2. digital
  3. 164125-3775

DAC's with volume control question

it's been a while since i researched/purchased DAC's. grabbed a new PS Audio PWDII w/Bridge about 10 years ago and it has kept me happy for a long time. need a short term replacement (meaning inexpensive) and am looking for info regarding current DAC's that can be used stand alone without a preamp for volume control.  the PWDII had a shortcoming that would do "something bad" when operated below 50% volume. losing bits or something like that??. 

my question is .... has this issue been resolved in general? 10 years is alot of time in the digital realm and would like to know if modern technology has eliminated this problem with volume control/loss of sound quality.

have three on the list but see nothing disclosed regarding volume control short comings. is it safe to assume no such issues exist anymore? thus not even mentioned?

this is a temporary replacement. probably only 1-1.5 years. don't want to add a preamp so my list is limited to inexpensive options with preamp/volume control so far 

Peach Tree Decco125 SKY
Cambridge CNX V2
Cambridge 851N

seems the 851N might be more of what i need but am concerned about mid-fi integrated preamp hardware making things sound worse. the CNX V2 seems to be more like my PWDII and is preamp-ish with volume control. no real dedicated/integrated preamp hardware. the CXN V2 has me concerned about the volume control having shortcomings like my PWDII.

thanks in advance for any help/input

levy03

Showing 3 responses by unsound

unsound
7,310 posts
 
It can depend on the DAC and the sensitivity of your amp.
unsound
7,310 posts
 
Ideally the DAC would have a max voltage output of 1.9 Volts. This would allow for maximum range of volume control and no chance of bit stripping, while still allowing your amp to provide all the power you paid for. You’re not likely to match that exactly perfectly. Not to worry. Depending on the implementation, some DAC chips such as some of the Sabre DAC chips have up to 32 bits available. Each bit is capable of of 12 dB of attenuation. As most commercial music media is limited to 24 bits, in such a case you’ll have plenty of bits to spare without having to worrying about resolution loss due to bit stripping. Your amp’s input sensitivity should make it easy to match with many if not most DACs that have enough bits to spare.
unsound
7,310 posts
 
Asking the manufacturer for a Voltage output isn’t too much to ask. I certainly would. Standard CD output via RCA is 2 Volts, standard HDCD output via RCA is 2.2 Volts. Not all manufacturers play by the rules.
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