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Is it possible to EQ warmth into sound via DAC? (speakers: Focal Aria 906)

murkr

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Im buying a pair of Focal Aria 906 and currently have a RME ADI-2 DAC.

I'm researching different amps with prices from $500 to 2000. The more expensive ones giving I guess a more desirable sound.

My question is, since I have a really nice DAC, can't I just EQ warmth into the sound so that it wouldnt matter which amp I buy?

My thoughts: I like a warmer sound so I was going to buy a Willsenton R8 tube amp for $1500. I plan to use this for 12+ hours a day and sometimes accidentally left on all night so I'd assume my tubes would only last a couple of years. So why not get just a $500 solid state amp like a Yamaha A-S501 or emotiva BasX A2 and then just EQ warmth via DAC. Would it be possible to EQ it to sound like a tube amp?

I'm new to all of this btw.
How my DAC EQ's:
 
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staticV3

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Tube amps add harmonic distortion, EQ changes the frequency response. They're different things.

You can add harmonic distortion via software DSP, but not via your ADI-2.

You can add warmth to your speakers (=increase bass/reduce treble) with the EQ that's built into your ADI-2.
It may not be the same kind of warmth that a tube amp would give you, but it's very much worth trying out.

Here's a graph to get you started on frequency response and what frequencies do what:
descriptors2.png
 

Killingbeans

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;)
And then there's:
 

DVDdoug

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I'm researching different amps with prices from $500 to 2000. The more expensive ones giving I guess a more desirable sound.
I would assume they sound the same. Maybe the more expensive one has more power or is more ruggedly built or is more visually attractive or maybe the manufacturer has a "premium" reputation....

If there's a difference in sound quality it's usually noise (background hiss or hum). Unless a lower-power amp is driven into distortion.

My question is, since I have a really nice DAC, can't I just EQ warmth into the sound so that it wouldnt matter which amp I buy?
What does "warm" mean to you?

I used to think it means a boost the upper-bass (maybe around 100Hz or something). If that's what you want, EQ is the way to go.

But to some people it's slight "desirable" distortion. You might get that from a tube amp but just like a good solid state amp, any good amp isn't supposed to have any sound of it's own. Maybe in the 1950s or 60s tube equipment may have had an upper-bass bass boost but more likely it had rolled-off highs.

Other than intentional effects like EQ or reverb, etc., speakers (and headphones) make the biggest differences and have the biggest defects.
 

levimax

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A good quality power amp whether tube or SS is not going alter the sound and will be transparent. Only tube amps purposely built to produce distortion and poor frequency response are going to sound audibly different and even then it will depend a lot on the speakers used. There is not really an agreed upon definition of a "warm" sound and you can find endless arguments on the subject. I would recommend you get as clean and powerful of an amp as you can afford and get it set up in your room with your speakers and EQ them to be as flat as possible. After that then you can play around with additional EQ or emulators to fine tune the sound if you want but don't be surprised if flat accurate response it going to be your preference. Have fun and enjoy
 

kongwee

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Harmonic distortion and saturation(input isn't as liner as it's output) are the two thing beside EQ. Also biasing to make it more complex.
 

Dunring

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The SMSL M300 and D0200 have filter and color settings which together can help change the sound without eq. The Topping d90se new firmware just added tube filters, but it's really overpriced. Filters alone don't do enough, but colors in combo you can notice.
 

kemmler3D

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Subjective warmth is usually from boosted low-mids, (boost from about 100-500hz) slow roll-off of highs (could start as low as 5khz but definitely no higher than 10khz) and harmonic distortion and possibly a smidge of compression.

The frequency response stuff is achievable with the RME, but to do good harmonic distortion you would probably want to use a PC and some nice VST plugins. There are plenty out there that can dial in "analog sound" used by producers, there is no reason you can't put something in your playback system if you want. This is far from the "purist" mentality, but producers use these effects because they sound good... in some cases you might find more is more.
 

fpitas

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Yes, you can EQ warmth. I adjust my EQ for a fair amount.
 

AnalogSteph

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EQ is definitely the way to go here (and / or room treatment if the surroundings are very lively... the Aria 906 should tend towards a slight midrange scoop, it's also rather a tad light on deep bass in order to preserve some decent level handling). Getting some measurement equipment would be very useful in showing what the room's issues are.

If you attempt to add "warmth" via an amp with a bunch of distortion, the result may sound good with sparse instrumentation but the IMD will turn more complex, dynamic tracks into mush - i.e. possibly good for jazz but not on metal. Imagine spending a bunch of money on an amplifier only for it to be genre-dependent. Applying any kind of grossly nonlinear effect to the final mix is generally discouraged even in music production.

Not to mention that a tube amp is likely to be a bit of a power hog when compared to its output power capabilities, and not the kind of thing I'd want to keep running all the time. (The heaters of 4 KT88s alone will draw 40 W secondary-side, plate current might add another 20-30 W, plus all the rest, so maybe 100 W idle mains-side? That's like 4 Class D power amps with 4 times the power output.) That's probably not kind of the warmth you're looking for...
 

Sokel

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EQ'ing mid bass without adequate drivers won't cut it,have tried it and the results is a joke.,you find that down (literally) the road.
Look at Wilson Tunetot for example who is tuned this way.
 

Waxx

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I'm not convinced software can do that, i have the real deal, a tube amp and never heared a plugin or other software that can do a realistic harmonic distortion like a tube amp does. With Jfet transistors you can emulate that for much cheaper and less power consuming, but not with software (yet!!).

The classic eq profile you can emulate, that is a bass boost in the 50-250hz region, and a slow roll of of the highs from arround 12kHz or even lower. But the harmonic distortion still need to be done with hardware. Luckely there are some nerds online who sell diy boards that are very cheap and simple that does the same as that expensive tube amp. Search for the H2 boards on the diaudio.com webshop and use those in unity gain before your amp.
 

Keith_W

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I'm not convinced software can do that, i have the real deal, a tube amp and never heared a plugin or other software that can do a realistic harmonic distortion like a tube amp does. With Jfet transistors you can emulate that for much cheaper and less power consuming, but not with software (yet!!).

You are correct. A tube amp produces more distortion the harder it is driven along with other artefacts such as dynamic compression, whereas software DSP adds a fixed amount of harmonic distortion regardless of volume - so it is not the same.
 

krabapple

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Im buying a pair of Focal Aria 906 and currently have a RME ADI-2 DAC.

I'm researching different amps with prices from $500 to 2000. The more expensive ones giving I guess a more desirable sound.

My question is, since I have a really nice DAC, can't I just EQ warmth into the sound so that it wouldnt matter which amp I buy?

Yes.

Now, define 'warmth'.
 
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