I have a Denon X6500H and looking to improve performance of my front sound stage (NHT C3's + CLCR). Owners point to more power to really help them sing. My uneducated research started with external amps that I can connect to the pre-outs on my X6500H, but all the talk of benefits of turning off internal amplification led me down the AVR upgrade road...and how the DAC's in the 700 and 800 lines of denon have changed for the worst.
I unfortunately have gone down a 2-day rabbit hole learning from @amirm 's reviews about SINAD, @peng 's spreadsheet, replacement DAC degradation, and the merits of external amplification.
My questions are:
1) Is the noise added to the pre-out on the amplified channels audible by human ears, or are we talking about bench measurements only?
2) Is it a forgone conclusion that the pre-outs are going to clip at a certain volume level? I definitely don't want to spend the money on external amps if I am audibly compromising
3) What solution is audibly worst: Using pre-outs on the X6500H or say an X4700H in true pre-amp mode from the fronts with the downgraded DAC?
I unfortunately have gone down a 2-day rabbit hole learning from @amirm 's reviews about SINAD, @peng 's spreadsheet, replacement DAC degradation, and the merits of external amplification.
My questions are:
1) Is the noise added to the pre-out on the amplified channels audible by human ears, or are we talking about bench measurements only?
2) Is it a forgone conclusion that the pre-outs are going to clip at a certain volume level? I definitely don't want to spend the money on external amps if I am audibly compromising
3) What solution is audibly worst: Using pre-outs on the X6500H or say an X4700H in true pre-amp mode from the fronts with the downgraded DAC?