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February 2, 2012 - 10:57am
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Headphone DAC/Amp or Separate DAC and Preamp?
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Alas, there are very few dedicated preamps that are worth anything for under $2000. That makes a separate power amp and pramp much more expensive than what most people want to spend.
It is far more cost-effective to get a good integrated amplifier with a headphone jack.
The Cambridge Audio CA340 or CA350 or similar would be a very good choice if you can find one used in your price range. Another possibility would be a NAD 315 or 325 amplifier.
The DAC is another story. I am not clear on what you are going to connect to the input of the DAC, so maybe you could help out with some information there.
Well I am looking to replace what my Nuforce U-Dac is currently doing; which is a preamp and USB DAC from my computer, to the amplifier. I really like the Udac and would stick with it even if I get a new power amp, but the volume control is sub-par. It's not consistent through all ~300 degrees of rotation, which would lead to a very poor volume control. Using integreated amps like I have been, gave me the freedom to control my volume directly on the amp, and leave the udac stationary in the middle. A dedicated power amp would mean my only volume control would be my udac (less than ideal), or my player (songbird) on my laptop. But adjusting the volume on the software is cumbersome compared to a real knob.
Make sense?
I guess to summarize, are there any disadvantages to using a headphone dac/amp combo as my desktop DAC and my preamp?
I don't see any advantage to separate units except the obvious one, the ability to upgrade components individually in the future. It's up to you if that capability has any value.
No disadvantage to the combo units as far as I'm concerned. They can provide more for the money, since you aren't paying for multiple things, like chassis and power supplies. I use a Grace m903 as the heart of my main system. It has analog as well as digital inputs, and a great analog volume control. The Grace unit is out of your price range, but there are other less expensive choices. Some of the Peachtree products come to mind, combining nice features, plus they tend to get good reviews for sound quality.