Thank you for your reply
@gvl
Based on the discussion here (
Review and Measurements of Benchmark HPA4 Headphone Amp/Pre | Page 7 | Audio Science Review (ASR) Forum ) I think
@John_Siau demonstrated the point that introducing a good preamp between DAC3 and AHB2 does improve the noise floor (theoretically and maybe audibly). I am new to the forum, so I might be wrong based on some other discussion in some other thread.
This is the summary of John Siau's post:
At typical listening levels, the LA4 can reduce the system noise by 7 to 10 dB. If the speakers are efficient enough to reproduce the system noise at levels above 0 dB SPL, then the LA4 can make an audible improvement in the system noise floor. This will happen if the speakers have an efficiency greater than 100 dB at 2.828 Vrms, 1 meter. This would be a gain setting of -22 dB (which I am calculating from the nearest measured point which is -21 dB). If I run this again, I will make a measurement at 2.828 Vrms (1 W into 8 Ohms).
The differences may be more noticeable with headphones or with bridged mono installations.
I don't have the funds right now to get a LA4 / HPA4 - Else I would have, without doubt, added HPA4 in my list for consideration
So, my question still remains :-(
- Will the SNR of my system improve by introducing the Topping Pre90 in my setup? If yes, by how much (same as LA4 or less) ?
It will be really nice if
@JohnYang1997 , you can also chime in and let us know your thoughts.