A passive preamp is your best bet. I used a DAC with a digital volume control, and it flat out sucked.... IMHO of course. This is a good example of a quality inexpensive passive preamp. It also has 2 outputs to run 2 amps. Luminous Audio Axiom II Passive Preamp / Caddock resistor + 2 outputs upgrade | eBay |
Get rid of the Node and replace it with a Lumin U-1 mini. You will kill two birds with one stone. The Lumin is better sounding than the Node when using a preamp. And all Lumin streamers have LEEDH processing built into their app. This is the best digital interface I've heard. You won't need a preamp using the Lumin app. |
FYI, I own a Node and the Denafrips Ares II. If you use coax or optical into the DAC you can use the volume control in the Node software. If you use USB (which is for sure a better connection between the Node and Denafrips, look this up) you'll need a separate volume control. I use the USB connection and a pre-amp to control the volume. I've found that whenever I tried to go pre-amp less the sound was simply not as dynamic, full, or engaging. YMMV. |
