If you want to go without a preamp I think you need to increase your budget by a good amount. People run the chord Dave as a pre but I have not liked that setup in systems that I have heard. I did run a dCS bank Tom without a pre into a Krell duo 300xd with gods results. MSB Dac are goood without preamps but I would be looking at the premier or higher. I have a discrete that does well without a pre but I highly prefer my system with the D’Agostino HD pre in it.
DACs that do well without a preamp
I am looking for a DAC to feed my DNA-1 gold power amp directly, streaming Qobuz or Tidal from a Bluesound Vault. Budget is $1-2K; would consider used, if worthwhile. Current contenders are Benchmark 3 HGC, Brooklyn DAC+, Gustard x26 pro, Holo Spring 3, Musetec 004 and Pontus ii. Looking for clean, detailed, uncolored sound that "lifts the veil". What are the qualities I should look for to drive an amp well, without a pre?
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@fastfreight IME, if you don't like how a DACs analog volume control sounds, it's because you truly don't like the sound of your amp and the preamp is improving its sound. The analog output of a good DAC lets you hear your amp for what it is. My RME DAC lets me hear my power amps, for better or worse. My Van Alstine amp sounds glorious. My Hypex amp sounds....meh. It needs a tube pre-amp. ;-) |
Hello @seanheis1 , Interesting opinion which may be sometimes true. My Amps and Pre are perfect together. My opinion on this is that the preamp boosts the signal making it much better for the amps. Of course this could be more significant with my amps than yours! I can see that makes little sense as I like my Tambaqui output at its highest level. Regardless, the Pre G2 makes it sound better to me every time. Have a great day! Ken |
@fastfreight thanks for explaining. I didn't mention but probably obvious is synergy. The combined sound of a preamp and power amp can of course be more preferred than the individual character of each piece. |
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