05-27-2021, 02:27 PM
@happymax
To suggest a DAC which will "improve sound quality" without having characterized an issue with the existing sound quality would be puerile. Finding the "best" DAC is a bit like finding the best sushi bar (well, ok, some folks don't like sushi at all, so substitute your own example of a food). Reviews can go only so far because personal taste is involved in both endeavors.
Once you reach a certain level of board design and bit-handling competency in the input and D/A portions of a DAC (which I believe the Khadas and all the others in the top tier of AudioScienceReview DAC Performance Chart do) then perceived sound quality is down to the output filters used in the DAC. IMO judging the relative quality of the output filters is highly subjective (for DACs with a choice of output filters people get into arguments over which one is best).
In my case I'm satisfied with the sound quality of the Khadas Tone Board. If I end up switching DACs it will be for some other reason such as packaging, display, controls [1], etc.
Good hunting.
Regards,
Kent
[1] as has been mentioned already, the KTB doesn't offer hardware volume control for DSD streams. That's not an issue for me because I have no interest in buying DSD encoded material. YMMV.
To suggest a DAC which will "improve sound quality" without having characterized an issue with the existing sound quality would be puerile. Finding the "best" DAC is a bit like finding the best sushi bar (well, ok, some folks don't like sushi at all, so substitute your own example of a food). Reviews can go only so far because personal taste is involved in both endeavors.
Once you reach a certain level of board design and bit-handling competency in the input and D/A portions of a DAC (which I believe the Khadas and all the others in the top tier of AudioScienceReview DAC Performance Chart do) then perceived sound quality is down to the output filters used in the DAC. IMO judging the relative quality of the output filters is highly subjective (for DACs with a choice of output filters people get into arguments over which one is best).
In my case I'm satisfied with the sound quality of the Khadas Tone Board. If I end up switching DACs it will be for some other reason such as packaging, display, controls [1], etc.
Good hunting.
Regards,
Kent
[1] as has been mentioned already, the KTB doesn't offer hardware volume control for DSD streams. That's not an issue for me because I have no interest in buying DSD encoded material. YMMV.
