Does my ideal DAC exist?

[rj2wells]

It would have the following features at a minimum:

1. A good DAC (this is the easy part I think)

2. A master volume control on all outputs

3. A subwoofer out with a low pass filter

4. A main out with a high pass filter

And it would ideally also have:

5. A headphone jack maybe with its own volume

6. A dynamic EQ, maybe even room correction

7. An off switch that I can press quickly, like when the phone rings and I want everything off

I am really struggling to find anything that even has the basic requirements. There's the minidsp the can do the high and low pass but it doesn't have a volume control.

A physical button or volume control matters to me because I don't want to be messing around with apps or menus or searching for or fiddling with a remote to shut off the sound when I answer a phone call. I want to be able to reach out with my hand and kill it (it will be sitting on my desk driving the audio system in my office).

How close can I get? I know I could buy a whole lot of different components to create the whole thing but then they probably won't fit on my desk and by the time I buy that many parts I will have spent a bundle anyway

 

[rj2wells]

What's triggered this question is the addition out a subwoofer. Previously I just had a DX1 feeding a Fosi v3 driving some bookshelf speakers (ascend HTM). But now a I'm adding a sub and I want the little amp and bookshelves to be relieved of the bass load.

Today I can kill the sound but flicking off the amp but if the sub is fed from the DAC instead it'll need a separate volume control or killing the amp won't kill the sound from the sub.

And my dx1 has a headphone jack. I'd like to keep that feature since now and then I listen with headphones and kill that amp.

 

[olieb]

There's the minidsp the can do the high and low pass but it doesn't have a volume control.

What is this big round thing on the left for?

EDIT: Flex does everything but #5, for that you need an extra amp. Or you might look for a DAC with double independent volume control, good luck with that.

 

[DVDdoug]

An AVR does everything you want! Not all have the high-passed preamp output, but they all have bass management for high-passed speaker outputs.

 

[phoenixdogfan]

A miniDSP Flex for 2+2, or a Flex 8 for 8X 8 with full DSP (Dirac), PEQ, routing matrix with input and output gain adjustment, limiter, digital high/low pass crossovers with selectable slopes, and a DAC with > 112 db Sinad which will be utterly transparent. And a master volume control. Does everything you've asked for.

 

[gvl]

I wish RME adds a sub output to the next ADI-2 DAC version, then it would tick most of these boxes. Probably not that much work needed to make it happen considering their existing features.

 

[rj2wells]

What is this big round thing on the left for?
View attachment 362289

Doesn't meet #5

 

[melomane13]

camilladsp + raspberrypi + 8ch usb sound card + remote and display+ streamer for free
Completly fit your need. but you do some work...

 

[V.b.]

Bluesound Node X, but it may miss 1. It hasn't been measured yet. And no EQ.

 

[anotherhobby]

Doesn't meet #5

Just get a headphone amp with passthru and place it between the miniDSP Flex and your mains amp, and then you can use one of the config presets on the Flex to do EQ in addition to turning off the subs. I use a Topping L50 between my Flex and Topping PA5. Works flawlessly, and you get headphone EQ to boot! If you click on the link to my desktop system in my signature, there is a nice system diagram showing it.

EDIT: in case it's not clear, when set up the way I'm describing, the miniDSP Flex remains the master volume control for headphones as well, and the headphone amp is set up with the volume turned all the way up, just like you would with a mains amp that has volume control (like my Topping PA5).

 

[rj2wells]

Just get a headphone amp with passthru and place it between the miniDSP Flex and your mains amp, and then you can use one of the config presets on the Flex to do EQ in addition to turning off the subs. I use a Topping L50 between my Flex and Topping PA5. Works flawlessly, and you get headphone EQ to boot! If you click on the link to my desktop system in my signature, there is a nice system diagram showing it.

EDIT: in case it's not clear, when set up the way I'm describing, the miniDSP Flex remains the master volume control for headphones as well, and the headphone amp is set up with the volume turned all the way up, just like you would with a mains amp that has volume control (like my Topping PA5).

Then bass will be subtracted from the headphones?

The flex would need a third output to have a channel without the high pass filter. Or the headphones go upstream of the flex which then means the DAC in the flex isn't being used.

 

[Middle Earth]

Wiim amp
Integrated Amp/AVR for room correction
would be less $$$ than a preamp that does everything you want
Not saying this, but something like this
The AVRs do everything for the least $$$

Denon AVR-S770H

7.2-channel home theater receiver with Dolby Atmos®, Bluetooth®, Apple AirPlay® 2, and Amazon Alexa compatibility

www.crutchfield.com

 

[anotherhobby]

Then bass will be subtracted from the headphones?

The flex would need a third output to have a channel without the high pass filter. Or the headphones go upstream of the flex which then means the DAC in the flex isn't being used.

No, bass is not subtracted from the headphones, and no additional outputs are needed. The Flex has 4 customizable config presets that control every setting in the device. All PEQ, crossovers, Dirac config, routing, levels, bla bla bla... all of it is unique to each config preset. You switch them using the dial or the remote control.

When the headphone amp is turned off, the output signal passes straight thru it to the PA5 amp, and I use preset 1 on the Flex which has my preferred Dirac curve, crossovers for mains and my 4 subs, as well as routing to the correct outputs, correct gain settings, and everything else that's configured to support that setup.

When I use headphones, all I do is turn on the headphone amp, and set the Flex to config preset 4. The headphone amp disables the passthru to the Topping PA5 when it's turned on. For me, preset 4 disables the two outputs I use for subs, it disables Dirac, it enables 10-band EQ using oratory1990's settings for my DCA headphones, along with any other settings I have for headphone use. The Flex is still the DAC, it still controls the volume, and still selects the inputs.

The ONLY reason this works is because the Flex has the 4 config presets to change it's entire config at the push of a button.

I love that headphone EQ is in hardware rather than having to do it out of band on my computer or something dumb.

It works fantastic this way, and feels completely natural.

 

[dualazmak]

> Does my ideal DAC exist?

No it does/did not exist, even though I already have the excellent OKTO DAC8 PRO.

My ideal DAC would be possible 16-Ch version, OKTO DAC16 PRO, of exactly the similar(or better) sound quality and functionalities including AES/EBU features, of course all the 16-Ch shoould be fully synchronized and recognized by single USB driver software. The backside view hopefully will be:

Spoiler

as I shared here;

 

[howard416]

Ultralite Mk5. It doesn’t have true crossover capability but you can get close enough using its built-in PEQ (what it does to the phase I’m not sure). Otherwise, CamillaDSP