[rotarius]

Ya, speaker drivers have improved vastly as well as digital.  That NOS TDA1543 dac is easily outclassed by cheap dacs these days and belongs in the obsolete category. 

[S Clark]

Digital has improved by leaps and bounds....    ....and renders vinyl to history.   
 

Welp, that hasn't happened, and not likely to.  Vinyl stores are doing record business 

[Bemopti123]

Ya, speaker drivers have improved vastly as well as digital.  That NOS TDA1543 dac is easily outclassed by cheap dacs these days and belongs in the obsolete category.

I remember hearing a Bel Canto DAC 1 and then upgrading to a Bel Canto DAC 2 because I believed what was written in reviews...  and when I heard them, I asked myself either I had tin ears or it was florid descriptive review and I bought into hype. 

I say, it was a combination of both. 

From the digital latest and greatest revelations from different sites and audio forums, you think there are epistemic discoveries every couple of months, which I do not think is true. 

All I can say, I have a Rega Apollo 35th Anniversary Edition and a Exogal Comet DAC with the external PS...  They both sound great, better than the Bel Cantos they have replaced.  I haven't heard a DCS stack nor a Mula Mula DAC which seem to be getting raves...not that I have the money to get those SOTA DACs. 

[SET Man]

Ya, speaker drivers have improved vastly as well as digital.  That NOS TDA1543 dac is easily outclassed by cheap dacs these days and belongs in the obsolete category. 

Hey!

    Yeah, I've heard that every year about DAC. I'm amazed that we are still looking for way to make the "Perfect Sound Forever" CD. Sure yes, I am curious about new DACs and if I had money and time I'd try some.

   So, what's the "Flavor of the Year" cheap DAC right now?

Buddy
   

[SteveFord]

As much as I'm always ready to be floored by the sound of digital I always prefer the sound of my old Well Tempered turntable with the Ortofon cartridge. 
To my ears that's just perfect.

[Bemopti123]

As much as I'm always ready to be floored by the sound of digital I always prefer the sound of my old Well Tempered turntable with the Ortofon cartridge. 
To my ears that's just perfect.

Lots of people do not give credit to a medium that has been around for more than 110 years...if they had the science perfected then...all that has come after, with DAC, upsampling, etc....  After almost 80 years, they still cannot beat the medium that is as old as shellac albums, as magnetized cartridges and needles ?  Anytime, any day, a well setup turntable, cartridge and phono preamp, will bring about magic that recent digital has been attempting to deliver for the past couple of decades...The only issue is that it is much easier for new artists to push their music via digital platforms rather than physical formats.     

[RMW]

I always find the discussion between old vs. new interesting. I have a mixture of vintage gear and newer stuff. It really depends on the mood I’m in and what I’m listening to that determines which system gets played. If I’m being honest with myself, my active system with DSP, etc., is definitely the technically better of the two and it’s probably not close. But, that certainly doesn’t detract from  the enjoyment I get when I decide to listen to music through my SET amp and single driver speakers.