What should have priority at this point: SINAD or more headroom?

[GrahamHill963]

Hi all, in a search of upgrading my current amp and DAC, I am failing to oversee what should have priority.

I have two Elac dbr62 debut reference speakers. Correctly I have a fiio Bta30 pro DAC and SMSL DA-9 amp. I experience noise at higher volumes that I would like to get rid of.

I have narrowed my search down to a topping e70 velvet dac. The power amp is what boggles my mind.

Budget is max. 600 euros. I have narrowed it down to a topping PA7 (plus) or maybe two topping B100 monoblocks. The PA7 (plus) has tons of power, but has some distortion above 10KHz. The B100 obviously has much better SINAD along the entire audible frequency spectrum, but has a lot less headroom and practically equals the DA9 that I have now in terms of power.

So at the moment I am failing to see which amp would be the best choice to suit my needs.


Usage and scope: room listening (90sqm), incidentally at quite loud levels. Dynamic and complex music. Looking for a durable and reliable amplifier, which I could also use when I would make an upgrade to larger speakers in the distant future. I don't fool myself by imagining that I have the most precise audiophile ears in the world, I think they are slightly more critical than average.

Advice is very much appreciated.

 

[Sokel]

I read that right? 90 m² ?
I'd go for the headroom 100%, with maybe a bigger amp than those two.

At 80 m² I have about 1kW of power per side (more if we follow the burst measurement) at active setup and I feel it's adequate after EQ and RC.
It's not easy to fill such a room if we're talking solely 2 channel.
It's not even easy with subs if your midbass is not up to the task for high-ish levels.

 

[RandomEar]

Agree with @Sokel . Also, the E70 Velvet is not a cheap DAC. You can get the same audible performance from an E50 or an SMSL DO100. Unless you need a specific feature or absolutely want that form factor/design, I would save some money there and ditch the E70 Velvet. Then go for an amplifier with sufficient power. The PA7 Plus would be OK, a 3e audio A7 would be another choice in that price range. Personally, I would prefer something with an Hypex NCx500 module or similar, because that gives you more headroom for future speaker upgrades. But that would likely be >1000 €, so not cheap.

 

[digitalfrost]

Agree with @Sokel . Also, the E70 Velvet is not a cheap DAC. You can get the same audible performance from an E50 or an SMSL DO100. Unless you need a specific feature or absolutely want that form factor/design, I would save some money there and ditch the E70 Velvet. Then go for an amplifier with sufficient power. The PA7 Plus would be OK, a 3e audio A7 would be another choice in that price range. Personally, I would prefer something with an Hypex NCx500 module or similar, because that gives you more headroom for future speaker upgrades. But that would likely be >1000 €, so not cheap.

I agree with this. Lookint at the FiiO measurements, it's not so bad https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...th-transmitter-and-receiver-dac-review.38910/

OP could simply not buy a new DAC and put all money into an amplifier first.

Hi all, in a search of upgrading my current amp and DAC, I am failing to oversee what should have priority.

I have two Elac dbr62 debut reference speakers. Correctly I have a fiio Bta30 pro DAC and SMSL DA-9 amp. I experience noise at higher volumes that I would like to get rid of.

You should find out where the noise comes from. Easy to do if you replace 1 component at a time. Maybe borrow an amp/DAC from a dealer or order somewhere with good return policies (Amazon?).

 

[GrahamHill963]

Thanks all! That is great input that I certainly will take into consideration. I'll take some steps to determine the exact cause of the sound. I feel a bit stupid that I haven't pinpointed the noise to one of the specific devices.

I read that right? 90 m² ?
I'd go for the headroom 100%, with maybe a bigger amp than those two.

At 80 m² I have about 1kW of power per side (more if we follow the burst measurement) at active setup and I feel it's adequate after EQ and RC.
It's not easy to fill such a room if we're talking solely 2 channel.
It's not even easy with subs if your midbass is not up to the task for high-ish levels.

Yes, 90 m2 is correct. Yet, I have to say the room itself is a U-shaped space and the effective 'critical listening area' listening area is at most 35m2, which is the area with direct line of sight on the speakers. The speakers are at 'one leg' of the U.

When I'm in 'the other leg' of the U, the music is usually just playing in the background. It doesn't need to be very loud there. Due to the room architecture/reflections, much of the fine details of the music aren't well represented there anyways.

So, the amplifier does not need to fill the entire 90 m2 with loud dead accurate sound. Just about a third of the room, closest to the speakers. Even with the DA-9 loudness is sufficient, although it is not clean with my current setup.

But if I understand you all well, the overall advice is: 1) pinpoint noise to one device. 2) PA7 is a good upgrade, but better ones exist. I also think PA7 would me more than loud enough for this room.