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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.

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charles1dad's avatar
charles1dad
10,249 posts
 

 

I like the above post that says " I will keep the magic with my preamp

+1

In my opinion a high quality preamplifier is paramount to achieving the very best sound /music reproduction from an audio system . Emphasis on "quality "

ghdprentice
6,823 posts
 

@ozzy62 

 

Well, put! A good quality preamp can’t hold a candle to an equivalent good quality preamp of today.

hilde45's avatar
hilde45
4,974 posts
 

My MHDT Orchid tube DAC sounded way worse going straight into my tube amps. The Preamp does a lot of good for the sound.

danager's avatar
danager
925 posts
 

I think it's about the output voltage of the DAC and the input voltage of the amp.  I plug my Orchid DAC directly into the Decware amp.  I control the volume through software and it sounds good to me.  The Decware amp has its own volume control so I keep trying to find the sweet spot though.   the biggest issue for me is that the output of the flac files vary so much I can't just find a volume level and leave it for multiple albums.

The preamp can either attenuate or boost the DAC signal if its powered or just attenuate it if it's passive.

Using a preamp also would add tone controls if you use them.

 

pesky_wabbit's avatar
pesky_wabbit
1,183 posts
 

Make sure you have it professionally reconditioned. Components like capacitors will need to be replaced, pots cleaned… of it isn’t likely to sound very good.

generally, a wholesale change of capacitors is not required. Film capacitors age very well and only require replacement if faulty. Some premium electrolytics may still be going strong after 30 years and their replacement by inferior substitutes may result in performance degradation. Some potentiometers may still be functioning without fault. The key is to ASSESS before you act.

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