@antigrunge2 @willgolf @antigrunge2 Echo on you guys being able to state why and when preamp is not needed and without it the system sounds better. It is all about the quality and voltage of the analog output stage of Dac / Preamp. Take my system as an example, in which I feed Schiit Modius into Parasound A23. Both have XLR connection. The XLR (4 volts) connection sounds better than RCA (2 volts) counterpart. Some reviewers reports the same story too. If you have active preamp which allows you to use tubes, discrete transistor or op-amps to boost unity gain and add "color/signature" to the sound, the system with it might sound better. On the other hand, the passive preamp could reduce the dynamic and pace if its impedance is mismatched as mentioned by @antigrunge2. More and more DACs have the preamp section and were improved on their output stage to that end. Leaving it out in this case will shorten the signal path, reduce the distortion and increase the clarity of the sound reproduction. You are definitely not in the minority group.
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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It seems that the Lampizator Pacific has an onboard preamplifier section. It has DHT tubes providing high voltage via the analog output stage and has a DHT tube cathode follower. so running through a separate preamp is essentially "double" preamps in the signal chain. This type of DAC design could go directly to the power amplifier.Not every DAC has this type of an analog output stage. Charles |
@charles1dad ---and when I get my new Lampi Horizon it is even better, which has already been proven in A/B comparisons. |
I think once you have a truly great preamp, there's no going back to passive volume. I will prove this out soon with my amp I'm having built . It has two inputs, so I can A/B a preamp vs DAC direct. I seriously doubt my DAC driving the amp will sound better than my Zesto Leto. That is one awesome preamp, incredible sounding piece. |
The word 'always' is often good to avoid, but from my experience, it ain't necessarily so. I had an MSB 'Analog DAC'/volume control going directly into my MSB power amp and the sound was superb. I later got a Herron Audio tube preamp and put that in between the DAC and the power amp, and the sound improved considerably from that.... |
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