2. amps-preamps
  3. 1326594313

Pre or Dac...which route and which brand...

Hello everyone,

Just got back to the hobby and brought myself a pair of Quad 12l Active speakers. Although a very different presentation from my old GMA Europas, I really love the sound these speakers are producing. In addition, they look amazing which gets my wife off my back :) I am currently using my new Squeezebox Touch as my transport with great results but there are a few issues that I would love to solve.

1. I do not like the digital volume control found in the touch.
2. I would like the flexibility to connect other sources like my CD Player and
television in order to use the quads as a quasi HT system.
3. Would love the ability to use balanced outputs versus the unbalanced
which is what the manufacture recommends.

Here's the rub, I don't know what is the better option and cheaper option. A good pre with multiple inputs and balanced outs, considering the dac on the Touch is pretty darn good, or a good dac with multiple inputs that has a preamp and balanced out.

Whichever option, what would pair well with the Quads? I prefer solid versus tubes.

John
daimbert

Showing 1 response by kbarkamian

kbarkamian
647 posts
 
It depends on how good you want the system to sound, and how much you're willing to pay. I'm not the biggest fan of the DAC/pre combos, but they're not awful by any means. I think you can get better performance in a seperate DAC and preamp if you shop wisely.

The above recommendations are good ones. If they're beyond your budget, Cambridge is releasing a new DACMagic which I believe may have a volume control. There's not a ton of info on it yet, but I'd imagine that their will be far more if it was at CES.
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