I think once you have a truly great preamp, there's no going back to passive volume. I will prove this out soon with my amp I'm having built . It has two inputs, so I can A/B a preamp vs DAC direct. I seriously doubt my DAC driving the amp will sound better than my Zesto Leto. That is one awesome preamp, incredible sounding piece.
Will DAC always sound better going straight into a Power Amplifier?
Hi All,
I experimented today with plugging my Khadas Tone Board DAC straight into a Power Amp, and then using a vintage restored Yamaha solid state preamp in the chain...and the sound seemed to be clearer without the preamp.
Is this always the case, where a DAC will sound better directly connected to a power amp?
I see some expensive DAC offerings, like the Musetec 005 and the Holo Audio May, and was wondering that if i want to save up for one of them...if i have to save up for a preamp as well.
If it will cloud the sound, then i'll leave the preamp out of the mix. Let me know your thoughts all!
I've read that some people have had experiences where the DAC sounds better through a preamp, so I'm not sure if there is a universal answer here or not.
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The word 'always' is often good to avoid, but from my experience, it ain't necessarily so. I had an MSB 'Analog DAC'/volume control going directly into my MSB power amp and the sound was superb. I later got a Herron Audio tube preamp and put that in between the DAC and the power amp, and the sound improved considerably from that.... |
Yes, words such as “always”, “never “ and “best” are rarely applicable in audio topic discussions. Far too many variables exist to make those terms meaningful. I would just say that based on my listening and observations that a “high” quality preamplifier more often than not contributes to improved sound quality. In a situation such as @willgolf’s I can see this as an exception to my generally speaking scenarios. The Lampizator Horizon exceeding the Pacific DAC is quite the accomplishment. Congratulations @willgolf . Charles |
normal modern DAC will output at min. 2v RCA or min.4v balanced. That is equal to a normal preamp output. Forgetting weird impedance mismatches for the moment, the only job left for the preamp is attenuation. If the DAC has a good relay based rather than lossy digital attenuator, there is nothing left for the preamp to do other than add distortion. If you do have an impedance mismatch, get a passive attenuator I run direct and completely agree with this - but how does a passive attenuator correct an impedance mismatch? I thought that the problem with passives was that they do not correct an impedance issue the way active preamps do - even unity gain/buffers only preamps.
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