digital eq/room correction trade-offs


I am very confused about digital room correction.

For many years, it seemed the common wisdom was to have as clean a signal path as possible, with as little processing and as few conversions as possible: use a high quality DAC to get the signal to analog and then a pure pre-amp/amp to speakers.

But it now seems that many would argue that the benefits of digital eq are such that even an extra analog-digital-analog step is worth it for the benefits of digital room eq.

So, for example, I enjoy listening to CDs and SACDs using my Bel Canto PL-1A. I go analog out to my pre-amp. Is it worth it to contemplate the extra step of analog to digital for room EQ and then back to analog to the pre? I find it hard to believe that any benefits of the room EQ won't be substantially offset by the additional conversions.

Your thoughts most appreciated. Let's assume for the sake of this discussion that my room is imperfect but not horribly so (which I think is accurate).
dgaylin
My BAT VK-D5 has a tubed output stage(fully differential) that I've stuffed with six pre '68, NOS Siemens CCa's(wonderful, lifelike reproduction). It's digital out is a BNC connector. I've not tried the BNC to my TacT for lack of a suitable interconnect. I'm not disposed to spend the kind of money for a test cable to equal the Kimber KS-1130's I'm using(for a valid comparison). Yes- I am using the TacT as a preamp and active bi-amp crossover, feeding analog signal to my amps. That's the intended purpose of the RCS 2.2X with DACs at all the outputs. TacT does offer a unit without bi-amp capability(http://www.tactlab.com/Products/RCS20/index.html) That will still do time domain correction, parametric EQ, etc. As mentioned by Richards: Experiencing it in your own system is the only way to gauge your benefit. I do believe you'd find it enlightening. If you were able to audition one with a MauiMod power supply, you might find it a revelation. One might call me a VERY satisfied customer of both companies. =8^)
"I'm not convinced that I wouldn't just be winging it with these new systems. Not to mention the problems introduced with additional jitter as the signal gets switched back and forth from digital to analog to digital to analog."
I wish I could say that the automatic equalization (Tact) was the end of it, but it is rather the beginning of several rounds of trial and error, probably over several months. However, what's new! It's a hobby after all, and we are in it because we can hear and appreciate changes that others ignore. The good news is that one can hear the improvements (and errors) immediately and at no additional cost.
As to the jitter. No additional jitter is added in the digital realm. I do have the balanced digital signal running to an internal DA in the Tact, but I had a Wadia DA originally and both work well.
Finally, the analog source AD/DA conversions. I use a SOTA table with a Souther arm, an AT magnetic cart and a CJ EF1 preamp. I run the TT to the CJ and the to the Tact. I had a Quicksilver tube full function preamp with Mullards etc. and compared the pure analog with the AD/DA. To my ear the gains of the Tact system far outweighed the "loss" of the AD/DA conversion.
My experience and evaluation is much like Richard's.
Thanks again everyone! any thoughts on TacT versus Lyngdorf versus some of the RCS systems built in on the newer pre/pros (Anthem D2, Integra 9.9, Classe)?
Lewinskih01
To answer your question, I have my Tact 2.2x preamp (w/ Maui Mods) connected to two Tact 2150 amps (one with full Maui Mods). The 2150 is actually a DAC that swings enough voltage to power a speaker -- hence, it acts as an amp.

I'm no longer using the internal DAC in the 2.2x. It's pretty good, but the 2150 is better.. One of the 2150s drives my main speakers, and the other drives the corner subs using the digital crossover in the 2.2x. So, no analog IC cables at all.
My living room is far from ideal for good sound reinforcement, as there is lots of glass, stone chimney, wood floors, etc., and I will not 'decorate' the room with lots of audio panels. I decided about a year go to try the Tact 2.2XP; it completely transformed the sound. No longer is there boomy bass, shrill treble and depressed midrange. I should mention that it takes a lot of time and patience to understand the unit, it's software, and much tweaking until it's 'right'; it certainly was not plug-n-play for me! However, it was certainly worth it in the end. I also found that using a good external DAC (I use a Lector Tube DAC) makes a substantial difference over Tact's internal one (for the main speakers; it's fine for subwoofers).