DACs in consoles

[Old Right Member]

Which consoles from which gen have the best audio and video DACs:
Dreamcast/PS2/Xbox/GC/Wii
PS1/N64/Saturn
Genesis/Super NES

Are there any variations in DACs for each console model number or do all revisions use the same DACs?

 

[VNZ]

There's been a lot of crazytalk in certain audiophile circuits about the early PS1 revisions having spectacular audio outputs.

 

[Old Right Member]

There's been a lot of crazytalk in certain audiophile circuits about the early PS1 revisions having spectacular audio outputs.

I don't know how I forgot about that. My 1st PS1 that I bought in September 95 did have superior audio to the PS one I have, as well as the Dual Shock 7501 model I had.

 

[archie4oz]

I remember it quite well... There was a lot of surprise at the sound quality of the Playstation back then, particularly considering that the Saturn had more sophisticated audio subsystem. Ultimately though, early titles weren't doing anything fancy with the audio chips themselves and a lot of titles just leaned on using a sizable chunk of the CD for audio. In that those situations the early playstations really sounded excellent.