Re: (poll) What are the audible differences between dedicated DACs
Reply #28 –
These days, HF hearing loss means that many a hiss, or even squeak, might escape me, but it wasn't always like that and I have, for many years, claimed that the only piece of hifi gear with "noise" that I am prepared to have in the house is a turntable. And I am not a big spender. You could take that hypothetical 30K dac and buy 10-15 systems that I have ever had.
Of course, if that is a Continental-European dot in your 30.000 (thirty point zero) dollars, you could try one of the little HiFiMeDIY DACs. You might be surprised. Unless, of course, your headphones are faulty.
I consider that my RME card of about fifteen years ago was not noisy. Even being inside that un-audiophile environment of the Pc cabinet. I don't think that my current Juli@ card is noisy either, but my ears are just not good enough to assert that. My curiosity is stimulated, though. I'll see if it passes the ears of a young, relatively-high-spending, audiophile, whose visit is due. Not a scientific measurement, I know, but better than my hearing.