• WANTED: Happy members who like to discuss audio and other topics related to our interest. Desire to learn and share knowledge of science required. There are many reviews of audio hardware and expert members to help answer your questions. Click here to have your audio equipment measured for free!

Any point in buying high spec dac to input into AVR?

Mattknz

Member
Joined
Feb 2, 2022
Messages
27
Likes
13
Location
New Zealand
I'm currently using a pi with a Boss 1.2 hat dac and sending the output into a Denon avrx3300w in order to use Audyssey room correction.
Is there any gain to be had by using a high sinad dac before the avr when the avr is going to perform analogue to digital conversion and then output a signal with a sinad of probably 80ish db?
 

GalZohar

Senior Member
Joined
Aug 8, 2021
Messages
442
Likes
216
As far as I know your understanding is correct and there is no point in a super high quality DAC as that would just get converted back to digital by the AVR. Of course, a poor DAC may still make the sound worse. Best to just use digital inputs unless you are using pure direct, which disables room correction or bass management. Rven if you don't normally use those, the benefits of a high quality external dac are quite questionable.
 

Steve Dallas

Major Contributor
Joined
May 28, 2020
Messages
1,201
Likes
2,784
Location
A Whole Other Country
If you are using room correction, any analog input will go through AD conversion before the DSP, then go through DA conversion. There is no benefit to DAC -> ADC -> DSP -> DAC, when you can inject digital into the AVR and skip the DAC -> ADC stages.

Looks like there are several hats out available to output Toslink digital.
 

euge_lee

Member
Joined
Sep 1, 2022
Messages
25
Likes
15
Cool, confirmed my thoughts a nd saved me some money!
Thanks all.
Technically... if you use your own DAC, and your AVR has "multi-channel line in"... you can use those inputs and bypass your AVR or Pre/Pro onboard DACs.
 

antcollinet

Master Contributor
Joined
Sep 4, 2021
Messages
7,408
Likes
12,291
Location
UK/Cheshire
Technically... if you use your own DAC, and your AVR has "multi-channel line in"... you can use those inputs and bypass your AVR or Pre/Pro onboard DACs.
But not if you want to use the AVR's DSP room correction
 

euge_lee

Member
Joined
Sep 1, 2022
Messages
25
Likes
15
So you missed in the OP:


:)
Seems that I did. Well yeah then the external DAC seems pointless. Unless he wants to unfold some MQA or upsample in the DAC to DSD512 then output to analog to have that then re-digitized by the AVR. LOL.
 

Mnyb

Major Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
Aug 14, 2019
Messages
2,633
Likes
3,592
Location
Sweden, Västerås
Yes a Pi-hat with digital output is the way to go :) imho it's good enough for any pre-pro or AVR .
 

hmt

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 11, 2020
Messages
397
Likes
479
I'm currently using a pi with a Boss 1.2 hat dac and sending the output into a Denon avrx3300w in order to use Audyssey room correction.
Is there any gain to be had by using a high sinad dac before the avr when the avr is going to perform analogue to digital conversion and then output a signal with a sinad of probably 80ish db?
No.
 

phoenixdogfan

Major Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
Nov 6, 2018
Messages
3,294
Likes
5,068
Location
Nashville
//////I'm currently using a pi with a Boss 1.2 hat dac and sending the output into a Denon avrx3300w in order to use Audyssey room correction.
Is there any gain to be had by using a high sinad dac before the avr when the avr is going to perform analogue to digital conversion and then output a signal with a sinad of probably 80ish db?
Of course one day you may decide to ditch the Denon for something with a Sinad that matches your DAC, and you can use Camilla Dsp on the Pi.

 
Top Bottom