2. digital
  3. 1341269998

Source vs. DAC vs. Preamp Importance?

Current Setup:

1. PSB Synchrony 2 Spkrs
2. Parasound Halo A21 Amp
3. Marantz AVR as a preamp
4. No Source yet (looking for a CDP)

I have 2000$ left to complete my setup. I was looking at a decent CDP w/preamp like the Audiolab 8200CDQ....but also thought maybe keep the AVR as a preamp and spend the 2000$ on a better used CDP only? The problem with the AVR is that it won't pass through a signal, it would convert A-D and then D-A before sending signal to my amp, how much would that degrade the sound from a good CDP? Is it better to get a great CDP and run it through an AVR's DAC....or get a pretty good CDP w/pretty good built in preamp?

If I had this to do over again I would have spent more evenly across all components. I am a newbie and any advice would be much appreciated!
watsonblues

Showing 1 response by watsonblues

watsonblues OP
7 posts
 
Thanks for the input. Does anyone know of a good used CD/SACD player for under 2000$?

I have a new Dell Windows 7 computer but don't know a thing about how to download the hi-res files to a DAC. Is there somewhere I can learn what all is needed? Seems to be hard to pin it all down online.
More to discover