I don't have any experiance with Direct TV but, I got the Polk receiver for Christmas and activated it about the second week of January. I had been using a Roady 2 both in my car and at home using the analog out to the pre amp. The sound from the Roady was OK for casual listening but definitely not CD or even FM quality. Of course I live in the mountains of Southern California and even with about 100 FM stations around the reception up here sucks, so FM is not really an option.
Anyway I first ran the digital out from the Polk into my Rotel 976 processor. The quality was considerably better than the roady but noticably harsh. I picked up a Scott Nixon tube DAC on ebay for $250 just for fun and to see if it would be any better though the tube. Just got it hooked up tonight so I'm still fooling with the interconnects and may try a couple of different tubes but so far I'm pleased with the result. The Scott Nixon definitely took the harshness (is that a word?) down a bit and the imagining and sound stage seems pretty good.
I'm starting to think I will need to invest some additional cash into a full on two channel tube system just for fun!! Of course I was looking for a good excuse to do that anyway. Now I have one!
Anyway I first ran the digital out from the Polk into my Rotel 976 processor. The quality was considerably better than the roady but noticably harsh. I picked up a Scott Nixon tube DAC on ebay for $250 just for fun and to see if it would be any better though the tube. Just got it hooked up tonight so I'm still fooling with the interconnects and may try a couple of different tubes but so far I'm pleased with the result. The Scott Nixon definitely took the harshness (is that a word?) down a bit and the imagining and sound stage seems pretty good.
I'm starting to think I will need to invest some additional cash into a full on two channel tube system just for fun!! Of course I was looking for a good excuse to do that anyway. Now I have one!