[stump4545]

do DAC's age gracefully or is there constantly new and better technology coming out making older DAC's obsolete (ex. CD players and Transports) or are DACs like power amps which stand the test of time?

thanks
newb

[S Clark]

Good question.  I am also curious what the circle has to say here.

[Will2]

Great question.  If high current value compared to original new price is the definition of aging gracefully, it looks to me like DACs age particularly badly.  Having said that, there are some older DACs whose used price has held steady for years.  Call that moving from middle to old age gracefully.  The Timbre TT-1 would be an example. 

[Phil A]

do DAC's age gracefully or is there constantly new and better technology coming out making older DAC's obsolete (ex. CD players and Transports) or are DACs like power amps which stand the test of time?

thanks
newb

I have an old Micromega DuoPro DAC which sits in a secondary basement system and doesn't see tons of use.  I traded for it (and the person who traded it still regrets it) and it really didn''t cost me much.  Probably traded stuff worth maybe $150-$200 tops about 5-6 years back.  The DAC must be 15 years old.  It probably listed for about $2.5k in its day.  Is is still good, yes it is.  It works very well in my basement system with old B&W P6s as mains.  The bass can be a bit sloppy out of the DAC compared to newer designs and the B&Ws roll off at a point that does not accentuate the issue.  It is picky with regard to what transport you use it with vs. other DACs I've heard.  It still can rival $1.5k+ CD players.  It images beautifully.  I've seen them still sell on Audiogon from time to time for $5-600.  I can't bring myself to sell it for $500.  I have really good CD playback in the main system and w/o using the DAC, the few times I do listen to CDs down there I feel like I'm listening to a cheap mid-fi system.  The DAC really makes a difference.

[charmerci]

Good stuff - if it's still in good working condition - will continue to sound good. They'll always be some improvement down the line. It's just up to you to decide whether it's worth to spend the money for the upgrade.

I still use an old Magnavox 16 bit 4x OS CD player with dual digital filters (per Frank's recommendation) for 10 years now(!) and it still sounds really nice.

[oneinthepipe]

In my limited experience, the improvements in preamps and DAC seem to outpace the improvements in amplifiers.  However, just because a new product enters the market doesn't mean that the older product sounds any worse.  If the DAC sounded great before the new product became available, the DAC will still sound the same.  With AVA gear, anyway, Frank offers an upgrade path when possible.