As you can probably see, the reason why DACs have been relatively unnoticed is that most people aren’t prepared to buy the really high end system, and true audio enthusiasts are not going to have a large collection of music on their computers. So this eccentric little device sat there on the shelf for years with electronics nerds like me looking at it and saying, “Oh, I want one of those, but I what would I do with it?”
Well, I’m proud to say that I have recently purchased my very first DAC for personal use. I have an older Denon stereo receiver driving some speakers in my garage, kitchen and (recently added) back patio. It has a number of analog audio inputs as well as a radio tuner, but no digital inputs. I use it to play music through the house but I could only get audio from my Blu ray player, the radio or my iPhone if I wanted to leave it plugged in. All the other electronics I have in my media arsenal were confined to the living room because they only support digital audio out with no RCA jacks to be found. Surprisingly this is becoming the norm for new gadgets rather than the exception.
What was the solution to my problem? A DAC. The little digital to analog converter I purchased was not boasting of “High Fidelity”, it didn’t have tube circuitry, it wasn’t as large as a house and, in fact, it didn’t even do anything else. It was simply a DAC. It was a solution for exactly what I needed. DACs are making a transition from the another-device-to-have-in-your-rack category to a nice little niche that provides a solution to some of our connectivity woes.
If you are going to make good use of new technology with High Def sound and streaming boxes you are faced with a problem. You can upgrade your whole system (it might be a good excuse to do it) or you could invest in a little solution called a DAC and listen to it all come together seamlessly.
