2. digital
  3. 157044-93069

New to digital audio

Hi I'm new to the digital side of audio. I have imported all my cd's onto a older laptop. I then load all the songs on my IPOD. I have a great 2 channel system and currently use a audioengine bluetooth receiver plugged into my preamp to play my ipod thru  my system. Is there a way to improve my sound doing this ? I'm really into music - but in all the reading I do about digital I find it totally confusing ie: bit rates, jitter, etc. FYI - for this system - I use a Emotiva XD-1, a Parasound HCA MK1200 II amp and a new pair of the Polk Audio LSIm 705's Thanks, Bob
bobd207s

Showing 2 responses by ljgerens

ljgerens
152 posts
 
I have several comments for you.

WiFi or a direct connection would provide better sound quality than Bluetooth.

The Emotiva XDA-1 should not be used as a preamp. It’s volume control is lossy so you loose sound quality as you lower the volume. The Emotiva XDA-2 and Emotiva Stelth DC-1 have lossless volume control and can be used as preamps. You can find these in the used market. There are other DACs that can be used as preamps but most are more expensive.

Why are you using the iPod?

Is your laptop Apple or PC?

ljgerens
152 posts
 
You don’t have to replace the iPod. Bluetooth is ok but you can improve the sound quality with WiFi or a direct connection. How does your current setup sound to you? If it sounds ok, than keep using Bluetooth. Some people are perfectly fine with it.

I would try to find another DAC/preamp. I would suggest an Emotiva XDA-2 or Emotiva Stelth DC-1. These have loseless volume controls unlike the XDA-1 which is lossy (sound quality decreases as you lower the volume). 

You could also get a stand alone preamp and just use the XDA-1 as a DAC. In this case, you set the volume on the XDA-1 to maximum and just use the volume control on the preamp.





More to discover