Question about Preamps and Power Amps

[weibchen]

I was reading a book by robert harley.

I think its quite outdated by now however, do a separate preamp + power amp system better than a single receiver?

Another thing is, DAC, is it only found as a component or is there a standalone DAC?

[petetherock]

Most of the principles in his book still hold, especially his hi fi book, the HT one is a bit outdated but still a fine read.

 

The idea behind the pre-power is that the delicate signals of the pre are not over overwhlemed by the power amp. IMO this is something you have to try and see, I cant hear a difference in a budget pre-power setup. But keeping the power amp seperate also makes upgrading easier.

 

If its a HT setup, I wouldn't go for it unless you are talking about driving hard to drive speakers or using a nice stereo amp you have lying around to integrate stereo and surround or you are spend $$ on an AVM D2 by Anthem, a Krell or a Lexicon or that sort of firepower.

 

There are standalone DACs, more common in stereo than HT. There are even DIY ones, see the monica thread in echoloft:

http://www.echoloft.com/cgi-bin/YaBB/YaBB.cgi?board=tell&action=display&num=1175441734

 

 

 

[IwishIwasToneDeaf]

I was reading a book by robert harley.

I think its quite outdated by now however, do a separate pre amp + power amp system better than a single receiver?

Another thing is, DAC, is it only found as a component or is there a standalone DAC?

 

The answer would be very subjective. Generally, a WELL BUILT separate pre/pow combe should give you cleaner power which should give you more control over your speakers (eg. more controlled mids, tighter bass, and tamed highs) as compared to the same brand made integrated amp. Also with the pre separated from the power, there could be less interference. Don't flame me.  ;D

 

And yes there are separate DACs and Transports as well. Together in one box, that's an integrated cd player for you.

[weibchen]

hmm i shall go experiment with the DAC thingy first, see how it fairs for Computers.

Anyone has any experience in doing that?

[SiriuslyCold]

if using for computer, see if you can get a USB DAC

 

[Quest88]

louco uses a benchmark dac-1 with his PC output, and i use a panny xr55 which is digital. tried his benchmark+amp combo in my system also. needless to say, it makes quite abit of diff. transport matters so your soundcard has to have decent digital output first for this to work.

 

i'm not sure if there would be an equal comparison for usb dacs, or if i would necessarily spend $1-2k just for a soundcard. x-meridien is about $330 and worth a try if you plan to go analog, but there is also the m-audio audiophile usb/firewire or emu stuff, though these are usually used for headphones.

[weibchen]

Would it be wise to say, Sound card -> DAC -> AMP -> speakers?

Or would the sound card's DAC be enough to do the conversions?

[louco73]

You can do Sound Card -> Power Amp -> Speakers, but the result may not be satisfying :). I have tried it for surround material with my Xplosion and it was not as good as Sound Card -> AVR -> Power Amp -> Speakers. I can't remember if I compared Sound Card -> Benchmark DAC-1 -> Power Amp -> Speakers, but I'm sure if my AVR was better the Benchmark DAC-1 will be too.

 

You can upgrade the opamps on the sound card and that should make a difference according to some people. I just haven't got around to doing that yet.

 

Too many things to play with and not enough time ;)

 

 

[Quest88]

same as what i mentioned earlier. is it ok to compare a $300+ soundcard with a $100 soundcard + $1k+ DAC?

 

maybe if you get a $1-2k soundcard, we can do some tests. ;)