Tekton Double Impacts

David,

I think you do have some valid questions but I can't really answer them,so I will try some speculation.

Some guys are using the MZ2 as a Intergrated and or a preamp and some guys have different brand Intergrateds which Offcourse don't mostly need a preamp.Both of us probably agree that a quality preamp in the chain is a very important link related to synergy of the whole system.

You mentioned also about discussion on source components and I agree that there is been very little info.I look at that as most users of the DI's already have a quality front end either digital or analog and are kinda set using what sounds good to them,but source components can also equate into the whole of Synergy.

I used to be a big analog guy and still have a big collection of lps but honestly in the last 5 yrs or so,mainly due to today's Dac's being so darn good I find myself only playing records that I don't have digital files of or records that just simply are better recordings than the digital files I do have.

I still own 2 complete analog rigs but I do have 3 different Dac's in the mix.

Just my thoughts,

Kenny.

Mazikrav,

I believe that the excellent sound I am getting from my best lp's is partially due to the high gain of my Sound-Smith Voice cart. At any rate, 

I do believe this to be true,but you probably are right at the level of having just enough overall system gain to make it work out with the Brilliance speakers.You defiantly don't want to use a cart. with any lower gain but I'm sure you know this.

Kenny.

For sure,  Kenny.

I also believe that Peter Lederman's phono stage doesn't hurt. Do you know anything about this item?

@david_ten

I will be using an Yggdrasil DAC, a Freya preamp, and Vidar amps to go along with DI speakers. If I am using two Vidar amps, I will be running balanced differential interconnects from DAC to amps.

My speakers are suppose to ship at the end of the week. This a week late, but I don't have the amps yet so it is no big deal.

Scott

Since I move between summer and winter homes I started ripping all music into JRiver some 4 years ago. Then the files can be copied onto a Crucial drive and taken to the next place with about 30 minutes of updating (and this is legal -- as long as you keep the original sources).
What I found out was that the CD rips, when upsampled to 192/24, sounded cleaner and more accurate. At first, this didn't make sense. How can you add quality to a pre-existing CD sample/bit rate?
But then a studio contact told me that there was a noise advantage in the downconversion of 192/24 files. Since then I have confirmed this with other engineers. Because there is less noise, the music acquires additional detail. JRiver can do this upsampling automatically for all files -- no matter what their original bit/sample rate is.
So now, all music is kept ripped on the computer in *.wav files. Since I use a studio DA converter (RME UCX) it speaks to a virtual mixer on the computer and offers tremendous options for connecting other devices to the RME (e.g., an Oppo Blu-ray player). Once this method is adopted, you can use any virtual tools for EQ or room correction. So use REW to measure your DIs in your room and then EQ it to your preference.
These virtual options are far more powerful than hardware preamps. JRiver allows you to insert virtual programs into its playback chain and any virtual room correction program can be so inserted. Someone produces a better room correction program? All you replace is one app.
And if you have a large record collection you can use the available DAWs (Reaper is inexpensive) to rip the record into *.wav format. Once the process is comfortable, it takes no more time than playing. And if you rip it at 96/24, you will not lose any fidelity. If the record sounds warm and "tubelike" then the *.wav file will sound the same.
This will be heresy to some.
Once you use a music editor such as JRiver however, you become addicted to the easy control and selection of files. Want to compare one singer's rendition with another? Happens immediately with the click of the mouse from your listening chair. Want to listen to a multi-CD musical? All CDs are all melded into a single folder in JRiver and no physical switching is necessary. The new JRiver 23, BTW, costs about $30.
So, I don't need or use a preamp for stereo music (multi-channel HT systems are another story and for that I use an Emotiva XMC-1). The computer speaks directly to a DAC and as long as the latter has a volume control, that is all needed. Again, the computer can control all stereo preamp functions with greater power and accuracy than can a hardware device. What's more, its future potential is limitless.
Again, heresy?
The question raised above was about source and preamps in relation to the DIs. This method allows a perfect marriage and is open-ended to any future improvements.