Pelliott321 wrote:
I still think how the output stage is designed plays the biggest part on how a DAC sounds.
Maybe.
Last night we auditioned three DACs. My own AK4490, Roscoe's 4495 and an ESS Sabre 9038Q2M hat for Raspberry Pi.
The output circuit topology is exactly the same for the 4490 and 4495. We used the Muses 8920 JFET chip in each.
The 4490 has better power supply regulators, Schotkky diodes, power supply bypass caps, better quality caps and resistors.
The 4490 sounded smoother, richer midrange, bigger soundstage. But the 4495 clearly was lower distortion. Better resolution of inner detail, clearer highs. Just a little harsh.
I think the 4495 with the same parts as my 4490 would be clearly better across the board. Same output stage. No cap coupling.
The ESS DAC was kind of edgy to me, but hey, I've got a pair of V-Cap TFTFs breaking in, so.....But is wasn't bad, just not up to the other DACs.
I think that the power supply and chip are what's most important. At least with simple buffer output stages like these.
Slick