External DAC vs. your quality processor

I found Benchmark DAC1 to be slightly cleaner than my HT processor alone using Toslink. The difference was small though. A friend of mine actually preferred the HT processor sound (it was less "articulate" or "recording" sounding or more musical to his ears). My suggestion would be to check yourself - get a DAC with a 30 day return policy and test and test and test - the nice thing about an HT preamp is you can usually level match to 0.5 db with a test signal for A/B testing and then switch from the listening chair using the remote to compare.

Shadorne: Out of curiousity, what processor were you using in the comparison?

Nothing as fancy as a Krell - see my Virtual System - the HT processor is listed there. FWIW: I can't hear the AtoD and DtoA loop in this processor and I have tried very hard to do so (So the AKM DAC's it has are probably ok for my tin ears). However, I can hear what is presumably the effect of interface jitter via Toslink input into the processor from a cheap CDP (although my friend preferred what I have presumed is a slightly more "jittery" sound - so it is obviously no slam dunk - coudl it just be a different sounding DAC?) I must be careful though - as you realize what I am saying is partly conjecture. That is why I say test and test and test yourself - make your own choice!

Shadorne: Thanks for taking the time. I appreciate your comments.

i have an HTS 7.1 in my theater and a DVD Standard driving it. Just comparing the 2 channel dac in the Standard to thw HTS, the dvd players 2 channel dac sounded much better. I was comparing the two channel performance through a transparent audio reference digital link (RCAs) vs the analogue out through balanced Ultra XL. Less grainy, very musical.

I'm currently working through a more similar situation where i am driving a Bel Canto Dac3 into a Krell 400XI via balanced connections. I brought up the dvd player as a point of comparison (again with the 2 channel analogue out of the dvd player using balanced connections). Ultimately i liked the computer/belcanto better, but there wasn't a huge difference...and the BelCanto is still getting run in (bel canto recommends 500 hours or so). BTW i'm also using a Van Den Hul glass toslink between the pc and the bel canto.

I'm sure others have worked this through... perhaps by the end of hte weekend they'll chime in.

Objective1; Thanks for the response - Just to be sure I have it right - can I assume then that in the computer to Bel Canto to Krell 400xi set-up that you prefer the DAC work in the Bel Canto to a more direct Computer to Krell (digital in) set-up because you feel that the Bel Canto offers better DAC work than your Krell?

I've heard a lot of processors and a lot of DAC's. I have yet to hear a SS processor that holds a candle to a good DAC. My Proceed AVP is not bad, one of the more musical ones, but nothing compared to a good DAC.

Awhile ago, I decided I didn't like the sound of SS processors for music. Since then, I discovered I like non-OS DACs or tube DACs, neither of which would make sense in an HT pre/pro.

It does seem like HT processors these days have become better at rendering music. I guess it really depends on what you're looking for in the 2-channel presentation.