watchnerd
Grand Contributor
To listen to records.
The same as usual.
All my TT listening goes through DSP-based RIAA EQ phono stages.
If you use a DSP phono stage with digital out (e.g. the Puffin), you can feed it to your DAC and solve the problem.
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Phono RCA to Active Speaker Balanced XLR
- Thread starter dahuky
- Start date
To listen to records.
The same as usual.
All my TT listening goes through DSP-based RIAA EQ phono stages.
If you use a DSP phono stage with digital out (e.g. the Puffin), you can feed it to your DAC and solve the problem.
- Thread Starter
- #42
About DACS reviews in general.
when amirm tests a DAC does it give any indication about the converting process it self, how good it sounds, or its just checking signal noise and stuff like this.
Other than noise and distortion, what else will impact the sound? The tests simply compare what goes in (with a number of different tests designed to reveal different aspects of it's performance under different loads, frequencies, etc) with what comes out. If what comes out has differences that are lower than anyone could possibly hear, it is effectively transparent, so really shouldn't have a sound.
And distortion.
Price has almost zero to do with it when it comes to solid state boxes. They are in the realm of the EE's , and are designed to do their job well or not, and that can be easily measured, just like every other piece of electronic equipment.
If a DAC is transparent, it is transparent. Some aren't, but we'd consider those broken or poorly designed for the most part, and that's also revealed through the measurements done.
The low hanging fruit in terms of easily heard SQ improvements is in the speaker/room system.
There are lots of good reasons to buy an expensive DAC, but SQ generally isn't going to be one of them.
- Thread Starter
- #46
And what are those reasons?
Build quality, country of origin (for some), connectivity, balanced vs unbalanced, output levels, warranty, bling factor, familiarity or any other reason one might have. Transparency has been the commodity for maybe 30 years or so.
Understanding sampling theory a bit can help with the feeling that there must be more to it. There really isn't. Competence should be expected as a threshold these days.
watchnerd
Grand Contributor
Yes, you can.
Plenty of DACs don't have a volume control at all and are designed to connect to a preamp.
You definitely can.
The DAC will give you a line level output. Most Preamps these days aren't really 'amps', but are more switchers with attenuation, so in that sense it is just passing through. There are 'real' Preamps that can increase output levels to send a stronger signal to your amps as well, and that's also just fine, as long as it is a good (clean) Preamp.
That's exactly how I use my Schiit Freya. DAC (w/volume control) into Freya, TT into Freya, Tuner into Freya. Freya into Amp (in this case, the ones built into my Active Speakers). That way, I just switch between them through the preamp and use it's volume control.
- Thread Starter
- #51
and in that case, since the gustard x16 is like one of the best DAC's is there a chance the preamp will "bottleneck" it?
watchnerd
Grand Contributor
If it's crappy, sure.
If it's good, no, not really, in any audible sense.
It's not any different than running a CD player into a preamp.
Based on:
https://audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/schiit-freya-s-preamplifier-review-2.11543/
Maybe, but likely not audibly.
Practically speaking, the amps and especially the speakers are going to be the limiting factors in almost all cases.
- Thread Starter
- #54
is there something i'm missing here?
from what i see, most ppl have a 2000$+- speakers setup.
you are saying that the onl;y thing affecting SQ are the amp and the speakers.
so why the hell would someone spend 700$ on DAC and PREAMP each?
wouldn't it be much better to get a 4000$ speakers set up, a 50$ Preamp and 50$ DAC?
from what i see, most ppl have a 2000$+- speakers setup.
you are saying that the onl;y thing affecting SQ are the amp and the speakers.
so why the hell would someone spend 700$ on DAC and PREAMP each?
wouldn't it be much better to get a 4000$ speakers set up, a 50$ Preamp and 50$ DAC?
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- Thread Starter
- #55
in addition, few folks here said that there is no superior in analog sources on digital; i'm sorry, but I can definitely tell the difference between my analogue production lp's to my digital media, no matter if its 192 or DSD, and i use a very budgety TT. am i imagining?
watchnerd
Grand Contributor
Are you talking about active or passive set ups?
- Thread Starter
- #57
i'm considering buying actives (genelec 8030) everybody says its more bang for the buck.
watchnerd
Grand Contributor
Of course LPs and digital sound different.
That's true even with expensive turntables.
Also...."analog" is not the same as "LP".
A digital source can only represent what was in the original analog wave form seen by the upstream ADC. It can't resolve better than the original analog, but it's ideally not worse.
LP has less information than the original analog source. It's worse than the original analog source.
- Thread Starter
- #59
i can swear the all analog lp's sound better then either regular lp's and digital.
watchnerd
Grand Contributor
In my office DAW system (not living room), I use a $2000 RME ADI-2 with $1000/pr Dynaudio speakers, so it's weighted 66% do the ADC/DAC because I need the extra features that the RME provides over a cheaper DAC.
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