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Tube DACs

For some time I've assumed that tube DACS are meant for direct output to power amps -- in other words, no reason to use a tube DAC if you are running through a tube preamp (unless all components are by same mfr and designed for synergy).

But lately I have seen posts implying some run Brand A tube DAC through brand B tube preamp -- say, Primal Luna 100 to Rogue RP-9. Can't find any prior threads addressing this topic directly.

So, question: am I wrong to suppose that pairing random tube DAC A with random tube preamp B is a bad, or at least a silly idea, absent a known synergy?
 


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hickamore
hickamore OP
657 posts
 

Thanks to all for the informative answers. Somehow I had forgotten those tube DACs having no volume control. So what about pairing tube DAC with SS preamp? (Not that I'm planning any experiments, and if I did, @ghdprentice is correct, they wouldn't really be "random"). 

allanblissett
143 posts
 

If those dac manufacturers didn't expect it to be used directly to amps, they should just leave off the volume controls,  no sense having the signal go through two analog stages, one good and one crappy. 

carlsbad's avatar
carlsbad
1,551 posts
 

The rule is that there is no rule.  

ghasley
2,487 posts
 

@allanblissett every dac has an analog output stage, volume or no volume.

dynamiclinearity
256 posts
 

Obviously if a DAC has a tube, the tube has nothing to do with digital. It is usually a cathode follower for impedance matching to the device the DAC is feeding and it's there to color the sound to be tube like(otherwise it's colored solid state like).

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