DAC/Pre's Digital attenuation vs. analog


Hello

I'm trying to decide whether to buy a W4S DAC2 and use the digital preamp, or to get the DAC1 with a separate component preamp (such as a Bryston BP25). I don't care all that much about the cost; just performance.

What are the advantages/disadvantages of going either way?

(I'm also considering a Benchmark HDR or USB).
robertsong

Showing 1 response by mihaitaa

I'm having a hard time agreeing with "32bit offers only 16dB of attenuation before eating into the 16bit resolution of Redbook".
As far as I know, every bit accounts for 6dB, thus 16x6 would mean that a DAC chip working internally on 32 bit will offer 96dB of digital attenuation of a redbook stream before loss of information occurs. And that's pretty much the entire dynamic range of redbook.
Attenuation in the digital domain is no longer the bad thing it used to be, with the advent of these 24-32 bit DAC chips. The myth, though, will continue, I'm sure.