mraub1;605443 Wrote: > I'm new to digital audio, so pardon if this question sounds asinine. > > I'm assembling a 2-channel music system. A pair of Magnepan 1.7's are > on order and I've purchased an Emotiva XPA-2 (500 w/ch @ 4 ohms--the > Maggies are massively power hungry). By all accounts on this board and > others, the Touch's DAC is decent enough that most people can't > distinguish its output from a much more expensive dedicated DAC. > > Since the Touch has a volume control I can't I need any additional gear > for a decent hifi system. What I can't determine is whether the analog > Touch outputs will drive the amp hard enough for use with very > inefficient speakers like the Magnepan's. The book that came with the > touch had no specification of the maximum voltage the Touch can output > from the analog jacks. > > Is driving the XPA-2 with the Touch's analog outputs going to work? > Emotiva also sells a relatively inexpensive digital pre-amp, but I > can't see buying if I don't need it. > > Thanks for any advice.
I wouldn't advise you to use Touch as an attenuator. It is much more important to ensure that the digital volume level on the Touch stays absolutely fixed at 100% (apply Soundcheck's mod, which you can find on another thread in this forum). I'm using Touch as a digital source to drive a pair of Magnepan speakers, and only if I disable the digital attenuation on the Touch do I get that much sought after high-end sound quality that is at the same time decidedly no 'hi fi' like. In other words, neutrality, truth in music presentation, production instead of re-production, and a complete absence of editorializing during the playback. But for that, you'll have to go with a highly refined DAC. The one inside the Touch is definitely not up to the task. In all seriousness, plan on doing all this because your Maggies deserve it. As you probably know already, Maggies don't lie, and they will mercilessly reveal sub-standard components in your chain. As it stands today, fully modded Touch (via Soundcheck's mods) is a formidable digital transport that can stand shoulder to shoulder with many high end digital transports. This incredible digital transport needs to be paired with a high quality DAC. -- magiccarpetride ------------------------------------------------------------------------ magiccarpetride's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=37863 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=85096 _______________________________________________ Touch mailing list Touch@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/touch
