Quote:
Originally Posted by enatai252
I think Ref DAC is best suited for digital only front ends directly to amp. I say this primarily due to ergonomics- the ref DAC will not allow bypassing of preamp section and each time you turn on....I would need to turn volume up to 70 (which is about where ARC recommended for unity gain). Adding another preamp is redundant and would somewhat be like going from a DAC to a ref5se to the ref10
In my case I had a a moon 850p with ASRBasis phono and used the Woo WES amp for Stax headphones. I found the ref DAC sounded best directly into woo Wes rather than through the 850. For both SQ and ease of use. I disagree that the SQ of this unit is not high quality...the user interface is poor but sound is really good. I do prefer the dCS Rossini and Vivaldi units I now own to the ref DAC
Personal opinion is ref DAC was a product that just was not perfect for many applications and they no longer support the iPad app or the SW
|
Thanks again for your comments. I'll take them under advisement. For the record, I never said the Ref DAC didn't have high sound quality. If it didn't sound terrific, I wouldn't be considering it for the digital source of my system. I agree that there would be some redundancy if I hooked the Ref DAC up to my Ref 10 preamp. However, the Ref CD-9 has the same 6 tube configuration as the Ref DAC (less volume control) and it is the most organic and analog sounding digital source I've ever heard. I will also have to give the ARC DAC 9 a listen because it eliminates some of the tube redundancy you spoke of (two dual triodes). The question is will it sound as analog-like as the Ref DAC and Ref CD-9.
Best,
Ken