Pre-amp upgrade advice

[olds1959special]

I am currently using a Schiit Saga S in active mode but my dac has balanced outputs that could be used. I was considering the Topping PRE90 + EXT90 combo. I'm using short 1/2 foot RCA cables to connect the dac to pre-amp. Then I use 6 foot RCA cables to connect to my four mono blocks. The sound is excellent, but I have upgradititis and was wondering if any performance increase could be gained by changing what I have now. Or if there is any other way to improve SQ in my system?

 

[Rednaxela]

*cough*DSP*cough*

 

[JeremyFife]

What's your full system, and What's wrong with it that you'd like to change?

You only mention some electronics, and that's probably not the place to start.

Also... DSP

 

[olds1959special]

Smsl do100 pro - .5 ft mogami 2964 rca -schiit saga s - 6 foot mogami 2964 rca cables (pair) to four Kenwood l-05m’s going to a pair of Vandersteen 2ce sig II speakers.

What’s the dsp do? I don’t need eq really. Would there be a benefit to using digital crossovers? There are already crossovers in each speaker.

The speakers are bi wired with 1 mono block amp for each set of drivers (low and mid/high)

I went direct from Dac to amps and was impressed by the level of detail. Maybe I’m looking for a more transparent preamp that lets more detail through?

Body and impact of the sound matters, but detail matters more.

 

[JeremyFife]

Biggest influence on your sound is your speakers and the interaction between them and your room.

After that it's your ears , your mood and the source signal.

Electronics, unless broken or badly underpowered, come after all that.

DSP - digital signal processing - helps adjust the problems that speakers have in rooms, since no speakers are perfect and neither are rooms. You may have nulls, reflections or other peaks/dips for any number of reasons.
Difficult to say more without knowing more.

It's tricky to describe this subjectively, but what's your view on what you would like to improve?

 

[olds1959special]

Although probably not perfect, I think the acoustics are decent in my space, since it's not a box shape, and fairly large in size, and there is sufficient treatment from furniture and rugs. Also the speakers are placed pretty far away from the walls.

I probably am just not used to having a great system, and being a tinkerer I'm always looking to try things out. But I always want more micro details to come through, and hearing realism that make my skin crawl is fun.

 

[Rednaxela]

Or if there is any other way to improve SQ in my system?

What’s the dsp do?

One very real and relatively easy way to improve your sound quality is by finding your room modes and compensating for them. Another one would be dynamic loudness.

Out of interest, is the Schiit only there to get you 4 RCA outs?

 

[olds1959special]

One very real and relatively easy way to improve your sound quality is by finding your room modes and compensating for them. Another one would be dynamic loudness.

Out of interest, is the Schiit only there to get you 4 RCA outs?

Yes, the four RCA outputs is great because I'm using four amps. Otherwise I would have to use splitters. Also I prefer having a proper analog volume control as an additional layer of protection, and don't want to lose bits from using the digital volume of the dac. And I need remote control which the Schiit Saga S has.

 

[Rednaxela]

Otherwise I would have to use splitters.

Or something to go from balanced to unbalanced?


Edit: you’d lose the protection layer, which is a good thing to have. The other arguments in favor of keeping the Schiit I’m less sure about. For instance, doesn’t the SMSL have a remote too?

 

[olds1959special]

Or something to go from balanced to unbalanced?

Yes, I would need a pre-amp that has four unbalanced RCA outputs and balanced inputs, like the Topping PRE90 with EXT90.

 

[pogo]

Bluesound Node Icon with Dirac Live

 

[olds1959special]

Or something to go from balanced to unbalanced?


Edit: you’d lose the protection layer, which is a good thing to have. The other arguments in favor of keeping the Schiit I’m less sure about. For instance, doesn’t the SMSL have a remote too?

Yea, the dac has a remote which works great for volume and mute.

 

[amper42]

Consider the RME ADI-2 DAC FS. It's built in pre-amp is amazing and the "Loudness" controls allow you to tune the sound exactly the way you want it. After having mine for several years I wouldn't want any other setup. Add a Purifi amp and you have an amazing setup with unmatched flexibility.

 

[Rednaxela]

Consider the RME ADI-2 DAC FS. It's built in pre-amp is amazing and the "Loudness" controls allow you to tune the sound exactly the way you want it. After having mine for several years I wouldn't want any other setup. Add a Purifi amp and you have an amazing setup with unmatched flexibility.

But they would lose the biamping right?

 

[olds1959special]

But they would lose the biamping right?

I would need to use splitters or something to get four outputs from two.

 

[amper42]

I would need to use splitters or something to get four outputs from two.

It depends. The XLR and the RCA outs are both active by default on the ADI-2 DAC FS.
Personally, I have not found any advantage with bi-amping but the output capability is available with a "Y" splitter or using both XLR and RCA if you need it.

 

[JeremyFife]

Although probably not perfect, I think the acoustics are decent in my space, since it's not a box shape, and fairly large in size, and there is sufficient treatment from furniture and rugs. Also the speakers are placed pretty far away from the walls.

I probably am just not used to having a great system, and being a tinkerer I'm always looking to try things out. But I always want more micro details to come through, and hearing realism that make my skin crawl is fun.

Sounds like a lovely system.

DSP is a great place for tinkering, especially if you start to measure the outcomes too. Worth at least reading up on.