It's an integrated, no? If yes, where are you connecting the CD player? What the? A CD player should be similar too a tape deck. It doesn't amplify the signal that much. What am I missing?
Yes, an outboard DAC would be better for the sound, but the amount of gain would be the same I believe. Oh well. What do I know
I had hoped someone else would answer, as I'm no expert.
As you know, a volume control is one of the most important features of an analog stereo for sound quality. There are various implementations and some of them are very expensive. That's because it's important.
One of the basics of system building is gain matching, so that the volume control can operate in the optimal area of its range--not too far toward either extreme. And this is easy to diagnose--basically, you want your volume control at about the 12 o'clock position, i.e., the middle of its range, when listening at normal background listening levels. The Musical Fidelity A3.5 appears to have 12 dB of gain in its linestage section and 30 dB of gain in its power amp section, 42 dB total. CD players--my main source for this system--can have four times the output voltage of a normal line source. 42 dB of gain is just too much for a CD player in my system. I end up with the volume knob at 8 or 9 o'clock for normal listening--just a little past nothing--and when it's at 10 o'clock it's already too loud. At these positions the volume knob is not passing the signal very well--stereo tracking is at its worst, and the volume knob is touchy, with very slight changes in position creating large changes in volume. Not ideal.
By using a DAC/preamp with its own volume control and running it into the HT Bypass inputs on the integrated, which is essentially a "main in," or "preamp in," I would theoretically be bypassing the preamp section in the A3.5 and just using its power amp, but it would decrease the system gain by eliminating the 12 dB of gain in the preamp section of the integrated.
I think, anyway. I don't know how a DAC/preamp handles gain or how much any particular one contributes to system gain. It would be easy to figure out if I just had one and hooked it up, but I'm not really sure how to calculate it from spec sheets. Especially when some spec sheets don't give the needed figures. And I really don't know anything about digital audio.
For a CD player input, you want the amplification to contribute about 22 or 23 dB of gain.
It's possible that the excessive gain of the A3.5 is the explanation why it was discontinued so quickly. I think it was only sold for a year or two.
If any actual expert wants to correct any of the above, or suggest alternate solutions for me, I'm all ears.
Mike
