Introduction to Digital Music Streamers, CDs and the DAC that ties them together
Streaming is mostly how we listen to music in the modern world. That is, apart from the deep music enthusiasts who dive into specialized formats, like the ever-growing vinyl and CD communities. Believe it or not, at the time of writing, CD sales have grown. The chart below shows vinyl is as popular as ever. The interesting thing is that CDs have been on an uptick ever since around 2017.
US recorded music revenues 1973–2025
- Physical (CD & vinyl)
- Digital downloads
- Streaming
- Sync licensing: fees paid when recorded music is used in film, TV, ads and video games.
Physical formats grew from about $1 billion in 1973 to a peak of about $8.3 billion in 1999, then fell as digital downloads rose from 2004. Streaming took over from 2015 and reached about $9.6 billion in 2025, while physical sales have been climbing again since around 2017. Total revenue in 2025 is about $11.6 billion.
If you’re just starting out and diving into the hi-fi world, streaming or CDs are a great way to get there on a modest budget. Either way you go, a DAC is part of the journey somewhere in there.
What is a DAC?
“10001110101”
Digital, digital, digital. Everything in our world is digital anymore. Yes, the Matrix has us. From the phone in your hand to how you pay for stuff, it’s all ones and zeros. No revelation there.
The things you hear, like a bird or someone clapping their hands in the same room as you, create a sound wave. That sound moves the air, hits your eardrum and makes it move, and therefore you hear. But how does a satellite signal beamed into a box in your house end up hitting your ear as a sound wave? Somewhere in that signal chain (see our The Vinyl Experience blog) is a DAC. Even your phone has a DAC in it, albeit not a great one.
A DAC takes those ones and zeros and converts them into a fluctuating electrical signal that runs through some wires and into a speaker. At the speaker is where the analog part comes in. Hence, “digital-to-analog converter.” In a nutshell, it takes a digital signal and turns it into an analog signal so we can hear it.
- Streamer or CD
- DAC
- Amplifier
- Speakers
But the way these ones and zeros are processed can vary and differ greatly depending on a number of factors. Imagine those ones and zeros as cattle being herded. You can have a wide gate or a narrow one. The cattle can be guided by humans nice and neatly. Alternatively they can be chaotic, bouncing off each other, some trying to lie down or going in backwards. This is a drastic illustration. A good DAC won’t let that happen. A good DAC, one specifically designed for herding music, will guide those ones and zeros to sound better than a standard DAC built without music in mind. Make sense?
A very important and often overlooked factor: hi-res music is now readily available on the major streaming platforms. Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal and Qobuz to name a few. If you don’t have a decent DAC, you aren’t taking advantage of how good hi-res music can and should sound. Not really, anyhow. It's safe to say most people have a paid music platform, and all of them offer hi-res music. This hi-res quality comes in levels. These days, “CD quality” is on the lower end of the spectrum. The highest quality now, even streaming, is 24-bit/192 kHz.
16-bit / 44.1 kHz
About 1,411 kbps of stereo data. Now the lower end of the spectrum.
24-bit / 192 kHz
About 9,216 kbps. Roughly 6.5× the data of a CD, if your DAC can use it.
Without a good DAC, you might not be getting all that data, and therefore not that quality. That is why a DAC is worth talking about.
If you are moved by the power of music, then this is something you should know about.
Music streamers
A music streamer is a source, just like a CD player or turntable. You typically have an app on a device (phone or tablet) where you search or browse & play music. The handheld device acts as the remote. In the app you can search for music, build playlists, play, pause, control the volume and a lot more. The music however is coming straight off your WiFi for the best connectivity and also no "notification" interruptions if your phone were to ring.
The modern-day "tuner"
Pictured is our most popular streaming product: the Bluesound Node. We have over a dozen of these on display in the showroom on all kinds of setups.
The Node is a source just like a CD player or a turntable. It is the new, modern-day “tuner,” if you’re old enough to remember those. And it has a very good internal DAC.
On some systems we route the Node to an external DAC for even better sound. And that is where the fun begins. Mixing and matching a CD transport or streamer with an external DAC is where you start dialing in a sound that fits you and your music. Just like different amplifiers have different characteristics, so do DACs.
Mixing and matching them all is what hi-fi is all about, and why it’s one of the most fun hobbies for any music lover.
CD “player” or CD “transport” That is the question
There are many ways to play a Compact Disc. In hi-fi, it comes in the form of either a CD “player” or a CD “transport.” A CD player has a DAC built in, and depending on the make and model, the quality varies.
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CD player
DAC built in. On the back you’ll see something like an RCA analog output that runs straight to your amp. Some have a digital output for DACS.
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CD transport
No outputs other than digital. The transport reads the disc and an external DAC does the converting.
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Both outputs
Digital and analog outputs. Use the internal DAC now, or send the signal to an external DAC later.
Cambridge Audio Evo CD
A perfect example of a CD transport. The Evo CD does one job and does it well: it reads your discs and sends a clean digital signal on to a DAC. There’s no converter built in, because the one doing the converting lives in the rest of your system.
It’s designed as the companion to Cambridge Audio’s Evo streaming amplifiers, matching them in size and finish right down to the walnut side panels. Pair it with an Evo, and your CDs and your streaming library run through the same DAC in one tidy, good-looking stack.
There are also units with a combination of digital and analog outputs. On those, you have the option of using the internal DAC or sending the player’s signal to an external DAC. This option makes a great entry point for a CD enthusiast. That way you get a good player and can play your CDs right off the bat, while aiming for a better DAC in the future for an optimal hi-fi journey.
DACs
That brings us to DACs. You probably use a DAC a lot, even in one day, and don’t even realize it. Your cell phone has a DAC in it, so when you put someone on speakerphone, that signal is running through a DAC. You should get the picture as to what its function is by now. Below are a few popular DACs.
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Portable
AudioQuest DragonFly Copper
DAC, preamp and headphone amp that goes with your phone.
$250.00 -
DAC / headphone amp
Chord Mojo 2
Chord makes some of the best DACs in the business.
$650.00 -
Desktop DAC
Chord Qutest
Generally thought of as one of the best DACs in the industry.
$1,795.00
First up, we have the portable AudioQuest DragonFly Copper DAC/preamp/headphone amp. These are really great, with a lot of impressive technology packed into a little package. Next is the Chord Mojo 2 DAC/headphone amp. Chord makes some of the best DACs, and the Chord Qutest is generally thought of as one of the best DACs in the industry.
These are all considered desktop or tabletop DACs, except for the AudioQuest DragonFly. That one can be used with a phone on the go. If you have an Apple iPhone or device, all you need is Apple’s “camera kit” adapter, which gives you a USB connection. Then plug your wired headphones in, or run a wire to your system. There are lots of different ways to connect it to various devices.
The items above are a small showcase of what we have to offer at Audiolab. Our salepeople are extremely well versed in the ways of the force, I mean DACs. We talk about this stuff for fun.
There are all kinds of factors beyond what we’ve talked about already. There’s clock speed, and how that works in conjunction with the rest of the circuitry & components outside the DAC.
The journey is the Destination
Sure, you can easily get a DAC or any hi-fi item on Amazon or at Best Buy. But why would you, when you don’t get the journey? Here at Audiolab, we are on the same path you want to travel. Maybe a little further down the way, but still the same path. That’s what makes us such a great place to help you.
We trialed and errored, tested and retested. We listened, and listened again. Years upon years and decades upon decades. The combined knowledge and passion of everyone here is truly special. You won’t get someone who knows just as much about CD players as they do about a washer and dryer. We love this stuff through and through. We live and breathe it.
No washers or dryers here. Only audio & video.