Are those with Bartoks and Pre & Power Amps now using Bartok as the Pre? The reason I ask is that when I had Dave & M scaler I think that the Dave sounded better being fed through my Macintosh 2300 tube pre. From a quick test with Bartok straight into Macintosh 462 Power I believe it sounds better…

It was really hard for me to get my head around this but whatever pre amp I used, the effects were always additive. More body = 2nd order harmonic distortion, or phase shift in the bass - 200 Hz on down. Subjectively this may also give the illusion of greater dynamics and scale. We may like it, but …

Take this simple DAC plus power amp configuration I am using for my desktop. Adding a preamp between the dCS DAC and Mola Mola power amp will only degrade the sound. It is simply best to set the dCS at 2V output and utilize the upper volume range of the DAC to obtain the highest resolution. If my ex…

[image] andrewt: I noted that at the recent German hifi show dCS went direct to amps and some folks were mighty impressed. Yes. dCS always runs direct at shows, and in their factory listening room in the UK. It is in their best interest to do so. This is not meant to imply that others won’t…

I bought a Creek OBH-12 which are (understandably given the simplicity) by all accounts super transparent, with the idea that you run the DAC at max volume, use the Creek to turn the volume down to your maximum normal listening level, and just leave it alone from there and use the DAC controls.

Does anyone have experience with the WestminsterLab Quest preamp and would a preamp, assuming it‘s as neutral as possible, make a difference for listening at low volume?

At the risk of exposing my ignorance, digital volume control inside the dCS DAC means choosing between 0.2V, 0.6V, 2V, and 6V output?

No (although of course changing the gain setting will affect the volume level). James is referring to the digital volume control that is built into all our DACs, controlled by the rotary knob (B/R/V) or the shortcut buttons that are enabled if you unlock the volume control (in Device Settings) on a …

Hi @AndrewS , just confirming: third party apps like Roon are also directly accessing the DAC’s digital volume control, correct?

I know that Roon does. I don’t want to write a blank cheque but I suspect that others like Spotify and Tidal work in a similar way. @James ?

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To preamp or not to preamp

dCS Products

AndrewS (Andrew) January 6, 2025, 1:38pm 64

Bartok as a preamplifier dCS Products

On preamps, and digital volume control… Considering for a moment the role of a pre-amp in a digital audio playback system: To select different sources. To level match source and power amplifier. To set the listening volume. When comparing a DAC connected to a power amp directly vs with a preamp in line, there are potential benefits to the addition of a preamp: Interfacing between a source which has only an unbalanced output to an amplifier that only has a balanced input or vice versa. To al…

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