Normally I would say DAC, but it's your AVR that is the weakness piece right now. I had a top-end Denon AVR which I replaced with a Luxman integrated first and it made a significant, and easy to hear difference. I doubt you'd hear that much of an improvement with a new DAC/Streamer first. If you can afford a separate integrated and DAC, that's great, but there are now many high quality integrated amps with high quality built-in DACs. In my experience, replacing the AVR is first on your list. One other item, talk with other B&W owners/sellers (forum or where you buy your equipment) for a good amp to match your new speakers.
Sound improvement with DAC, or Amp update
Hi there, i am a newbie to audio equipment. I recently got an upgrade of speaker from a 20 years old Mordaunt short MS10 to a B&W 606 S2. I am really enjoying the new sound and music that resulted from the update, and found myself drawn to listening more and wanting more.
I am currently using an old AV surround receiver Yamaha (HTR-5830) that is delivering 110 Watts per channel on stereo to drive the 606 S2. My streamer source is - youtube music / Amazon prime HD music, running on Ubuntu PC with on board sound card, feeding via S/PDIF optical to the Yamaha Amp.
Looking for advice on what I could do for better sound quality with another small investment, should I consider my next upgrade on a DAC (e.g.Cambridge Dacmagic 200), or swap out the Yamaha HTR5830 to a more modern integrated Amp with DAC (e.g. CXA81), or a new streamer device ?, which would have the most positive impact on the sound quality with my new 606 S2 speaker ?
Any advice would be appreciated.
Best Wishes, Paul
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Thanks for the valuable input guys. Based on your feedbackj, I have decided to get a new integrated amp with DAC . Am contemplating between CXA81, Yamaha A-S801, Rotel A14. Seems to have mixed reviews from reviewer comparing specs. Wondering if any had experienced the above options, or anything else. What would be a good fit if I enjoyed classical, new age classical and piano music, and occasionally R&B.
Best Wishes, |
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I’m far from an expert, but after looking at the specs on your B&W speakers and Yamaha receiver, I would think that you’d benefit more from a better amplifier than a DAC.
The Cambridge Audio integrated lists for $1,500. It looks to have preouts that would allow for a power amplifier upgrade in the future (Good). It’s rated at 4 ohms (Good). Is Class AB (good). The Yamaha integrated lists for $900. It looks to have preouts (good). It’s only rated for 6 ohms that should work with your speakers, but a 4 ohm rating is a strong indicator of a better amplifier. Looks to have a decent DAC (good). The Rotel integrated lists for $1,600. It looks to have preouts (good). It is rated for 4 ohms (good). Looks to have a great DAC feature set (good). I don’t have experience with any of these components, but have had a couple of Cambridge Audio amplifiers briefly and really didn’t like the sound. It was "grainy" to my ears. I looked for another Yamaha a little farther up the line, but the next jump is significant. I suspect the Yamaha would be a fairly high value item. Out of these options, I’d probably go with the Rotel. You might also look at a Marantz PM8006 that retails for $1,500. I tend to think that you can sometimes get a higher value from a bigger company that has buying power and manufacturing capability. The primary features that I’d look for is preouts and 4 ohm capability. Specs are not everything, but I consider these two be reasonable indicators of a decent amplifier. Hope this helps. Update: I just realized that the Marantz doesn't have a built-in DAC, so not quite the same as what you're looking at.
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