DAC with volume control + Integrated Amp = bad?


Hi! I would like to start by asking for your patience here as I am just a beginner in Hifi... but I am really willing to learn :)

I am thinking of ordering a DAC from AudioEngine named Audioengine D1. It is equipped with AKM4396, a sought after DAC chip.

However, I only have integrated amplifier. So it means the signal from my hard drive basically need to run through 2 pre amp (one from the DAC, one from the Inte Amp). Is it a bad thing and how will it affect sound quality?

Should it buy a HRT Music Streamer for 150 usd instead? It does not have volume control but it using PCM1793 D/A chip, supposedly inferior to AKM 4396.

Thank you very much for reading the post! I am really looking forward for your help!
bepositive

Showing 1 response by chayro

First - I would be less concerned with the chip than the overall sound. There is a lot more to a DAC than the chip. That aside, I would not be concerned about running a dac with a volume control into an integrated. Using the DAC at a higher volume control (3/4 full or so) will generally give a better signal to noise ratio, but the DAC should be set to a place where the integrated's volume is at a "normal" setting - not unusually high or low. Other than that, don't worry. (of course, a cheap POS volume control can degrade the sound, but that's for another day)