should I notice the upsampling?


Pretty new to higher fi than big box store(i worked at soundtrabck, here in Colorado 14 years ago.) Last week I bought a NAD C370 amp on craigslist, and today I bought a musical fidelity tri-vista dac. I tried the upconversion button on the rear of the unit and I don't notice a difference. What should I hear? Also, the feet on mine don't light up, but all the lights on the front panel do. Anyone had the problem and know the fix? Thanks
biffrythm
I have to agree with Ivan's post. Personally, I like upsampling. In your case, though, you need to get your system set up on a more fundamental level before you notice the difference in processing.

If you are starting out in audio, I can give you some good advice. I've always been good at getting really good sound while spending the least amount of money. You already have a good dac and a decent integrated amp. If you want to get your system good enough so you can hear the differences in your dac, you need to do 2 things. First, is speakers. You don't list any so I'm guessing you will probably need them. My favorite entry level high end speaker, by far, is the Vandersteen 1c. Its an incredible value. If for some reason you can't go with the Vand, there are quite a few alternatives, as well. Monitor audio and JM Labs (Focal) are also great entry products that I like very much.

You can probably stop with a good pair of speakers. To really take your system to the next level, however, I recommend doing 1 other thing. Its not that expensive either. I would get a passive preamp/volume control. Your NAD has a really great and useful feature. If you look on the back of the unit, you will see the amp and preamp sections are connected by RCA jumpers. This allows you to use it just as a preamp or just as a poweramp. In your case you would go from the dac to the passive unit, and then go from the passive directly to the amp section of the NAD. That will bypass the NAD's preamp. I know that probably sounds a little odd but doing so will yield a big step up in sound quality.
Speakers are my next step. The Jamos are sounding better than they ever have, but I know I need an upgrade. A friend recommended vandersteens as he sold them in the past. but I have a cat and he told me they are giant scratching posts. I'm a single father so I'm on a budget. Couple more paychecks and I'll be looking. Thanks for thel guys.
As far as the cat goes, you have 3 options to fix the problem; the right way, the wrong way and the audiophile way.

The right way: Build a listening room.

The wrong way: De-claw the cat.

The audiophile way: Buy a bunch of expensive cables.
I've seen a few pairs of Vandersteens on CL here in Denver recently for $500-750. Just make sure you know what you're buying since there have been at least a half dozen iterations of the Vandersteen 2 model over the years (some with subtle refinements, some not so subtle).
I've been watching over the last year or so. Are Vandersteens foam surrounds? I will bring someone more knowledgable when I look. I see psb speakers alot as well. My Jamo's actually sound pretty good for now, but speakers are my next upgrade.