24-Bit DAC Speakers/Soundbar Recommendation or Suggestion

DarthAntz on 11/05/2018 - 13:20

I'm looking to upgrade my soundbar. I have been using a Creative ROAR for the past 3 years and it has been awesome, producing excellent noise from a small, 1.2kg 5 speaker soundbar/block. I run it from USB from the computer, and use it for bluetooth from the phones in our house. The 5 speakers gives me an awesome range of music and it impresses most people who hear it.

Now that i have a bigger place, I want to get a soundbar, preferably with atmos (ive got aptX from the ROAR), and something with more than the 5 drivers/2amp power that comes from the ROAR. I'll either use the ROAR in my car or a separate room.

Has anyone upgraded from a similar speaker setup to a recent soundbar with a built in DAC?

And is it unncessary to have a speaker with a DAC, if a soundcard or phone has a 24-Bit DAC built in? Would having both help my dog and nearby dolphins appreciate listening to George Benson FLACs with me?

Im also afraid to get a wireless sub because i dont want to upset my neighbours. The bass reproduction I get has been fantastic, and would love to keep power consumption down.

Often soundbars offered in retail dont have a comparable space to hear and test it out. I:ll be ordering one online, so i've been going by a lot of reviews.

TL;DR - I'd appreciate any recommendations or suggestions from someone who has made the leap from a compact soundbar to a lounge room soundbar with modern features/specifications.

Electrical & Electronics DAC Dolby Atmos Soundbar

Comments

    • DarthAntz on 11/05/2018 - 13:50

      I did see this, excellent suggestion and good size/specs/price. Im nowhere near a costco though.

      Did you get one of these? was upgrading from an older soundbar/speakers to something modern like this worthwhile?

  • Diji1 on 11/05/2018 - 18:24

    A DAC is simply a component that turns digital samples into analogue signals. There are two dollar motherboard DACs that sound the same as $2000 DACs and the usual audiophile idiocy to get $2000 out of people.

    "The same" means that when the analogue signal is sampled back to digital it is the same as the original sample. There is no adding audio quality here, the limit has been reached - which doesn't stop audiophiles wasting money and claiming huge differences of course.

    You need speakers obviously.

    There is no reason to get 24bit audio since the human ear is incapable of discerning more than 16bit audio quality but if you must waste money as audiophiles love to then getting a 24bit DAC may prevent artifacts caused by playing 24bit audio through 16bit playback equipment. It still won't offer better audio quality than the same 16Bit source.

    • DarthAntz on 11/05/2018 - 19:59

      this is the advice i need to hear. Thank you.

      I agree with you, and ive read many times how our ears have a limited range, and those extra quality signal 'bits' literally go to the dogs.

      so would you recommend speaker configuration, and the output (dolby, DTS etc) as the focus, from your experience?

      Ive started with 2.1 speakers about 17 years ago, ive had satellite and receiver setups, but as in my OP the sound output of my current soundbar has been impressive and convenient, and I want to know from experience of other speaker users if the more recent soundbars are going to give the experience they advertise (based on tech) compared to older models.

      • kiwijunglist on 12/05/2018 - 12:14

        I wouldn't bother upgrading of you are happy with your current sound bar.

        If you goto a shop and demo a sound bar that sounds a lot better then you can upgrade.

        The best sound is from individual large speakers and a powerful sub with a large driver.

  • kiwijunglist on 12/05/2018 - 12:11

    If using sound bar then the dac is not important. It's not a high end speaker where you can appreciate a (not measurable anyway) difference.

    All sound bars have a dac if they take a digital audio connection (which is pretty much 100% of the sound bars on the market).

    • DarthAntz on 12/05/2018 - 14:24

      thanks kiwijunglist. i have previously bought and sold a portable DAC, due to my new phone having a Decent Audio Chip (pun). I always tinker and find a good sound setting every few weeks, as your ears adjust easily to the sound. I have enjoyed the sound DAC's produce compared to stock standard. Difference is milk and cream, DACs have that fuller, thicker soundstage IMO.

      I have thought about bookshelf speakers, and soundbases also have decent sound reproduction. This Denon and some of the upcoming Visio soundbars struck my interest.

      But the purpose of this post was to hear from people who have done what I'm considering (upgrading to a recent soundbar) and if its worth it. I guess its not, as audio has been and always will be subjective to the listener.

      I can definitely get more use out of my current soundbar, and will wait and see as year after year the technobabble, X's and new words that get added to speakers becomes eventually the same output. Theres a high chance an upgrade wont succeed the convenience already there. And the size of my room will always be the bottleneck.

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