Here is an interesting insight into how pro designers see op-amps vs discrete
component gain stages and modern DACs/ADCs. Many seem to think that discrete
circuitry still has the edge over IC's and that all DACs are not created
equal.

For instance, John La Grou, Founder of Millennia Music & Media Systems
(makers of mid-to-high-end recording electronics) had this to say about DACs
and ADCs:

"It¹s all about sound. A converter¹s specification is rarely an indication of
how it sounds. I always suggest that engineers take spec sheets with a grain
of salt. Rather, they should ALWAYS compare ADCs and DACs (or any audio
product for that matter) in real-world A-B listening tests before making a
buying decision."

Read the rest of the discussion about today's pro audio semiconductor
products at:

http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/newbay/prosound_200902/

Page 39 and 40 and for more info:

http://www.prosoundnews.com/article/20024

Cheers
Sonnova

On Feb 26, 10:30*am, Sonnova <sonn...@audiosanatorium.com> wrote:
> Here is an interesting insight into how pro designers see op-amps vs discrete
> component gain stages and modern DACs/ADCs. Many seem to think that discrete
> circuitry still has the edge over IC's and that all DACs are not created
> equal.
>
> For instance, John La Grou, Founder of Millennia Music & Media Systems
> (makers of mid-to-high-end recording electronics) had this to say about DACs
> and ADCs:
>
> "It¹s all about sound. A converter¹s specification is rarely an indication of
> how it sounds. I always suggest that engineers take spec sheets with a grain
> of salt. Rather, they should ALWAYS compare ADCs and DACs (or any audio
> product for that matter) in real-world A-B listening tests before making a
> buying decision."

Indeed A-B tests are the ultimate means of comparison but only if done
correctly to avoid bias errors. There is little reason to believe that
even audio engineers are immune to bias and can discern extremely
small quality differences by simple comparisons. To say that specs
don't matter is only true because just about any state-of-the-art
converter will have inaudible and imperceptible artifacts if used in
an intelligent manner. Other factors can affect chip performance
including PC board layout requirements and noise sensitivity that play
an important role in part selection, however.

Some of these designers may also be guilty of bias against analog
integrated circuits. There should be little need for discrete
transistors in most cases except perhaps for very low noise circuits
like microphone preamplifiers.