Queries about DACs and AVRs

[Nadav]

Hi All,

I have recently purchased a Hi-Fi system for stereo music listening (mainly). It consists of:
- Denon x1100w AVR
- 2x Polk Audio RTI A1 Bookshelf Speakers
- 1x Polk Audio PSW10 10-Inch Powered Subwoofer

Small-Medium living room.

I use the AVR only on Pure Direct mode to minimize processing as much as possible. Currently I feed it music through either the built in Spotify connect or playing youtube from HDMI (Chromecast, PC etc..). In the near future I might start playing some high res FLAC files from PC/Foobar.

Now here are some question about this setup:
1. Will I gain an improvement in quality by adding a USB DAC to the system when playing from PC?
2. How good/bad is the DAC built into my AVR?
3. If the answer to #1 is yes, then how much would I need to spend to get a DAC that's in proportion to my setup level? What's the minimum and what would be an overkill (ballpark).
4. Any specific models or recommendations would be great!

Trying to achieve highest stereo quality, thank y'all for the help!

 

[j_garcia]

Pure direct with less than stellar sources (youtube, typical streamed audio) really isn't buying you any "quality". USB DAC will equally not improve the sound when your source is this sort of material IMO.

 

[slipperybidness]

Hi All,

I have recently purchased a Hi-Fi system for stereo music listening (mainly). It consists of:
- Denon x1100w AVR
- 2x Polk Audio RTI A1 Bookshelf Speakers
- 1x Polk Audio PSW10 10-Inch Powered Subwoofer

Small-Medium living room.

I use the AVR only on Pure Direct mode to minimize processing as much as possible. Currently I feed it music through either the built in Spotify connect or playing youtube from HDMI (Chromecast, PC etc..). In the near future I might start playing some high res FLAC files from PC/Foobar.

Now here are some question about this setup:
1. Will I gain an improvement in quality by adding a USB DAC to the system when playing from PC?
2. How good/bad is the DAC built into my AVR?
3. If the answer to #1 is yes, then how much would I need to spend to get a DAC that's in proportion to my setup level? What's the minimum and what would be an overkill (ballpark).
4. Any specific models or recommendations would be great!

Trying to achieve highest stereo quality, thank y'all for the help!

Don't waste your $ on a USB DAC. The DAC in the Denon will sound fine and do what you need.

For what it's worth, I try to stay away from any audio over USB connections if at all possible! I much prefer optical, digi coax, or HDMI connections over USB.

 

[Nadav]

Thank you both for the answers. What about if I play high res FLAC files? Will there be a good reason to get a DAC then? What kind of DAC is recommended for my setup?

Thanks!

 

[slipperybidness]

Thank you both for the answers. What about if I play high res FLAC files? Will there be a good reason to get a DAC then? What kind of DAC is recommended for my setup?

Thanks!

You should consider a standalone DAC only if the current DAC (in the AVR) can't handle the files at the resolution and bit depth that you want to play.

That's about the only good reason for a standalone DAC. The only other situation that I could see a standalone DAC being useful is when you are trying to connect a computer (laptop) to an all-analog rig (like my 2nd system with Emotiva XDA-1 DAC).

I do prefer an external DAC vs an internal computer sound card. The "external" DAC in that case may be standalone or internal to the AVR (external to the computer).

 

[KenM10759]

The DAC in your receiver is capable of outperforming the speakers you are using *if* you feed it a quality sound source. I would not spend a dime on a better DAC until I improved the speaker set. Dramatically.

Get a listen to a pair of Elac B6, Philharmonitor or KEF LS50 and a Hsu, SVS, Rythmik or PSA sub. You would not believe what your receiver is really putting out.

 

[Nadav]

That's good to hear. I am not currently planning on upgrading my speakers (just yet).
But for now I will save my money instead of buying a DAC.

Also, what would be a real jump forward from my current bookshelf speakers? How much would I need to spend to get a real step forward?

Thanks!

 

[KenM10759]

The Elac with UniFi co-axial tweeter/midrange will be cheap, maybe $500 a pair as compared to the others at over $1000. And really good according to the rave previews where people attending shows have said they outperform some very expensive speakers.

 

[PENG]

Thank you both for the answers. What about if I play high res FLAC files? Will there be a good reason to get a DAC then? What kind of DAC is recommended for my setup?

Thanks!

I have one of this. It sounds as good as my other much more expensive DACs.

 

[agarwalro]

Forget the DAC... in fact, pretty much forget everything else until you upgrade that sub.

I used to have a PSW-10. Had to bribe someone with a SVS PC39-20 to take it away. True story.