Hi all,
I am currently on the hunt for a good DAC/preamp, and of the commercial offerings, nothing really stacks up for reasonable money ( true analog volume control, true analog inputs, and a _good_ DAC section, preferably in one box.
Cyrus make the DAC XP+, but this is getting a bit older in the tooth now, and while the analog side of it appears to be considered at reference level, the DAC is showing its age now. Bel canto make some nice DAC's but the analog side is either non existent, or it goes through A/D conversion. Not what I want to be seeing.
So this has lead me to this Twisted Pear Audio website.
Is it feasible, and practical, to build a preamp using a Buffalo 2 DAC, Darwin input selector ( 2 of, one for the analog side, and one to switch between various SPDIF inputs ) IVY linestage driver, and maybe an OTTO 2:1 ( for HT bypass duties ) with appropriate power supplies and using a custom controller which will allow me full remote control of the unit? Would probably throw a couple of Toslink adapters in there, and maybe a USB one ( although might wait till a 24/192 offering is available for that? )
I have a mostly DIY system - the only non DIY part is the source ( Squeezebox Touch, Pioneer DVD 969AVI, satellite decoder box, HTPC ) and power amps.
The speakers are made up of Focal drivers - 2x 33WX bass drivers in reflex enclosure, 2x Focal 5K4311(?) mids in transmission line enclosures, and a AudioM tweeter, all in a line source array. My amplifiers are either NZ made Perreaux 350P's ( factory customized, these run the bass drivers, putting about 700w into each driver ) and the mids and tweeters are powered by DIY 250W monoblocks, one for tweeter and one for the pair of mids. Crossover duties are by DIY mono pair of Linkwitz Riley, outboard PSU, at 200Hz and 2Khz ( 24dB )
I currently have a NZ made HFA valve preamp ( stunning, but no remote control, which in my situation is not very suitable ) and a Xindak DAC 8 D/A unit. This is okish.
All up, its a pretty stunning system.
Anyway, between myself and an Electrician/tech friend, I was wondering just how well a "preamp/DAC" made of these components would perform? And what suggestions would people make to maximize its performance? Is it going to be comparable to the likes of say, the Cyrus DAC XP+ ( for those of you who know of it! ) or maybe a Bel Canto DAC 3.5?
I did search the forum for "building a preamp" but it didn't show me any results which were relevant, but if someone else has asked this before, please point me to the thread :)
Many thanks in advance!
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