darthkringle;503661 Wrote: > Yes, it has direct analog; however, I have to use some degree of tone > controls due to having a very lively room. So my guess is that while > the CI Dac is the main sound quality, the Arcam is still having to do > "some" processing as I am not using pure analog direct due to tone > controls. > > Now that I think about it, even using the analog outs with the tone > controls in the Arcam, am I getting ANY benefit from an external dac? > Or would it "have to be" in a "pure direct" mode?
Your ears are the best indication. If either the DAC or the Arcam produce a more accurate D to A conversion it's of little use if they don't sound as nice to you as straight analog output. This is an overly obvious answer and I apologize in advance for it. If the Arcam is providing tone control using the analog input, which I assume it is, it should be able to do the same using digital input. I'm a Mac user and not familiar with all of the available PC add-ons for the SServer but I hear great thing about using the Inguz plugin. Perhaps that is an option in your case. In short, it comes down to what you like to hear and what you want to hear. My former CI Audio DAC gave me a much larger soundstage and better black noise floor than the Transporter alone and I held on to it for that reason until I moved the TP into an environment (and lesser system) where I couldn't hear a difference. It went on Audiogon and sold in a few hours leaving me $150 less than what I spent but still $600 in my pocket for new music. That reminds me: the VDA2 was very good but the VDA2 plus VAC1 was much better. Much better than any other $200 upgrade I've bought. -- kphinney -I like it, you may not. I understand and respect that.- ------------------------------------------------------------------------ kphinney's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=10409 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=73099 _______________________________________________ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/audiophiles
