+3 on Bricasti, very solid build, excellent sound and detail retrival. can be had with an all metal remote and network card. I dont use it as a preamp but have compared it my Ayre preamp and its very close.
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?
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There are two camps: those that favor separates for everything and people like me that like the simplicity of a one box set up. You did not say what your budget would be but I have been happily using a Weiss Dac 501 for three years and that has a dac, streamer, and can also function as a preamp The software also allows room correction. however this is a $10,000 pro unit. I have the Weiss connected direct to my amp. |
Unless you have a high end sound card in your computer, anything is an improvement. @elliottbnewcombjr gave you a good suggestion. Another one is getting an Audioquest Dragonfly DAC. There’s three different ones available with the Cobalt being the most expensive at $200. From here, the sky’s the limit. All the best. |
@jallan cool. I personally don’t know what component I am hearing when I am listening at a show. Between some gimps walking from speaker to speaker inspecting every dust particle on cables and turntable plinths while taking videos of components and bending down to inspect more dust particles on the second component rack shelf presenting their tukhes as part of the soundstage, and the constant chatter as well as unfamiliar room acoustics and who the f knows what cables are connecting all this equipment…man I have no idea what any of that $hit sounds like. Good for you that you can make a definitive decision on sound characteristics of individual components in that type of environment. |
In general, that is a very true statement. Fortunately, there are some exceptions. Some DACs have pretty decent digital volume controls and sound pretty good running straight into an amplifier (like the Mola Mola Tambaqui for example). However, a great sounding preamp with a true analog volume control can be better. Fortunately, you can have your cake and eat it too. The Mola Mola Makua preamp has the option of a Tambaqui DAC built into it. That way you have great DAC performance with a true analog volume control. |
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