The other main con is that the outboard DAC may not have enough output to drive the power amps. Some DAC's only have the volume control as an afterthought.
I heard a system which was substantially improved by the addition of a preamp. Before the preamp was added, the system would run out of puff when given something dynamic to play. Even with the volume control maxed out, the system could not go higher than 85dB. CD's that were mastered at low volume were especially problematic - the lack of gain made these CD's much too quiet to listen to.
It all depends on your DAC and power amp. Specifically, the output voltage and output impedance of your DAC, and the input sensitivity and input impedance of your power amp. If these are poorly matched then you won't be happy.
All the best from sunny Australia!
Keith
I heard a system which was substantially improved by the addition of a preamp. Before the preamp was added, the system would run out of puff when given something dynamic to play. Even with the volume control maxed out, the system could not go higher than 85dB. CD's that were mastered at low volume were especially problematic - the lack of gain made these CD's much too quiet to listen to.
It all depends on your DAC and power amp. Specifically, the output voltage and output impedance of your DAC, and the input sensitivity and input impedance of your power amp. If these are poorly matched then you won't be happy.
All the best from sunny Australia!
Keith