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Focal Aria 906, AMP / Pre-amp with Audiophonics EVO-SABRE

T35t

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Hi!

I have lurked ASR for a long time and love all the reviews and this science minded community:).

I own a pair of Aria 906s speakers driven by an old Denon AVR-1910 that I bought 2nd hand when I was student. It has no streaming functionality what-so-ever which is why I recently ordered the Audiophonics EVO-SABRE dac because of the convenient 1 box solution with Rpi4, balanced xlr, and good reviews. I want to get rid of the Denon since I will never use 7:1 surround and it's too bulky.

I noticed that Class D amps have come a long way (such as the Purifi and nCore amps) and I am eyeballing the various Audiophonics HPA-T400ET (Stereo). I plan to upgrade gradually.

My main concern however, is how I would properly connect my active XTZ subwoofer in the chain. I could simplify by going with a slimmed down integrated amp and bypass its dac. But the idea of having a lot of power in a D-amp that can handle an upgrade to floorstanding speakers is something I like. So in this case, I would need a preamp where I can connect my active sub. But I don't find so many well regarded preamps in the review index. The dacs and power amps seem to have the spotlight.

Rpi4 > Audiophonics EVO-SABRE dac > ???? > Audiophonics HPA-T400ET > Focal Aria 906.

I don't want to overspend and would prefer to buy second hand and not spend more than like 1500$. So units like the NAD M23, M33 is out of the question here in Sweden. Im not foreign to DIYs either as long as does not require a bachelor in electronics engineering. Since I want to use CamillaDSP with my Rpi4 for room correction, MiniDSP will also feel a bit redundant.

What amp/pre-amp can you recommend? How can I put this all together with my active sub?

Kind regards
 

delta76

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If you are playing digital, why would you need a preamp? I am unfamiliar with the DAC but it seems a good one. you don't need a preamp
 

chips666

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If you are playing digital, why would you need a preamp? I am unfamiliar with the DAC but it seems a good one. you don't need a preamp
XLR to AMP and RCA to SUB both are actice
Enjoy...
 
OP
T

T35t

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If you are playing digital, why would you need a preamp? I am unfamiliar with the DAC but it seems a good one. you don't need a preamp
You are completely correct and logical. I should have been more clear. For some reason I thought I wouldn't have nice tonal control for treble etc, but like you said, this is best done at the digital source. I haven't owned much audio electronics and relied mostly on integrated where I had everything.

XLR to AMP and RCA to SUB both are actice
Enjoy...
It didn't occur to me that I could use the two remaining RCA outputs into the sub when using the XLR in. I noticed that some amplifiers have a switch where you could toggle between XLR/RCA. For some reason thought it applied here too, but the switch must have been for XLR/RCA input, correct?:] (and thank you!)
 
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