D1100 DAC now on Mc website

[Randy Myers]

Originally Posted by paulphoosreal

I have the Wyred4S Dac1V2 on order and it will not be available for at least another month. Only the 9028's as in Randy's Benchmark are out there. Having talked to ESS I learned that all the new PRO series chips are basically the same. Only difference being in tolerances. I.E. SNR and dynamic range. Along with variations in implementing by different manufacturers. But still basically the same. The 9026 in the Dac1 V2 will not have the same dynamic range and noise specs which I doubt I could hear as the 9028 or 9038 but will have the same architecture as all of them. Some chips notably the 9028 and 9038 will be in pre-dacs. The 9026 is for implementation in pure dacs and players.
Hope this helps.

That sounds about the same as I have been hearing. I am totally confident that the W4S will be excellent!

I am very happy with the sound improvements of the 9028 PRO versus the 9018. As you said implementation will be a big factor. In this I know Wyred is excellent. Of course I believe Benchmark is outstanding.

I hope McIntosh uses at least the 9028 PRO, otherwise they will be far behind the curve.

[paulphoosreal]

Agreed! To use the last generation of chips and know that analog sound can be heard digitally by the newest generation would seem to me poor marketing. But. What do I know? [emoji23]

[Capitalcityguy]

I currently have the MDA1000. I know that is older DAC technology, but it sure sounds good to my ears and haven't really thought about replacing it. I love that it matches the other Mac gear in my rack. Now that they have a new DAC, I'm interested. I know it may be early and not many people may have experience with both the MDA 1000 and D1100, but I was curious to how the compare to each other in sound. Anyone?

[Skypickle]

So it seems McIntosh has gone the way of using the new Delta-Sigma chips. There is certainly a lot of controversy regarding the benefits (disadvantages?) of these chips compared to other R2R designs.

head-fi.org/t/779572/r2r-multibit-vs-delta-sigma-is-there-a-measurable-scientific-difference-thats-audible

But it would seem the analog parts of the box (power supply, isolation, etc) have a bigger impact on the sound than the actual D/A conversion method used.

[leftside]

Thanks for posting. I'm in the market for a new DAC next year. The new D1100 is on my list as is an R2R DAC.

[JBT]

Originally Posted by Skypickle

So it seems McIntosh has gone the way of using the new Delta-Sigma chips. There is certainly a lot of controversy regarding the benefits (disadvantages?) of these chips compared to other R2R designs.

head-fi.org/t/779572/r2r-multibit-vs-delta-sigma-is-there-a-measurable-scientific-difference-thats-audible

But it would seem the analog parts of the box (power supply, isolation, etc) have a bigger impact on the sound than the actual D/A conversion method used.

Where did you read or hear about the Delta Sigma chips

[Skypickle]

isn't that what the 9018,9028, etc are?

[substance]

It's definitely going to be a delta sigma dac. The last true r2r ladder dac was the burr brown pcm1704 (in the mda1000). It has been discontinued almost a decade ago. To get s/n ratio and dynamic range the newer dacs provide, you need to stack 8-16 of them in parallel as in done in the mda1000. They would need thousands of pcm1704 in their old stocks. so no multibit dacs for sure.

Ess chips are hybrid. The first 6 bit are multibit then delta sigma for the rest. I would be happy if they did one ess9018 per channel for a two total.

[Randy Myers]

Ok, just when I am starting to feel like I have a little understanding of digital audio all of a sudden a new twist...

Could someone explain Delta Sigma -vs- R2R and how this related to PCM (in all the various resolutions) and DSD? Also how does this relate to the various DAC chips out there, ESS (9016, 9018, 9028 PRO, etc.), BurrBrown, Cirrus Logic, etc....

[Skypickle]

Originally Posted by Randy Myers

Ok, just when I am starting to feel like I have a little understanding of digital audio all of a sudden a new twist...

Could someone explain Delta Sigma -vs- R2R and how this related to PCM (in all the various resolutions) and DSD? Also how does this relate to the various DAC chips out there, ESS (9016, 9018, 9028 PRO, etc.), BurrBrown, Cirrus Logic, etc....

Here you go

head-fi.org/t/779572/r2r-multibit-vs-delta-sigma-is-there-a-measurable-scientific-difference-thats-audible