How Critical is 192 Khz / 24 Bit DAC's?

[Bing Fung]

The Denon Receivers have it...

Do the Rotels? it's not clear on their web site...

If I was to purchase an high end Pre/pro that only has 92/24, will it be something I wish I would have paid more attention to?

My 2200 DVD player has 192/24 DAC's , will I be missing anything with a 92/24 pre/pro?

[Bing Fung]

http://www.soundstage.com/yfiles/yfiles200011.htm

Good Read, but I didn't seem to find a real answer here

[Andrew Pratt]

Bing DAC's are important but I think a lot has to do with how well the chips are used then exactly which chip it is..meaning that a 96/24 chip might sound better then a 192 chip depending on the quality of the rest of the supporting electronics...I know that doesnt' really help does it? I guess the other thought I have is that you need the media that can utilize the feature and in some cases their just isn't enough out there to worry about.

[JonMarsh]

It's difficult to generalize about DAC performance by just saying 24/193 vs. 24/96. There are various architectures and grades within specific component part numbers, and then there's the implementation, in which there is many a slip twixt the cup and the lip.

It would be like generalizing about four cylinder engines versus six cylinder engines- then being confronted with the four cylinder engine in a Honda S2000, versus the six cyclinder engine in a base Ford Mustang. Capice?

You really have to compare the total component performance. Unfortunately, unlike the case for CD and DVD players, NO ONE is doing any strenous examination of the digital performance of processors and receivers, such as examining low level linearity, word clock jitter, etc.

So, ultimately the only way you can judge the reproduction is to listen...


~Jon

[Bing Fung]

Thanks guys, I knew ther would be no black and white answer, however maybe my question is more aimed at future proofing?

It seems the DVD-A format is encoded at 192/24 (is it not?), however the decoding is done in the DVD player anyway and then output to the pre/pro/receiver via analog, so my guess is it's not too critial in the after DVD analog process (pre/pro/receiver) end, for all the reasons you guys have stated....

[Lex]

Good explanation Jon. That's pretty much the gist of what I've heard too. Your right to about these 4 vs 6 cyls today. There's almost no limits with dual overhead cams, fi, and turbo. In fact, it's unreal the horsepower out of some of these 6's today. more powerful than many older V8s. Wait, we are off track, back to DACs.

Lex

[Bam!]

Bing!

Question....Have you heard a DAC with 192khz ? and compared it to 96Khz ?

I have....I didn' t like the sound of 192 ops: It seemed really colored....maybe even boosted.....any way it doesn' t help what I am saying here....this is more of a comment than anything else....My bad ops:

:

[Bing Fung]

Car and Electronics... I can see how those are easily interchanged for you Lex :rofl: same difference, they're all toys :B

Bam, thanks for your input. Again it's probaly as Jon states. The sonic qualities of the actual DAC is more related to it's execution and the associated electronics it was constructed with.