@soix This manufacturer called Gustard (that you suggested) has gotten 2/3rds of the way there with the integrated streamer+ R2R dac for 1650 USD (8350 under budget). But, all of a sudden, integrating a higher quality class A preamp into that unit would suddenly never fit under or equal to 10k? My budget is too weak for that to happen somehow? Tell me about that fact and reality a bit more.... (we are talking about a class A preamp, not a power amp). |
You mentioned a turn table- what pre will you be using with that? There’s a little more going on when combining these features into a single unit- basically a trade off in the approach to attenuation. Personally I’ve never cared for driving an amp from a dac but I’ve read many posts/threads where others have preferred doing so. In my experience it boils down to the level of sound quality and performance one could expect from a unit trying to perform multiple functions vs separate components dedicated to a single function and doing it very well. With $10K to work with I would imagine you could acquire a very good dac/streamer and separate preamp that would outperform a single device that combines those functions. |
Okay, it’s clear to me now that you don’t know what you’re doing. First, many if not most good preamps operate in Class A, so just stop with that. Second, you won’t find any R2R DACs incorporating a good streamer, so stop with that. Last, if you combine a good and fully-balanced preamp with the Gustard, its streaming section will be a big bottleneck to performance compared to the likes of an Innuos, Lumin, Aurender, etc. that you should be looking at, so stop with that. I’ve had enough here. I’m out. Good luck with this mess guys. Or maybe someone else can finally get through to him here. |
To allocate a budget of $10K for a specific Audio Device that is seemingly not a commonly offered configuration, where DAC - Pre and Streamer are found under the hood does present a risk, that has been identified by the contributors. There does not seem to be much on offer as a Product in the allocation of budget to be considered. Then there is the buying blind aspect, how does the end user experience the device prior to purchase. This can prove to be a woeful experience. The general guidance is to steer away from the One Box Wonder and go to Products designed for be very capable and supplied as separate devices. The trade of is more cases, more cables and power supplies. The positives are demo's will be found, and used items is an option to keep the end set up close to budget. This is not a recommendation, but the Product in the Link, might have some of the set up incorporated that you are investigating. |
