Can a DAC sort out a flat\cold amp?


My pc is connected to an external sound card (scarlett 2i4 by focusrite). I bought the Yamaha a-s1200 & am really disappointed at the brightness & the lack of bass to the extend I prefer listening to my portable JBL boombox. I'm in no position to sell or trade this amplifier so I thought a DAC with eq may help the predicament. Since auditioning my equipment is not an option in my country I have no choice but to buy something purely on recommendations. I also thought about replacing the speakers but since I listen to soundcloud & youtube i really think upscaling & eq will be much more cost effective option in sorting out this issue & may give me the confidence to try a much more expensive speaker option. what would you recommend?

128x128orenm145

+1 @crustycoot.   Some audiophile don't want to accept that flat frequency response and low distortion can only have one result as long as the output resistance is not high.

The absolute cheapest way I know to solve lacking bass and too much highs is to attenuate the highs.   Solder the capacitor onto an rca and plug it into the Tape Out jack.  Usually, the tape out is connected before the volume control.  Right in the signal path.  Value? Depends on the frequency the top end starts getting hot. .47mfd ? to start?  This is where Radio Shack excelled. 

Too bad the amp sucks to you this way.  And now having to resort to putting the band aid on your elbow when your knee is bleeding.

OP, thanks for your reply. Honestly, If you are going to move in six months… I would not make any additional purchases. I would wait.

 

If you were going to remain there I would recommend downsizing your speakers. But moving is going to completely change everything.

 

I would like to reinforce how incredibly important your listening space is. I lived in small houses for many years… then bought a house with a large incredibly asymmetrical room I am now using for my audio room. Holy cow… biggest upgrade ever!

So, you want to improve your system in the future. Look for a place you can set up a 6 - 9’ triangle for speakers and chair… one where there is nothing in between the speakers and the speakers are away from the front, back and side walls. Think about thick wall hangings for dampening (see my systems under user ID).

if you anticipate rooms similar to what you have now. Then consider getting some small stand mounted speakers like Totem (with a small subwoofer)… natural sounding and punchy… less room dependent than than too large floor standers in a tiny room. Right sizing is key.

Those of you who keep harping on this amp are totally wrong. I have heard this amp with a set of monitor speakers in a rather large showroom with NO sub. The speakers are Watkins Gen 4 which are winners of the Golden ear &editors Choice Awards from The Absolute Sound. There is NOTHING WRONG WITH THE AMP.

Do you guys REALLY think that Watkins would demonstrate their award winning monitor speakers which go down to 41 hz with an inferior amp that lacks bass?

@orenm145 

i listen to very lossy audio (youtube\soundcloud) & could get alot of benefit from upscaling & upsampling C. when I listen to a good source like a real 320kbps the bass problem diminishes significantly D. this amp does not come with a DAC so it's pretty much mandatory.

 

You came here looking for advice and have been told repeatedly that the amp isn't the problem. The problem is the source material. MP3 is a terrible source. It throws away 80-90% of the signal and effect the highs and lows very much. You must listen to LOSSLESS IE Flac. With all due respect it is akin to buying a Ferreri & complaining about the power when you are using watered down regular octane gasoline. You should either change your source material or go back to the cheap HIfi that doesn't expose the flaws of Mp3

I just ordered the svs sb 1000 pro. I didn’t think dac would make enough difference to justify experimenting while a sub will for sure make a big difference.I think this will serve me for both low level listening & will keep contributing after speaker upgrade , apartment moving etc… it’s not the cheapest solution but it was going to happen eventually.

Thanks for all the guys that gave thier 2 cents. I also got 1hr of professional tuner that will try & teach me/sort out/recommend what to do with all this situation.

i will update in a month or so. Because the sub is on backorder.

I know this amp is not that terrible like i made it look like but it seems to me i could have got the same results  (setup wise) or better with a cheaper one like the 6000A 

Also at this price range i think i could have done much better amp selection.