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DACs that do well without a preamp

I am looking for a DAC to feed my DNA-1 gold power amp directly, streaming Qobuz or Tidal from a Bluesound Vault. Budget is $1-2K; would consider used, if worthwhile. Current contenders are Benchmark 3 HGC, Brooklyn DAC+, Gustard x26 pro, Holo Spring 3, Musetec 004 and Pontus ii. Looking for clean, detailed, uncolored sound that "lifts the veil". What are the qualities I should look for to drive an amp well, without a pre?
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Showing 2 responses by cheeg

cheeg's avatar
cheeg OP
241 posts
 
Great replies - thank you all for your input.
 
@laaudionut Thank you for your tip on the Hegel HD30; it was not on my radar.  From the reviews I just read, it sounds like a very good unit, especially with your experience that it runs well direct to amp. I will certainly add it to my short list.
 
I am baffled as to why so many otherwise high-end DACs sound so poor when connected directly to a good power amp. It can't be the quality of the volume control ALONE, or the better companies would have fixed this flaw. Is the issue in the interface to the power amp (eg. an impedance mismatch), or is it a failure of the analog stage to accurately amplify the signal to line level?
cheeg's avatar
cheeg OP
241 posts
 

Frequently it’s just that the passive preamp sections usually included in the DACs don’t have sufficient output to fully drive the amp it’s hooked up to. As always, it comes down to proper system matching.

@soix Thanks for your reply -- I think that's as good an explanation as I'm likely to find.  The voltage level of the DAC output may be in the right range, but it can't generate enough current to properly drive the amp.  I do own a preamp (Parasound 2100), but I thought it was a weak link, so I'd be better off without it.  Sounds like I may want to keep it around for a while.

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