DAC's Streamer and Preamps
I have been searching for a DAC for a while now. In the meantime I have been using a laptop plugged into my preamp until I decide on the DAC I want. I definitely know this isn't optimal. In my search I have been looking at individual DAC's, DAC's with preamps or volume control, DAC's with streamers built in and sometimes all three. I wanted to throw it out there and find out what people's preference is? I know previously having everything separate was the best way to go but because of technology things has changed a bit. What are your thoughts?
Great advice from @elliottbnewcombjr ...
I've owned multiple DACs. They all sound different. You may have a preference for a cheap one over an expensive one. I sold a $6k DAC because I liked an $1800 DAC better. I now use an all-in-one that I love. |
three of my favorite units are the msb analog dac, the weiss 501 and chord hugo tt2/m-scaler combo.... they all have volume control capability for their analog outs, which allow them to directly drive the power amp, the first two have built in streamers too (the msb even has an additional analog input for, say, phono!) it is wonderful to have that flexibility, a real boon to system building -- there are enough boxes already in the digital front end to get the streamed feed nice and clean not to say there aren’t some instances where a great pre doesn’t add some additional musicality -- still keep my c-j and arc tube linestages around for that reason (though i must admit they haven’t been hooked up for quite a while) |
+ 1 Separates for sure.
Do you have a budget restriction? Schiit Yggdrasil is a good starter DAC. In general the more you pay (choosing the best at each price point, the better they get). Typically you want to match the quality of the rest of your system, or future system. My rule of thumb is choose the very best at your investment level and ~ $Streamer = $DAC = $Preamp (yes, separate) =$Amp. |
