DAC upgrade or Amplifier


Which has more influence over the soundstage - the DAC or the amp? My sound stage is high and wide, but recordings sound 3 dimensional only rarely. My equipment is at best mid fi - Adcom 5500 amp and Cambridge audio DAC magic. Listening primarily to Tidal at their highest level available.  The rest of the system if Adcom Preamp 750 (the Nelson Pass design), Tyler Acoustic speakers, tributary cables throughout. Any advice or suggestions for upgrades for improving the "depth" of the soundstage is appreciated (let's say that an upgrade for less than $1500 is in the budget, and I'm comfortable buying used from reputable sources). Thanks!

philtangerine

Showing 4 responses by philtangerine

Thank you all who've commented so far. I'll start by pushing the TV back farther toward the wall to be sure the screen is at least 18 inches or more behind the speakers, and the speakers stay out at least 3 feet from the rear wall. @2psyop , Kalali's comments are correct. Even without the ability to unfold, MQA sounds to my ears like an upgrade vs standard CD, though I've read that you can't get the full benefit w/o an appropriate DAC.  I have gone direct to amp as you've suggested, but prefer the sound with the pre in the loop. @Auxinput, thank you for your thoughtful response. @vegasears can you suggest a tube amp (for under$1500)? 
Awesome. Thank you everyone for your thoughts here. I think the direction I'm heading is first to do what I can to position the tv further behind the speakers and dampen down some reflective surface throughout the room, and then experiment with cables and or components (though interestingly, no one has jumped out and said specifically that the DAC itself is the component to start with). Seems like there's still some love out there for the Adcom Pre Amp, though possibly some upgrades to it will improve it.  Thank Blindjim for your suggestions for room improvement, and thank you Kalali for your comments regarding the Adcom pre.
 Steve @audioengr  - before I posted I did some reading on DACs and there seems to be some reservation  out there about a DAC with a digital volume control - that keeping the volume control in the analogue sequence is important to the overall sound. Aside from that, I was quite interested in a DAC that would be an upgrade to my existing DAC and Adcom Pre...do you have any concerns about digital volume controls?