I believe DAC update will involve more performance increase instead of amp update, in relation to the money spent.
Of course if you can afford it, best choice is good amp with good integrated DAC.
Sound improvement with DAC, or Amp update
Hi there, i am a newbie to audio equipment. I recently got an upgrade of speaker from a 20 years old Mordaunt short MS10 to a B&W 606 S2. I am really enjoying the new sound and music that resulted from the update, and found myself drawn to listening more and wanting more.
I am currently using an old AV surround receiver Yamaha (HTR-5830) that is delivering 110 Watts per channel on stereo to drive the 606 S2. My streamer source is - youtube music / Amazon prime HD music, running on Ubuntu PC with on board sound card, feeding via S/PDIF optical to the Yamaha Amp.
Looking for advice on what I could do for better sound quality with another small investment, should I consider my next upgrade on a DAC (e.g.Cambridge Dacmagic 200), or swap out the Yamaha HTR5830 to a more modern integrated Amp with DAC (e.g. CXA81), or a new streamer device ?, which would have the most positive impact on the sound quality with my new 606 S2 speaker ?
Any advice would be appreciated.
Best Wishes, Paul