Audio Alchemy XDP, DTI vs modern dacs?

For years I have been using my Squeezebox Touch with an old Audio Alchemy XDP, DTI & Power 2. It is based on an old Philips Dac 7 chip. I believe this is 1bit a Bitstream chip.

Now that is being replaced by a Bluesound Node 2i. It has a new 32 bit Burr Brown dac.
What sort of improvements can I expect?

This is the dac in the the Bluesound.

http://www.ti.com/product/PCM5122#

 

The DTI/XDP combo was a pretty nice DAC for the times, low jitter and a pretty nice discrete analog output stage. I think the DAC 7 chip was the best of Philips bitstream D/A convertors of the time too.

The Bluesound is also a bitstream D/A convertor, as are almost convertors now, but of course much more highly integrated and programmable to provide all the control needed in an audio system, and able to work at higher frequencies and process higher word lengths. Whether that results in better sound is your call. It will surely sound a lot different than the old AA gear, and is much more convenient for a modern streaming setup.

 

Setup the Node 2i yesterday and let me just say that it sounds a lot different!
I do miss the black background and laid backness of my old setup. However the new setup has more details and upfront sound. Maybe I will get used to it...If not I will install the old dac again even though it is only 16bit.
I only have about 10 albums in High Res so not that big of a deal.

 

That's the basic difference between new and old DACs and well built and cheap DACs as you have described. The new DACs are more resolving than the old DACs. And better built DACs have a warmer, more full sound. So you have a new, but inexpensive DAC and it delivers what you hear. That is from including new digital chips but not larger and higher quality power supplies and analog stages. A new high end DAC would include those as well, and you would get both higher resolution and a more full sound. It all costs more, so despite technology leaps, you get what you pay for.
-Bill

 

Just a quick update: I hooked up my old AA Dac to the Bluesound and it sounds lovely. I It sounds much more relaxed and musical now imo. The Bluesound could sound a little harsh at times which resulted in fatigue and that has completely disappeared. Instruments also sound much more real. My girlfriend commented that before it sometimes sounded like the music was playing in a cupboard. I think she was referring to the hash sound / edgy sound which had a sort of ringing characteristic at times.
I also changed the old VDH 1000 mk2 coaxial cable to a Chord Digital C and I frankly amazed how much of an upgrade that turned out to be! Much better dynamics and open sound. Voices and details are also greatly improved.

 

Also it seems my dac is able to playback 24bit as long as the sample rate is limited to 48khz.
Is this because of the dac or the Bluesound?

 

I was just wondering, if I was to upgrade to a new dac , what modern dacs have a similar sound to my Audio Alchemy?
Rega DAC?
Schiit Modi Multibit?

 

If you favor a more "laid back" sound, a multibit or R2R DAC will probably be your best bet. As @KT88 said, you get what you pay for. A Delta-Sigma DAC with proper implementation will probably sound better than an inexpensive R2R DAC. YMMV.

 

The Rega DAC had a very warm and sweet sound. Excellent resolution but without the top end glare or thinness of many others. It made digital sound quite analog, which was its job.
-Bill

 

Ok, what are the alternatives to this, if I am unable to find it on the used market?