Hi sauniq,
To add to JohnK's excellent post, I would point out to you that DAC (converter) technology is quite mature, and that there are no benefits to stand-alone DAC units over the internal DACs contained in AV receivers and other such devices.
I've made this post many times previously and I'm sure JohnK will concur in my views.
If anyone claims that stand-alone outboard DAC's are superior, ask them for comparative data performed with double-blind listening tests to musical source material. I did such comparisons with duplicate CDs perfectly synchronized running through a $30,000 outboard DAC vs.the internal DAC from a Sony CD player, and there were no audible differences so long as the playback levels were perfectly equal.
Regards,
Alan
Such tests were also done by two University of Waterloo PhDs, Stanley Lipschitz and John Vanderkooey, who published their paper in the Audio Engineering Society journal.
