To Stack, or not to stack ...

[JeremyFife]

Hi All,
I'd appreciate some advice as I re-educate myself.
I'm contemplating a re-organisation of my setup, possibly starting again from scratch - I'll save a fortune on interconnects now
Anyway: I may end up with a number of boxes; streamer, dac, phono-stage, pre-amp, power-amp. Possibly headphone amp, possibly fewer items.
I had always thought that stacking boxes was 'bad' but I now doubt that advice ...

What is the impact of stacking these items? Can I just pile everything up, or should I take care with the organisation - e.g. should I avoid placing anything on the power-amp. I'll take care of the aesthetics, I'd like to know what to watch out for in terms of audio quality.

Thanks in advance, cheers

 

[ThatM1key]

Stacks are just for looks. I guess technically its better than having all-in-one units like an AVR but this is true with any piece of changeable gear.

 

[EdTice]

Hi All,
I'd appreciate some advice as I re-educate myself.
I'm contemplating a re-organisation of my setup, possibly starting again from scratch - I'll save a fortune on interconnects now
Anyway: I may end up with a number of boxes; streamer, dac, phono-stage, pre-amp, power-amp. Possibly headphone amp, possibly fewer items.
I had always thought that stacking boxes was 'bad' but I now doubt that advice ...

What is the impact of stacking these items? Can I just pile everything up, or should I take care with the organisation - e.g. should I avoid placing anything on the power-amp. I'll take care of the aesthetics, I'd like to know what to watch out for in terms of audio quality.

Thanks in advance, cheers

As long as you don't block any air vents and cause over-heating!

 

[tomtoo]

There are many answers possible to this question.
But to make it easy.
Dont stack if you not have to.

And if you have to, better not on the power amp.

But thats very general, and like all general rules you could say, but it depends.......

 

[Willem]

You may not need this many boxes, however. I use a Chromecast Audio as a streamer, and it hardly qualifies as a box. My RME ADI-2 DAC serves as a (very good) preamp for digital sources and I no longer use analogue sources. For the ultimate in simplicity, get a Sonos AMP. Everything is built in, and the whole unit is not only good looking, but can be put away in a cupboard. You only need more complexity if you have more sources than TV and streaming, or if you need more power. In fact, the Sonos AMP even has an analogue input. That input is not state of the art, but neither are analogue sources.

 

[EdTice]

You may not need this many boxes, however. I use a Chromecast Audio as a streamer, and it hardly qualifies as a box. My RME ADI-2 DAC serves as a (very good) preamp for digital sources and I no longer use analogue sources. For the ultimate in simplicity, get a Sonos AMP. Everything is built in, and the whole unit is not only good looking, but can be put away in a cupboard. You only need more complexity if you have more sources than TV and streaming, or if you need more power. In fact, the Sonos AMP even has an analogue input. That input is not state of the art, but neither are analogue sources.

I use less boxes than that! FireTV or ChromeCast hooks up to the TV (They say not to power it with the USB ports on the TV, but I've never had a problem. YMMV). One HDMI ARC cable to the AVR and done. If you already have amps, maybe one HDMI cable to the AVR. The OP mentioned a phone pre-amp though so maybe they also have a turntable that they want to hook up. Even then, AVR with a phono stage! Modern AVRs are so good that the only time they don't make sense is for a desktop setup where you use a desktop DAC and a 2.1 system

 

[threni]

Listen out for hum. I couldn't put my Schiit Loki on top of my Schiit 3, for example. Possibly less of a problem for boxes using external transformers.

 

[JeremyFife]

Thanks all.
For some more info:
I listen to music (no video requirement) in a 2.0 (stereo) setup. May go for 2.1 and add a sub further down the line. I still have a turntable and I want to keep that.
My preferred music service is Amazon (don't ask, but a family subscription is part of that) and that really limits me to the streamer that will give me a hi-res (better than 16/44.1) feed. I use a Bluesound Node as transport and I'm happy.
The question is really about any interference or impact on audio quality if the various boxes are stacked. "old" thinking told me that there would be all sorts of interference
I get the issue with heat, I'll take that on board

 

[Fahzz]

I recently bought a new 252 Hypex Amp which is about a quarter of the size of my Parasound 2125 v2. the Hypex will be the main amp, but my AVR allows for a Zone 2, and I'd like to use use the Parasound to drive one set of small speakers in the kitchen and another on the porch. The Parasound has the capability of driving two stereo pairs, so I can power them.

My question is: Can I put the small Hypex directly on top of the Parasound without doing any damage? I don't listen at high volume, and the parasound will see only limited action. Ocassionally I'll be using both amps at once.

Thanks.

 

[Doodski]

Can I put the small Hypex directly on top of the Parasound without doing any damage?

Do not do that. The heat will be reflected off the base plate back into the Parasound. It will increase the heat level and decrease component life expectancy. I had a customer do that before and the result was no good.

 

[Fahzz]

Do not do that. The heat will be reflected off the base plate back into the Parasound. It will increase the heat level and decrease component life expectancy. I had a customer do that before and the result was no good.

Thanks. That's was my gut feeling. I have limited space on my stereo rack so that's why I asked. It dawned on me that the Hypex is so small I can just hide it in the space behind the rack, where there's plenty of room and ventilation, and leave the Parasound in place. That's a bonus on these little amps.

 

[Doodski]

Thanks. That's was my gut feeling. I have limited space on my stereo rack so that's why I asked. It dawned on me that the Hypex is so small I can just hide it in the space behind the rack, where there's plenty of room and ventilation, and leave the Parasound in place. That's a bonus on these little amps.

Class D is a game changer for sure. I wonder when a SMPS with headphone class D amp will come out.