For a new project I’m looking for a DAC with at 24bit/192kHz that sounds good but is also easy to implement. Therefore, I did some research on the DACs available on the market. This is not an exhaustive list, there are much more ICs available. This is just a personal selection of the DACs I found most interesting.
All of the DACs support I2S input data, most of them also support other data format. All data should only give you a first impression. I do not guarantee, that the data is correct. Have a look at the datasheet! The prices are manufacturer prices for 1000 units. If you want to buy only a few pieces for DIY use, the prices are usually much higher. But this is not a problem, because the costs of the DAC chip are only a minor part in the overall costs of a DIY project.
| MANUFACTURER / TYPE | RESOLUTION/ FREQUENCY (BIT/KHZ) | SNR/THD (DB) | SUPPLY VOLTAGES DIGITAL/ ANALOG (V) | OUTPUT | CLOCK | CONTROL INTERFACE | PRICE ($ for 1kU) | REMARKS |
| Analog AD1933 | 24/192 | 110/96 | 3.3/3.3-5 | symmetrical, analog filtering necessary | PLL on LRCLK or external master clock | SPI | 3.66 | 8 channel DAC |
| Analog AD1852 | 24/192 | 114/102 | 5/5 | symmetrical, analog filtering necessary | external MCLK | SPI | 5.57 | |
| Analog AD1955 | 120/110 | 5/5 | current output | external MCLK | SPI | 6.86 | ||
| ESS Sabre ES9018 | 24/192 | 133/120 | only product brief publicly available, not datasheet | |||||
| Cyrrus Logic CS4398 | 24/192 | 120/107 | 3.3/5 | symmetrical, analog filtering necessary | external MCLK | SPI | approx. 5-6 | internal volume control |
| Texas Instruments PCM1791 | 24/192 | 3.3/5 | symmetrical, analog filtering necessary | external MCLK | SPI/I2C | 2.15 | available from major distributors | |
| Texas Instruments PCM1792 | 24/192 | 129/129 | 3.3/5 | symmetrical, analog filtering necessary | external MCLK | SPI/I2C | 6.75 | available from major distributors |
| Texas Instruments PCM5102 | 24/384 | 112/93 | 1.8-3.3/3.3 | line out, no external filtering | external MCLK or PLL on LRCLK | – | 2.1 | highly integrated solution, only external MCLK necessary |
| Wolfson WM8742 | 24/192 | 121/100 | 3.3/5 | symmetrical, analog filtering necessary | external MCLK | SPI | not available from large distributors |
An alternative to traditional DACs are CODEC chips. These chips often have their own clock that can be asynchronous to the input signal. Sometime a PLL synchronizes to an external bit clock. While these ICs may not provide the lowest jitter, often there are an interesting option.