DAC choice

What preamp, DAC and CD transport are you using right now? Cause your Rotel RB-1590 is a power amp.

The Rotel RC-1590 is a good sounding preamp especially for the money and its internal DAC is pretty good. Rotel always makes good sounding gears for the money. 

However, there are countless other options out there when it comes to DAC/preamp choices. The Mytek Brooklyn DAC is a great option for very affordable price point it has digital volume control/preamp. If you don't have any other sources you can use its volume/preamp. With the Rotel RC-1590 you get full function preamp....The Rotel RC-1590 is a preamp that happens to have built-in DAC. Something like the Mytek Brooklyn is a dedicated standalone DAC that happens to have built-in volume control / preamp. The Mytek Brooklyn DAC does not have analog inputs because it is a standalone DAC after all. The Rotel RC-1590 preamp has both digital and analog inputs. The Rotel RC-1590 preamp will pair well with your Rotel RB-1590 power amp.

The Rotel RC-1590 preamp is very well built and designed especially considering its asking price of $1750 brand new. It has separate power supplies one for digital circuitry and another for analog audio circuitry. 

I have the rc and rb 1590. They do make a fine pair!

Please don’t get me wrong. So far, I have been very impressed with the Rotel RB-1590 amp, and I have no reason to believe the companion preamp will disappoint me. I just want to make the best buy I can. In my experience so far, the Rotel amp seems capable of great sound with any good preamp. My main concern is getting the best DAC I can afford in the preamp.  What about the PS Audio Stellar Gain Cell Class-A balanced DAC/Analog Preamp?  It is about the same money. Any opinions?

lot's of threads on the subject. If you search me, you will find info. That drilled down to

- Mytek
- RME Adi-2, which I bought
- Chord Qutest
- Project S2

The RME ADI-2 DAC is fantastic DAC. The Steady Clock is measured in Femtoseconds. You find this in the top of the line DAC's. Bought mine about 3 weeks ago and really upgraded the SQ of my Universal player and Bluesound node. Can can compete w/any DAC at twice it's price. RME is a 20 year old German Pro Audio company w/a solid reputation. This is their first audio product for home audio. Check out their website and the June issue of Sound on Sound excellent review.

I have a bluesound node 2. How would I connect the Rme to it?  Yeah, I’m new to this....

Optical toslink to the RME. From the RME you have a choice of RCA or Balanced connections to your Receiver. The RCA connections are small head connections will not take the larger head RCA's. 

Thanks. 

I chose the NAD M51 over the Auralic Vega, PS Audio PerfectWave II and RME ADI-2, all of which I bought, tried and sold.  

Reason?

More analog/natural sonic presentation (to my ears) than the others. Naturally, speaker pairing can influence one’s decision.  I have been using the Revel M106. 

There are a variety of filters you can use to shape your sound. The default filter Sharp followed by SD Slow, Slow and NOS. I use SD Slow, as it cuts down on the harsh digital hash. Also w/the RME you have dual EQ and Treble and Bass knobs. There is a learning curve to this DAC but the 68 page booklet is easy to follow. Detail from the instruments is very good.