So what exactly is a DAC, and how important is it? The answer to the second question is simple: a good car audio DAC is indispensable in any modern car audio system. The answer to the first question, however, requires some explanation.

Whether you’re listening to a CD player, a mechless head unit, a smartphone, or some other digital technology, your car’s audio experience depends on a component you may never have heard of. The digital-to-analog converter (DAC) is responsible for converting digital information stored on CDs and streaming music files into something that can be played through your car’s speakers.

The only exception to this rule is conventional AM/FM radio, which starts with an analog signal. Every other audio source in your car is stored in some digital format, whether it’s a physical CD, streaming music, or bits and bytes on a hard drive.

To convert that digital information into an analog signal that can drive your speakers and actually allow you to listen to music, the signal needs to be passed through a digital-to-analog converter.