A separate dac and preamp or a good dac with pream

Thanks Rockadanny and Hgeifman. The problem is I'm staying in a very remote area and there are no shops here. It's 175Km to the nearest hifi shop and also there is no such thing as "home audition". The people here does not understand it.
I bought all my gears "blind", basically all feedback from forums and web site reviews.
I am thinking of the Bel Canto 2.... or Teac UD503 as they are within my budget and also very highly regarded. Both also can serve as preamp. Looks like I've to get it blind again.
My current system is a30 from accuphase, with passive preamp. Source is sa8005 sacd (with lap top hot wired to sa8005 through musical fidelity vlink 192) and speakers are harbeth shl5+. The speaker was the reason for the start of my gear hunting again.

Thanks Lokie.
OK, looks like most people here in favour of keeping the dac as a separate.

TEAC is coming up with the latest UD503 with the latest DSD capability etc. and this would give me some years to hold on, problem is, it's so new that there isn't any review at all. Any dac around $1500 price recommendations?

I am a retiree and cannot keep changing gears like before. The digital era has almost mature, based on what has come out in these 2 years. Everyone is talking about PCM and DSD, doubt there would be anything new for the next 5 to 10 years.
Thanks again.

Thanks Douglas,
Agree, in certain sectors, thanks for pointing out.

However, for the average enthusiast like me on a budget, things don't look rosy as amplification are moving towards D or its hybrid, dacs are moving into higher resolutions and dsd, speakers are getting titanium and diamonds, cables are making its debut in every connection ....... AND prices are moving into the skies, sign :-(

I guess I better learn to get contented with what I have after this dac purchase. Cheers and enjoy the music everyone.

Thanks to all your feedback.

I am using a reasonable sacd player, Marantz SA8005. My digital system now is, USB from computer to VLink 192 then to SA8005. The sound quality is not as good as playing the cd direct with the player. This is what started me to look into a dedicated dac.

I was hoping a dedicated dac with preamp would be better and can replace my passive preamp so the system,basically stays the "same number of pieces". No need for new rack and arrangements of the space. I still love the Accuphase A30 power amp for its smooth delivery and unfatique sound. No slams, no bells, just smooth music. It's the passive pre that is the bottle neck now in my system. To get a good preamp would cost another 2 grands or so more and I still need to get a proper dac in due time.

Thanks again,
Raymond

Hi Georgelofi,
Was thinking what you meant when you said bit stripping. Did some reading and now fully understand. Thanks.

Rockadanny has a point about individual components has its benefits, if I'm in the ultra end. Mine is a simple budget system, don't think the difference would be a deal breaking, especially the new dacs are getting better with their preamp implementations.

I have basically narrow down to 3 dacs, Bel Canto dac2.5-used, Benchmark dac2 HGC-used, or a NEW Teac dac UD503. All 3 units have preamp function and very close in price (within my budget).

Once again, thanks to all your input. Cheers
Raymond

Hi All,
Interesting to read a thread about using the Oppo 103 to dac and remove the computer away from the system as the Oppo 103 could read direct from an external hard disk. There I would have taken 2 components from the system, namely the computer and the sacd player. Interesting.
Believe, the sale of the sacd may be enough to purchase the 103 :-) ;-)