How is the TacT RCS 2.0 as a pre amp vs

...seems like a lot of us are thinking alike. I too have the Placette active and find it transparent but also am looking at the Tact as my next step. (real bad WAF, square room). You've all but answered the preamp questions, but what about the DAC and D to A converter in the "loaded" model Tact?
Is it worth it to buy the TACT with DAC/D to A, or better to use an outboard DAC. My source is a Sony SCD-1. Also, what happens to an SACD analogue signal when fed into the TACT? My thinking is: SCD-1 to Tact to Placette to tube amps. Both the digital (Redbook) and SACD analogue would feed the TACT. Is this logical.

It depends on your level of fanaticism and your budget. The DAC’s in the SigTech and Tact are not as good as the best stand alone DAC’s. From your perspective they, MAY be good enough depending on your overall system. I personally think the MSB Platinum is a superb unit that is close to my dCS combo. I don’t use a preamp, not because of budget but because of sound. We are talking differences that may seem small to some folks and not to others. One more comment on rooms. The algorithms in the Sigtech do have the flexibility to improve some really awful rooms. The Tact is more limited in the assumptions about room correction. Again that may or may not make a difference. It depends on your level of fanaticism and your budget. The DAC’s in the SigTech and Tact are not as good as the best standalone DAC’s. They MAY be good enough depending on your overall system. I personally think the MSB Platinum is a superb unit that is close to my dCS combo. I don’t use a preamp, not because of budget but because of sound. We are talking differences that may seem small to some folks and not to others. One more comment on rooms. The algorithms in the Sigtech do have the flexibility to improve some really terrible rooms. The Tact is more limited in the assumptions about room correction. Again that may or may not make a differenceto you. You can get an in home trial from both.

Pls1 and Lornecherry: I'd like to weigh in on the issue of the DAC in the TacT (wow...that rhymes!!) and the SigTech vs. the TacT in terms of room correction. I have extensively compared the 24/96 DA converter in the TacT with the following converters:

1. Bel Canto DAC 1.1 (24/96)
2. Monarchy 22C with piggyback conversion (20/44.1)
3. dCS Purcell/Delius at (24/96) to allow fair comparison
4. dCS Purcell/Delius at 24/176 and at 24/192.

I set up the comparisons using the placette preamp such that I could a-b two at a time with my wife hitting the button. In this regard, the test was blind.

I found the TacT to have an adequate DAC, but I actually slighly preferred the sound of the Monarchy even though it wasn't upsampling!!! The dCS gear clearly has a lower noise floor and greater clarity when upsampling to 172 or 196, but the comparison with the TacT at 24/96 is very, very close. The bottom line is....unless you have a really fine, upscale DAC like a Wadia 27ix, dCS Elgar or Delius with the Purcell, or Burmester or MBL or Goldmund etc.....you should get the TacT DAC. I was less impressed initially, but am now facing that I spent thousands on the dCS gear for very slight improvement.

In terms of the TacT vs. SigTech, I researched this issue for months. Cost was not the deciding factor for me. I did some analysis of my room and found that overall it was not that bad. Frequency was relatively flat above 500k. The main problem was boomy bass. The TacT cleaned this up very well. I enjoy the simplicity of the software and the sonic improvement in imaging and clarity. If your room is really bad...you probably should consider the SigTech.

Hbrandt. Thanks for the update. Your DAC comparison was much more careful than mine. Again, above a certain level of perfomance all of this stuff is very close to one another. That's why it is important to listen and decide if it is worth it to you.

Pls1: Sounds like we have very similar electronics!! What is your source and the rest of your system like?