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In Reply to: RE: DAC w/remote volume control installed between... posted by petercapo on February 27, 2024 at 14:22:59
What brand and model DAC are you talking about?The output impedance of most modern DACs is constant regardless of Volume control position so that is not the issue.... Unless it's some funky DAC the output is buffered and the impedance is constant. It's not like you're running a passive attenuator.... unless it's some funky DAC ;-)
The issue becomes one of gain matching. The DAC will have sufficient output to drive your amp directly yet you're talking about feeding it into your preamp which likely also has a good amount of gain. You didn't mention what preamp you have.
You will have to 'fiddle' with the output level from the DAC with its Volume control vs the Volume control setting on your preamp. Finding a 'just right' combo can be a challenge especially if your preamp has lots of gain.
As and aside, I've never had great luck with the equipment scenario above. Yes it works but I've never achieved the best sonics that way. You'll have to try it for yourself and see if it works well and sounds good for you.
Edits: 02/28/24 02/28/24Follow Ups:
Hi Abe,
Looking at one of the Benchmark DAC3s with remote volume control. At present I am using my restored Dynaco PAS that doesn't have a remote volume control.
Why would the sonics suffer in this kind of setup, as you have experienced it?
Thanks.
Peter
That alone could degrade the sound.
OTOH,find a balance between them to achieve desired volume and control.
The challenge I faced when running a DAC with Volume control into my integrated amp with Volume control was dynamic range. The DAC sounded its best when it was run 'wide open' with the Volume control at Max or the DAC output set to FIXED (which was the same as Max).Fortunately my integrated amp has its own Volume control so in the end I used it instead of the DAC Volume control. It sounded better that way.
My Experiment :
My DAC had a better more precise Remote control so I wanted to try it in place of the integrated amp Remote. I set the integrated amp Volume control somewhere midway so I had a good amount of Volume control range using the DAC Remote. It worked but the problem I faced with this setup was reduced dynamic range especially at lower volume levels. The music didn't sound quite as lively. Why? Maybe because the DAC wasn't achieving its best dynamic range with its Volume turned down instead of Max. In my setup it just sounded better with the DAC at Max while using the Volume control in the integrated amp.
YMMV depending on your equipment. It might sound fine but it will be worth experimenting with your DAC Volume setting & Preamp section Volume setting. The articles linked below might help explain it to some degree.
Edits: 02/28/24 02/28/24
Thanks, I will check out those links for sure.
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