Digital Drive

Posted by AbeCollins (A) on May 27, 2024 at 19:32:52

In Reply to: RE: Connecting 2 DACs to one streamer. posted by Jim D. on May 27, 2024 at 14:18:21

Your USB switch idea -might- work but it depends on whether the opticalRendu will quickly re-recognize the newly switched-in DAC w/o rebooting. But yes, you will have two switching events: The USB switch AND the preamp.

The more elegant solution would require two identical streamers each with a USB output. The software player will also help immensely in making millisecond A/B switching a reality.

I've used Roon software with two DIY Raspberry Pi streamers each driving a different USB DAC. Roon will allow you to play the same tune in perfect sync through both streamers to each DAC at the same time. You can then simply switch the preamp between DAC A and DAC B while the music is playing.

The other issue is level matching. If your preamp can precisely level match their inputs that will also help considerably as each DAC under test might not have exactly the same output level. I had a Benchmark LA4 preamp when I was experimenting with this and it I could easily level match inputs to within 0.5 dB.

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For this example I don't have two identical streamers but a Mac Mini going to one USB DAC [SMSL D400EX] and one of my DIY Raspberry Pi streamers feeding the other USB DAC [PS Audio NuWave DSD DAC]. You can see the details below.

Edits: 05/27/24   05/27/24   05/27/24