Without any form of bass management - as I've said, any DAC with balanced and unbalanced outputs and volume control can be connected to a sub.
All the DSPs affect the signal, usually add noise etc. Not sure what streamers you mean? I wouldn't think having a power amp and sub connected to a DAC would cause any more significant time delay issues than having the sub connected to the stereo amp.
The point about processing and relative delays is well taken. If there is a technical reason why the SW are being left off the DAC's, it most like is because the companies designing the chips at the core of the cheap amps have included a SW out. For example the SMSL A300 uses an Infineon MA12070 chip for amplification. According to Infineon's website this chip is, "suitable for 2.0, 2.1, 4.0, 1.0 output stage configurations", which suggests that the SW out is a feature of this amplifier chip and not the DAC chip. The problem I have with this is that DAC's currently on the market are effectively pre-amps in that they output line-level analog signals. The sw out is properly a pre-out function. Why integrate the SW pre-amp signal into an amplification chip? There must be a reason at the circuit level for this strategy. Nonetheless, it suggests that the problem is with the makers of the DAC and amp chips that companies like SMSL are using. This website does not review the raw chips although I suppose Amir could try to set up a test bed for it (similar to the driver bench testing published on the audioxpress website). Since it does not, my request goes to companies like SMSL.
Yes, I'm testing the RCA out on my SMSL M300 to a sub, but it has the problem that you are only pulling from one channel. While that wouldn't matter for most material where the sub-bass content is probably evenly split between the channels, some modern music has bass that was mixed to swing between the channels that would suck if only one channel were played.
But then there will be no bass management, unless there are high/low pass filter available on the power amp and the subwoofer, or the subwoofer can implement the crossover.
not unless you can get an output the sums the bass from both channels. Subs only have one line level in and two subs are for reinforcement typically and not channels.
Not all subs. As I've said I'm using a DAC to feed my sub?
well, it still wouldn't give you any bass management with the main speakers, but it would derive sound from both channels. Of course such a setup would depend highly on the bass output behavior of your main speakers, a likely problematic issue. My Monoprice M-10 does have two inputs, but that's the main sub for the movie room, and the main speakers in the audio room right now are Linton's that have bass output down into the 40's so with the linearity of the Monoprice I would expect that experience to kind of suck.
It is a bit yes.
I didn't say it would give bass management
Do you have an e70 topping to compare? In my mind, this is the main competition for the DO200mk2. Trigger, 5/2.5V, still readable display from 3 meters, faster switching of sources from the unit, direct switching of filters from the remote control. Sound? I need to listen more. MQA is nice that it is, but still not decisive. DO200 natively goes for BT LDAC, Topping AptX. I suspect that if topping had updated the MK2 Smsl DO200MKII chip, it would have been eaten by Topping E70MKII.
I really don't see where it's asking for too much considering that the A300 for $200 already does more., nor do I see where you have offered one detail on why, from an engineering or design standpoint, that it might be "too much". In fact the A300 even offers mono-amp mode where it sends a pre-out for the second channel to a second A300 without compromising the high-pass filter, suggesting that the filtering is being done in the DAC stage and not in the amplifier chip. SMSL even describes this filtering as patented "SDB/ SMSL Dynamic Bass", and uses that same terminology across multiple DAC/AMPs, again suggesting that the technology is happening between the DAC chip and the amp chip. But thanks for letting me know that on a forum where we discuss the pros and cons of various audio devices it's unacceptable to suggest the current string of DACs has a con.
