audio, Chord or Schiit’s “premium” tier, who make all kinds of arcane claims about their fancy architecture or circuitry, without any evidence to justify the cost. The evidence suggests that the less costly DACs actually measure better.
In regards to the more esoteric features contained in the architecture of “boutique” DACs, especially those in the R2R ladder category, I’m also suggesting the possibility that many of the hallowed design choices of the past, that were allegedly innovated to circumvent the limitations of the DA process in their day, may no longer be necessary or even advantageous anymore. And with that I’ll give this a rest.
