DAC selection for home system....

[Ram18]

I am doing pretty much the same thing. I added another different brand of switcher to switch my sub between my Saga and my AVR.

Thanks for sharing. Oh so you could add another switcher for subs as well? How is that connected? How does it sound with the switcher in place if I may ask? Do you see a drop in sound quality or there is no impact?

 

[rwortman]

I don't think a switch that isn't corroded or broken has an effect on sound. I have never heard one. I have a cheap Chinese version of a SYS with the sub out from the AVR connected to one side and the preamp connected to the other side. The output goes to the sub. I am using a power amp that has internal crossover settings and an SVS sub with DSP crossover and multiple settings accessed via Bluetooth. When I want to listen to my two channel setup I push the buttons on both switchers and use the SVS app to switch to the proper crossover.

 

[Ram18]

I don't think a switch that isn't corroded or broken has an effect on sound. I have never heard one. I have a cheap Chinese version of a SYS with the sub out from the AVR connected to one side and the preamp connected to the other side. The output goes to the sub. I am using a power amp that has internal crossover settings and an SVS sub with DSP crossover and multiple settings accessed via Bluetooth. When I want to listen to my two channel setup I push the buttons on both switchers and use the SVS app to switch to the proper
Tks for updating. I need to learn how to do this. Good that it seems possible.

 

[JoachimStrobel]

Thanks Sal. You just hit the jackpot, and maybe stumbling into this forum will clear all doubts. For a long time I have been looking at all this DAC fever, and then there are DAC´s (a computer board!!) that can cost as much as $20k...insane. Likewise, there are US$99 DAC´s that perform better than DAC´s costing over US$2k from the same company...insane. I know I have DAC´s in my OPPO and the AV processor, but the hype always indicated that a dedicated DAC was better than what is inside these boxes. I read Amir´s review on the Marantz AV8005, which tested poorly, but is feature rich. Perhaps it is time to move to a new AV processor, like the US-made Emotiva RMC-1 (I hope it get tested here), that is as much feature rich as the Marantz.

I guess that the standalone DAC main purpose is to integrate a PC into a music system (???), and the sophisticated ($$$) DAC´s should fit the degree of sophistication of the music system that it is going into. Or if poor internal DAC´s, as in the Marantz AV8005, would necessitate an external DAC for sound improvement.

Many years ago I had the same fever: CD transport and DAC as separated. Sounded great. Later I added an Oppo103 whose internal DAC I benchmarked vs my separates, and yes, the Oppo lost, by a small margin.
And then ... I discovered Roon. With Quobuz. Now I stream all my music, even the CDs I own and am too lazy to copy onto my PC. Always great sound, often with better specs than my CD. And no more laser pickup changes and mechanical adjustments... And then I added a Rasp4 as Roon endpoint via Ethernet and ... an Apple DAC dongle via USB3 that Amir ranks so high. Sounds great and feels like 2020 and I better do not compare that to my old separates out of fear admitting things I do not want to. You mentioned Pc games and Mch. That adds another dimension to this DAC quest and for future developments you may want to look at 8ch DACs... And as somebody else mentioned, DRC is next... But I agree, keep it modular, no integrated stuff.

 

[Tks]

[Matrix Element i] perhaps?

 

[BDWoody]

Sounds great and feels like 2020 and I better do not compare that to my old separates out of fear admitting things I do not want to.

That's some pretty good insight...

It is remarkable how accessible absolute top tier (audibility wise) gear is these days.
Much less guesswork, and so incredibly convenient.