2. digital
  3. 169625-164631

How to get into high end digital? (Feeding a DAC)

I am looking primarily at the Schitt Yggdrasil or the Topping D90.
  • How does one feed those?
  • I am assuming any sort of CD transport would output the bit stream?
  • or… they get saved to file and played from some media player into the DACs.

Some example of what is commonly done would be great.

The system currently consists of:
  • TT —> Audio Research PH2
  • An old Nakamichi 5 disk CD player
  • TV
  • Audible Illusions line stage (New tunes on the way, but it still sound OK to me with the old tube in it)
  • Prima Luna (with GoldenLion and TS KT-120 one the way… and I might I’ll get the VTL mono blocks 100w/ch serviced)
  • Vandy 2C and Vandy sub

I also have a Home Theatre pre, which is Roon capable, on the way… So that maybe does some of this for me as well? 

But to be totally honest, the digital side is a bit of mystery to me.
I have always thought we plug in a CD player and the signal comes out. (Maybe with some nuance in DACs, clock jitter, and filtering to separate the higher end from the lower end products.)
128x128holmz

Showing 1 response by zlone

zlone
391 posts
 
Just to add to what others have said, streamers/digital sources all sound different. I am on my third streamer, the other two are okay, this one is better, all through the same DAC. I will keep looking. I have one of those Nakamichi 5 CD changers and put it in my main rig once. It has no digital out, so you get the digital source and DAC in one. Almost unlistenable compared to streamed versions of of the same ripped CD's through a streamer. Anything you do will be an upgrade there. I have gone completely digital with all my CD's ripped on a NAS, no plans to go back to a CD player, however I understand why some folks like/want them. But understand, even if you are using an external DAC, the digital stream coming out of the CD player can affect the sound like any streamer can. Everything matters if you have the ears to hear it.

The Ygg is a good choice, I have a Gumby and am very happy with it.
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