Editing Digital-to-analog converter (section)

===Audio===
[[File:Cd-player-top-loading-and-DAC.jpg|thumb|right|Top-loading [[CD player]] (top) and external digital-to-analog converter (bottom) from the same company.]]
[[File:DAC in the box.jpg|thumb|A 1990s external DAC from [[Audio Alchemy]] as an add-on for CD players, having only about 12&nbsp;cm width, intended to improve the sound of older or less expensive players.]]

Most modern audio signals are stored in digital form (for example [[MP3]]s and [[CD]]s), and in order to be heard through speakers, they must be converted into an analog signal. DACs are therefore found in [[CD player]]s, [[digital music player]]s, and PC [[sound card]]s.

Specialist standalone DACs can also be found in high-end [[hi-fi]] systems. These normally take the digital output of a compatible CD player or dedicated [[Transport (recording)|transport]] (which is basically a CD player with no internal DAC) and convert the signal into an analog  [[line-level]] output that can then be fed into an [[amplifier]] to drive speakers.

Similar digital-to-analog converters can be found in [[digital speakers]] such as [[USB]] speakers and in [[sound card]]s.

In [[voice over IP]] applications, the source must first be digitized for transmission, so it undergoes conversion via an ADC and is then reconstructed into analog using a DAC on the receiving party's end.