Accuphase dac 60

@duketbrd88

you need to adjust volume of the internal accuphase dac card to be the same as the external ps audio dlink dac -- that difference will entirely screw up any proper comparison of sound

assuming that dac card from accuphase is working properly, it simply has a lower output through the amplifier section than the d-link (or said differently, the d-link has higher fixed output voltage it is sending to the accuphase input) which is accounting for the volume discrepancy -- that same volume discrepancy is also making it sound like the sub is hardly working

think of the problem as a less powerful car having a much more sensitive gas pedal, its not more powerful, it just gives you most of what it has in the first inch of gas pedal travel - you just need to compensate for that to compare the sound properly

the fact that the accuphase volume knob needs to be set higher for the internal dac compared to the external one does NOT mean the louder one sounds better!
 

yes sir, I believe you are correct. Is that how drastic the volume will be with any external dac vs the accuphase dac 60? By sound match, you mean I have to adjust the volume of my e380 accuphase up until it matches the output of the ps audio to compare the two? It a good 12-15db on the volume up to have the dac 60 match. 

@jjss49 

So essentially the Accuphase has a lower analog stage output voltage/gain compared to the P.S. Audio DAC? You’d think that Accuphase would emphasize this important point clearly. 
Charles 

Yeah , all I can think of & don’t see that marked anywhere. Imagine me, not really ever messing with dacs except the ps audio I have had for about 18 years jumping to a $2,000 dac 60 card and noticing that. I am still a little shocked. 

RE:Gain. It is very common to have different gain settings between two devices from different manufacturer. I don’t understand what is the issue here? So what if you have to increase volume by 15-16db, it shouldn’t matter as long as you are not pushing amp to its limits.

As I suggested in my first post, allow DAC60 to settle in before you form any opinion. Going by my experience, you are bound to have different take on DAC60 after two weeks of continuous run-in. 

I’ll try, but actually like 3/4 volume on the amp now to jam out a little bit. The ps audio just sounds full, tight bass, the midrange, treble and everything are better from low listening level to higher listening levels. The dac 60 sounds so dull and boring at normal lower listening levels. Trust me, I’m trying to love it for $2,000, I really am. I never expected what I am hearing.