Maxim Integrated Products

This application note compares digital to analog converters (DACs) to digital potentiometers. Traditionally digital potentiometers were meant to replace simple mechanical pots. With recent increases in resolution and additional features, digital potentiometers can also be used in some traditional DAC sockets. Similarly, traditional DAC packages were too big and too costly to compete against digital potentiometers. However, DAC pricing and package size have reduced significantly, so in some sockets a DAC or digital potentiometer can be used.