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How to get into high end digital? (Feeding a DAC)

I am looking primarily at the Schitt Yggdrasil or the Topping D90.
  • How does one feed those?
  • I am assuming any sort of CD transport would output the bit stream?
  • or… they get saved to file and played from some media player into the DACs.

Some example of what is commonly done would be great.

The system currently consists of:
  • TT —> Audio Research PH2
  • An old Nakamichi 5 disk CD player
  • TV
  • Audible Illusions line stage (New tunes on the way, but it still sound OK to me with the old tube in it)
  • Prima Luna (with GoldenLion and TS KT-120 one the way… and I might I’ll get the VTL mono blocks 100w/ch serviced)
  • Vandy 2C and Vandy sub

I also have a Home Theatre pre, which is Roon capable, on the way… So that maybe does some of this for me as well? 

But to be totally honest, the digital side is a bit of mystery to me.
I have always thought we plug in a CD player and the signal comes out. (Maybe with some nuance in DACs, clock jitter, and filtering to separate the higher end from the lower end products.)
128x128holmz
buddyboy1
106 posts
 
There's a reason the Denafrips Ares 2 DAC is so widely praised by reviewers and users alike......It's Wonderful and Musical and is compared to DACs that cost 2 or 3 times the price of the Ares 2.  It's definitely a DAC you should have on your list.
jasonbourne52's avatar
jasonbourne52
2,863 posts
 
@pindac : a coax digital cable should be no less than 1.5 meters in length to avoid reflections.
holmz's avatar
holmz OP
2,328 posts
 
Thanks @buddyboy1 that sounds similar to the Yggdrasil with the R2R.
@jasonbourne52 what is the impedance of coax? I would think if it is 50 or 75 ohms, then the VSWR would be low?

If I did the maths right then the speed-o-light/44.1kS/sec is ~6800 meters between samples.
@aubreybobb I appreciate you taking the time to write it up, but using 3 switches seems like it is like almost like a holy Trinity. And no one has been able to tell me how feet, power cords, and magnetic platters can affect bits… so I am unsure whether this is measurable?
holmz's avatar
holmz OP
2,328 posts
 
Pure digital is totally accurate but not everyone's cup of tea. We are influenced by our past.
If I can measure the output and compare it to the input and see that it more true than comparing that stream to the Vinyl, then I can convince myself.
I may not like it, but I am pretty much a “by the numbers fellow”.
And I would then likely try and understand why I like the worse one better.
I know that is the case comparing my VTLs to the Haus-Boss’s NAD amp. The VTLS have a huge amount of IMD. The NAD was more faithful to the input.
jasonbourne52's avatar
jasonbourne52
2,863 posts
 
@henry53: parts costs to build DACs are are in the hundreds at most! Four-figure  and up DACs are high-profit items! Don't forget these companies are into it to make money!
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