I had the dual core between my dac output and amp. At that time I had decided I preferred no preamp and was letting the dac control volume. My dac is an exasound e20. The dual core did very well in controlling some severe bass modes I had.
DSpeaker Anti-Mode 2.0 - Where in Signal Chain?
I just purchased a DSPeaker Anti-Mode 2.0 in the hopes that it will help address some of the bass issues I have in my room. I've heard very good things about this unit. The more I read about it, however, the more confused I get about where in my signal chain it would be best to put it.
I know the manufacturer and US distributor are fond of telling users to get rid of their DACs and preamps and just use the AM2.0, but that's not going to work for me. For one, I have tons of DSD and 24/192 music that the AM2.0 wouldn't be able to process. I also love what the tubes in my preamp add to my music. So I'll be running this thing in the analog domain, and a double DAC-ADC conversion is unavoidable, although I've heard the arguments about why that might be less than ideal.
Putting that issue aside for the moment, it seems I have the following options:
1. Put the AM2.0 in between my DAC and preamp using the balanced XLR inputs and outputs. BUT here is where I get confused - is it not a problem feeding my preamp a signal that has essentially already been amplified to line level? If I do this, what volume setting do I use on the AM2.0 to ensure that I can control the volume with my preamp and not have any gain mismatch or clipping issues?
2. Put the AM2.0 in between my preamp and power amp using the regular main RCA out on the preamp. I'm worried about clipping at the input of the AM2.0 doing this. Again, what volume do I set the AM2.0 to in order to control the volume using the preamp?
3. Put the AM2.0 in between my preamp and power amp using the RCA "record out" on the preamp. This is actually what Tim Ryan, the US distributor, told me to do. But if I use the record out on the preamp, wouldn't I be bypassing anything the preamp might add to my signal? And since I only use one source anyway, what would be the point of even using my preamp if I did this?
If there is anyone out there who has or had one of these units and experimented with the above arrangements, I would love to hear about your own results. I just want to make sure I put this into my system in a way that makes sense and doesn't risk damaging anything. Thanks.
I know the manufacturer and US distributor are fond of telling users to get rid of their DACs and preamps and just use the AM2.0, but that's not going to work for me. For one, I have tons of DSD and 24/192 music that the AM2.0 wouldn't be able to process. I also love what the tubes in my preamp add to my music. So I'll be running this thing in the analog domain, and a double DAC-ADC conversion is unavoidable, although I've heard the arguments about why that might be less than ideal.
Putting that issue aside for the moment, it seems I have the following options:
1. Put the AM2.0 in between my DAC and preamp using the balanced XLR inputs and outputs. BUT here is where I get confused - is it not a problem feeding my preamp a signal that has essentially already been amplified to line level? If I do this, what volume setting do I use on the AM2.0 to ensure that I can control the volume with my preamp and not have any gain mismatch or clipping issues?
2. Put the AM2.0 in between my preamp and power amp using the regular main RCA out on the preamp. I'm worried about clipping at the input of the AM2.0 doing this. Again, what volume do I set the AM2.0 to in order to control the volume using the preamp?
3. Put the AM2.0 in between my preamp and power amp using the RCA "record out" on the preamp. This is actually what Tim Ryan, the US distributor, told me to do. But if I use the record out on the preamp, wouldn't I be bypassing anything the preamp might add to my signal? And since I only use one source anyway, what would be the point of even using my preamp if I did this?
If there is anyone out there who has or had one of these units and experimented with the above arrangements, I would love to hear about your own results. I just want to make sure I put this into my system in a way that makes sense and doesn't risk damaging anything. Thanks.