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Will DAC always sound better going straight into a Power Amplifier?

Hi All,

I experimented today with plugging my Khadas Tone Board DAC straight into a Power Amp, and then using a vintage restored Yamaha solid state preamp in the chain...and the sound seemed to be clearer without the preamp.

Is this always the case, where a DAC will sound better directly connected to a power amp?

I see some expensive DAC offerings, like the Musetec 005 and the Holo Audio May, and was wondering that if i want to save up for one of them...if i have to save up for a preamp as well.

If it will cloud the sound, then i'll leave the preamp out of the mix.  Let me know your thoughts all!

I've read that some people have had experiences where the DAC sounds better through a preamp, so I'm not sure if there is a universal answer here or not.

128x128fai_v
mofojo
2,223 posts
 

My experience says no. Sounds great on some music but hard driving music runs out of gas. 

ghdprentice
6,543 posts
 

 Typically not. The sound can often sound at first blush, but it looses heft and musicality. While there are folks that have components that work to skip the preamp. That is not the most common experience by a very large margin. Most folks go back to a preamp to get the best sound. 
 

If your objective is to put together a preamp-less system, it can be done… it is difficult, but some folks claim they have done it. I’ll keep the magic with my preamp.

russ69's avatar
russ69
3,360 posts
 

using a vintage restored Yamaha solid state preamp 

That would not be my first choice.

carlsbad's avatar
carlsbad
1,551 posts
 

My schiit dac didn't have enough potential.  My Chord does  So not always.

fai_v's avatar
fai_v OP
25 posts
 

Ok, can you all recommend me some good vintage or 90's solid state preamps that could pair well with modern DACs like the Musetec 005 or Holo Audio May?  I want to do a vintage solid state preamp for now because i should be able to find it cheaper, and then do some restoration vs. a couple-thousand dollar tube preamp like Audio Research.

I had suggested the Yamaha preamp because of one of its stats:

Frequency response: 5Hz to 100kHz

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