Just a quickie as to whether or not I'll be able to hear a difference with a Pioneer P860MP headunit that has Burr-Brown DAC's compared to a Pioneer P8MP that has 16bit D/A Converter. Aside from the better visual appearance on the P860MP, is it worth the difference in price for the better sound?

I've revamped my entire truck's audio system, so the sound quality potential is there. It's just the fact I'm running a POS Rockford HU that's about 5 years old.

Thanks fella's....

 

The difference between the burr brown and the 16-bit audibly is very tough to tell from listening. Some say that the BB's help to open up that music and make it seem more spacious and detailed in the upper frequencies which by all rights makes sense if you look at the specs between the two chips since your erroneous bit error rate is reduced substantially with the BB's. However, sound is always subjective and you will have some swear that you will never be able to tell the difference. I personally like my deck with the BB's better than I did with the 16 bit D/A's (ordered the chips and had a friend alter the deck for me a few years back). Anyway, it was alot cheaper for me to modify the HU than to purchase one that already had the BB's in it, especially since that was the only option that was missing from my current HU.

 

I certainly can tell the difference when I'm using my home DVD player with the BB DACS in it. I think much of it will depend on the rest of your system however. (amps and speakers)

mikebaby