Looking for AMP and DAC combination for bookshelf speaker recommendations

[sulfura]

Hi,

A couple of years I purchased some audio equipment and now I want to replace my weird amplifier setup:

Current Setup:

Apple TV 4K (3rd gen) & Xbox Series X via HDMI
to
Sony TV (1x HDMI ARC)
&
AT-LP120XUSB (with phono Pre-amp)
to (the tv is using a cheap amazon toslink to analog converter)
Dynavox VR-400 amplifier
to
Q Acoustics 3020i

My current issues with the Dynavox VR-400 are the following:

• No remote control
• Limited Bluetooth (only SBC codec)
• No direct optical input (requires converter)
• Occasional glitches with the toslink-to-RCA converter
• Sound quality is good though!

At first I thought that buying an integrated amplifier would be the best solution, but missing features and price seem to place this out of reach. I am located in the EU and want to spend 200 EUR - 400 EUR. Now I thought about combining a DAC + Amplifier. Is the combination of Topping D50 III + PA5 II a good choice or over-specced for my speakers and inputs? Or should I invest less in a DAC and more into a amplifier such as a Yamaha A-S301? And then having HDMI ARC would reduce the amount of remotes? With all the choices I feel like a deer caught in the headlights.

 

[staticV3]

Hi @sulfura! Welcome to ASR.

I would strongly suggest a unit from WiiM.

Either the WiiM Amp/Amp Pro, or the WiiM Ultra coupled with your Dynavox.

All of them have optical input, a dedicated remote, and ARC with CEC so that you can use the TV remote for volume control.

All of them have built-in room correction to seriously boost audio quality.

All of them have Bluetooth input, though you can just add well use their network casting functionality for even better sound quality.

All of them will automatically switch inputs depending on which one is currently active and playing, and you can even set different EQ per input.

And all of then have subwoofer integration features, should you want to go there later on.

 

[sulfura]

Thank you for that quick reply! Also looked into the Wiim and was unsure whether it was mabye too good to be true. Will reconsider it now.

You mentioned the combination of using my existing dynavox amp with the wiim ultra. Though in this case the audio will be regulated by the dynavox and I would remain with having no ability to control the audio levels with a remote. Just the knob on the amp?

 

[staticV3]

You mentioned the combination of using my existing dynavox amp with the wiim ultra. Though in this case the audio will be regulated by the dynavox and I would remain with having no ability to control the audio levels with a remote. Just the knob on the amp?

No, you can still use the TV remote via ARC, the WiiM remote, the volume slider in the WiiM Home App, or the Ultra's front panel volume knob to control volume, even if you use an external Amp like the Dynavox VR-400.