2. digital
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Can a DAC sort out a flat\cold amp?

My pc is connected to an external sound card (scarlett 2i4 by focusrite). I bought the Yamaha a-s1200 & am really disappointed at the brightness & the lack of bass to the extend I prefer listening to my portable JBL boombox. I'm in no position to sell or trade this amplifier so I thought a DAC with eq may help the predicament. Since auditioning my equipment is not an option in my country I have no choice but to buy something purely on recommendations. I also thought about replacing the speakers but since I listen to soundcloud & youtube i really think upscaling & eq will be much more cost effective option in sorting out this issue & may give me the confidence to try a much more expensive speaker option. what would you recommend?

128x128orenm145

Showing 2 responses by artemus_5

artemus_5's avatar
artemus_5
1,917 posts
 

Like @jasonbourne52 , I doubt it is the amp. I have heard this amp and it didn't sound bad to me. Aamof Bill Watkins used that amp to demo the Gen 4 speakers which go down to 41 hz. There was no doubt that they hit the 41hz.. I suspect something else or an incompatibility issue 

artemus_5's avatar
artemus_5
1,917 posts
 

Those of you who keep harping on this amp are totally wrong. I have heard this amp with a set of monitor speakers in a rather large showroom with NO sub. The speakers are Watkins Gen 4 which are winners of the Golden ear &editors Choice Awards from The Absolute Sound. There is NOTHING WRONG WITH THE AMP.

Do you guys REALLY think that Watkins would demonstrate their award winning monitor speakers which go down to 41 hz with an inferior amp that lacks bass?

@orenm145 

i listen to very lossy audio (youtube\soundcloud) & could get alot of benefit from upscaling & upsampling C. when I listen to a good source like a real 320kbps the bass problem diminishes significantly D. this amp does not come with a DAC so it's pretty much mandatory.

 

You came here looking for advice and have been told repeatedly that the amp isn't the problem. The problem is the source material. MP3 is a terrible source. It throws away 80-90% of the signal and effect the highs and lows very much. You must listen to LOSSLESS IE Flac. With all due respect it is akin to buying a Ferreri & complaining about the power when you are using watered down regular octane gasoline. You should either change your source material or go back to the cheap HIfi that doesn't expose the flaws of Mp3

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