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?

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Showing 1 response by bobby1945

First of all I would not pump any more money into this set-up.-which is being used as a work station and a defacto hi-fi set up

Your aim is to improve the sound of what you have at minimal cost.

I would replace speaker cable and inter connects though.

I would also lose the table , display and keyboard , electric fire , flip flops and any other clutter. Use headless control via mobile phone.

Get the speakers away from the walls.

The PC it looks ancient and may have a limited speed cpu ? - Replace HD with  SSD if not already done.

A clean Install of windows server 2019 - Free trial available Reduce number of services running in back ground.

Remove as much clutter on SSD and install HQPlayer -free for 30 days. Employ highest HQP settings that the cpu will permit.

Pull CPU out and replace with quality  thermal paste 

Install ROON +HQPlayer

Ethernet connect from router to pc -disable wi-fi