Receiver with good pre-out

[zuli]

Hi,
I've a mac mini connected to a amp via RCA.

I was thinking I can get a more quality sound using the optical out of the mac, so I searched for a good DAC, either optical only or usb.
In the meantime I bought also a PS3, so now I need to connect also the PS3: now I was wondering I can buy a receiver and connect both mac and ps3 via optical, or mac via optical and ps3 via hdmi, and use the pre out to my amp, at least for music.
Does this make sense?
Which receiver has good pre-out?

Thank you for your help
R

 

[zuli]

Can a RX v2700 a good choice?
The review says that the pre out "Deliver nearly 3Vrms output
before the receiver shut down, but
FFT distortion becomes very high
once output exceeds 1.25Vrms".

WHat does this mean?

What kind of amp should I use ?

Is this receiver good also for music using only the left and right front (without using the pre out and a amp)?
CAn I hear also the dts signal? Can the center channel be set to phantom?

Thank you very much for your help.
R

 

[markw]

Define "good"

"Line level", which is the standard for audio signals of this nature is a little less than 1 volt, but this can vary according to the device used. Some may offer extra to compensate for lower gain in the device it's feeding.

Again, define "good".

 

[jcPanny]

Yamaha receiver

Check out the Yamaha RX-V663 for your system. It has HDMI audio for the PS3 and optical inputs for the PC. You could use the receiver's built in amps or connect the pre-amp outputs to an external amp. The Yamaha receiver's have a good pre-amp stage.

 

[zuli]

My "good" is:

will the sound of the mac mini via optical to the receiver be better than the mac via rca to my integrated amp? Using preout to the amp?
Do I will improve the sound quality?

Thank you again for helping me.
R

 

[markw]

I have no idea what you're talking about.

My "good" is:

will the sound of the mac mini via optical to the receiver be better than the mac via rca to my integrated amp? Using preout to the amp?
Do I will improve the sound quality?

Thank you again for helping me.
R

a "pre-out" on a receiver takes the signal after the preamp stage and before the power amp stage. Your mac has nothing to do with that.

As for a preamp "improving the sound quality", well, a preamp imoproves nothing. if it's drek coming in then odds are it's gonna be drek coming out, only at a higher level.

If you're talking about the DAC in a receiver being better than a DAC in your mac, I can't say for sure, but receivers generally have fairly decent DACS and they don't operate in the RFI rich environment of a computer.

 

[zuli]

so if I understand correctly the DAC of the receiver should be better than the internal DAC of the mac, so I can get a better sound than via RCA.

in a mac -> optical audio -> reciever -> pre-out -> amp ->
chain you canget more power in the speaker but the quality is the same quality of the DAC of the receiver ?

jcPanny suggested RX.V663 but here in Italy is not on pricelist: what can I get similar?
Even if older ( I don't care about DTS HD Master ... ) but with a very good dac?

 

[markw]

You're still making no sense.

The quality of the DAC has no bearing at all on the power amp.

There is absolutely no relationship between the two.

But, to simplify matters for you, generally the more you pay for a receiver the better the quality you get.

Satisfied?

I think I'm outta here. Someone else can try to grok you from now on.

 

[Pyrrho]

Can a RX v2700 a good choice?
The review says that the pre out "Deliver nearly 3Vrms output
before the receiver shut down, but
FFT distortion becomes very high
once output exceeds 1.25Vrms".

WHat does this mean?

What kind of amp should I use ?

Is this receiver good also for music using only the left and right front (without using the pre out and a amp)?
CAn I hear also the dts signal? Can the center channel be set to phantom?

Thank you very much for your help.
R

The Yamaha RX-V2700 is a good receiver. You could use it for what you are trying to do, and you probably would not need to use your integrated amplifier (depending upon the impedance and efficiency of your speakers).

However, the RX-V2700 does not decode all of the latest surround formats, and so you will need to do that internally in your PS3 (which it can do, I believe). You could also go with a newer model from Yamaha, such as the RX-V663 suggested by jcPanny, which is otherwise a lessor receiver (but has features not on "old" units like the RX-V2700).

You can set any modern surround receiver for a "phantom" center, if you wish. I personally prefer the sound with a real center and with surrounds, but you do not have to use them if you do not wish to use them.

Now, whether any of this will sound better than what you already have is difficult to say. I have no idea what sort of quality of D/A converter your computer has, but it could be decent, and it may be that you will not notice a difference at all. The analog section in your MAC is also relevant to this, as it may (or may not) be less than ideal for its output. I would expect that the receiver would be "better", but whether it would be audibly better or not is another matter.

If you do buy either of the Yamaha receivers mentioned (or a similar unit, either Yamaha or another brand), I suggest connecting the PS3 to the receiver via HDMI.

 

[Pyrrho]

so if I understand correctly the DAC of the receiver should be better than the internal DAC of the mac, so I can get a better sound than via RCA.

Maybe. Even if it is better, it would have to be that your Mac DAC is audibly problematic, or there is audibly a problem with the analog section in your computer after it passes through the DAC, or you will not hear an improvement with a "better" DAC.

in a mac -> optical audio -> reciever -> pre-out -> amp ->
chain you canget more power in the speaker but the quality is the same quality of the DAC of the receiver ?

You would, in that case, be using the DAC and preamp section of the receiver, and be using the power amp section of your integrated amplifier to drive the speakers. The DAC in the Mac, being bypassed, becomes irrelevant in that case.

As I mentioned in my previous response, it is possible that you will not need to bother with your integrated amplifier at all, depending upon the impedance and efficiency of your speakers. If they are, say, 8 ohms, without any severe impedance dips, and are of, say, 88dB @ 1 watt @ 1 meter, it is very doubtful if you would need your integrated amplifier at all.

jcPanny suggested RX.V663 but here in Italy is not on pricelist: what can I get similar?
Even if older ( I don't care about DTS HD Master ... ) but with a very good dac?

If you don't care about the latest sound formats on Blu-Ray, the Yamaha RX-V2700 should be quite good for you, and possibly better than you need for your current purposes. And with the PS3, I believe it can (with the latest firmware) decode the new audio formats and send the signal via uncompressed PCM via HDMI, and the Yamaha RX-V2700 can deal with that. And there should be no loss in quality of sound in doing it that way. In other words, I think you could hear the new formats with that setup anyway (though I advise you to research what the PS3 can do to make sure that I am correct about this).

 

[zuli]

Pyrrho, markw, jcPanny: thank you very much for your help!
Ciao
R