2. digital
  3. 164125-3775

DAC's with volume control question

it's been a while since i researched/purchased DAC's. grabbed a new PS Audio PWDII w/Bridge about 10 years ago and it has kept me happy for a long time. need a short term replacement (meaning inexpensive) and am looking for info regarding current DAC's that can be used stand alone without a preamp for volume control.  the PWDII had a shortcoming that would do "something bad" when operated below 50% volume. losing bits or something like that??. 

my question is .... has this issue been resolved in general? 10 years is alot of time in the digital realm and would like to know if modern technology has eliminated this problem with volume control/loss of sound quality.

have three on the list but see nothing disclosed regarding volume control short comings. is it safe to assume no such issues exist anymore? thus not even mentioned?

this is a temporary replacement. probably only 1-1.5 years. don't want to add a preamp so my list is limited to inexpensive options with preamp/volume control so far 

Peach Tree Decco125 SKY
Cambridge CNX V2
Cambridge 851N

seems the 851N might be more of what i need but am concerned about mid-fi integrated preamp hardware making things sound worse. the CNX V2 seems to be more like my PWDII and is preamp-ish with volume control. no real dedicated/integrated preamp hardware. the CXN V2 has me concerned about the volume control having shortcomings like my PWDII.

thanks in advance for any help/input

levy03
unsound
7,329 posts
 
It can depend on the DAC and the sensitivity of your amp.
levy03 OP
442 posts
 
Djones51: thanks for the heads up. that's exactly what i don't want. CXN V2 is off the list. wrestled with getting a separate DAC and Streamer setup early on. this being a temp setup made me decide to keep it simple and cheap. need an all in one DAC/Streamer with good volume control. something to get me by/through an untimely hi-fi emergency. all my new gear will end up in the living room eventually. complete listening room/hi-fi rebuild planned for early 2022. simple and inexpensive for now.

any thought on the 850N ?
levy03 OP
442 posts
 


Unsound: Amp is a new  Adcom GFA575se  Input Sensitivity1.90V rms, 350 W into 8 ohms.100mV rms, 1 W into 8 ohms

am i looking for something in particular in the DAC's volume control spec that will work better based on the amps sensitivity?


unsound
7,329 posts
 
Ideally the DAC would have a max voltage output of 1.9 Volts. This would allow for maximum range of volume control and no chance of bit stripping, while still allowing your amp to provide all the power you paid for. You’re not likely to match that exactly perfectly. Not to worry. Depending on the implementation, some DAC chips such as some of the Sabre DAC chips have up to 32 bits available. Each bit is capable of of 12 dB of attenuation. As most commercial music media is limited to 24 bits, in such a case you’ll have plenty of bits to spare without having to worrying about resolution loss due to bit stripping. Your amp’s input sensitivity should make it easy to match with many if not most DACs that have enough bits to spare.
yyzsantabarbara
4,810 posts
 
I compared the volume control on the respected Benchmark DAC3 HGC (DAC/preamp) with the Benchmark DAC3B (no volume) + Benchmark LA4 preamp. The DAC3B + LA4 combo was so much better with volume,  especially at low volume levels. I only use a DAC for volume control when convenience factor out weighs sound quality, such as in my bedroom headphone system.
More to discover