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AR's new DAC digital media bridge

Heard it recently, thinking of buying one. My dilema is in 2 arenas. I have an excellent preamp ( CJ ) and listen to a great deal of vinyl ( SME 20 ) . The DMB has its' own preamp and can run through ethernet or flash drive and be controlled through nifty app's on your ipad. I want to develop a digital library, would like to actually figure out the best means to store the files ( flash? other? ) and have this utility incorporated into my system.

Has anyone done this alternatively? The AR preamp is certainly a decent item but I really d/n need it. The switching is clumsy since I would have to go from the DMB direct to the speakers. ( how do I play the turntable? ) Do I go a different direction ? I really loved the ease and utility of the DMB unit plus, the claim is that through ethernet or flash the source is read from the 'root' menu and it certainly did sound better than USB .
shep01
2 responses Add your response
audioengr
3,282 posts
 
This might solve the problem, and improve SQ as well:

http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=108715.0

This is how I drive DAC to amps direct and still have analog input for preamp from HT or vinyl.

Steve N.
Empirical Audio
mitch4t's avatar
mitch4t
1,610 posts
 
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At $15k it would be a shame to waste the preamp section in this unit to use it only as a DAC if you already have an excellent preamp and you need to play vinyl too.

But, if you are an all-digital media person, this would be a fantastic unit to have. Even though I don't play much vinyl these days, I'm just not ready to cut the analog umbilical cord. An Audio Research Reference DAC without a preamp section would be a killer product.
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