What can you tell me about the ADCs and DACs in my Yamaha Aventage RX-A2020?

[wibble]

Hi everyone, kind of a specific question, just hoping for some meaningful responses beyond "oh they'll be junk, buy yourself product x". I'm not sure the onboard chips are well advertised but I've heard they are respectable.

Background: I'm finally addressing my hifi/HT setup after several years of renovations and chaos. I will be listening to a mix of FLAC/WAV and vinyl. I realise that ultimately I will probably need to spend money on ADCs and DACs, I just don't want to do it until I know why.

A couple of things I would like to do when it is set up is to digitise a small number of audio cassette recordings and LPs, and record a bit of acoustic guitar. I'd also like to get the best out of my digital content, budget permitting. I'm not an expert in this stuff by any means but I have grasp of some basics.

The receiver has optical SPDIF in and out, so a half decent sound card in a PC should get me started. Beyond that, I'd like to know exactly where the limitations of the Yamaha ADC/DACs will become apparent, and how much I'd need to spend for meaningful improvement.

Many thanks!
W

 

[lovinthehd]

Any time you even use the processing of an analog input in typical avrs like this, you're going to use an adc/dac loop. Not likely detectable, as were likely similar manipulations in creating the recording. I'd not worry about adc or dac issues, just more concentrate on meaningful things like good source recordings, speakers and setup in your room. The electronics are a small part of it.

ps while yes some drastic differences in electronics can be significant, that's generally not an issue with competent stuff these days outside of pushing performance limits.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Assuming your Yamaha works great, in terms of sound quality, I think your Yamaha (DAC) will sound as good as any brand new AVR/AVP.

 

[wibble]

Interesting, thanks guys. Just to be clear I'm not looking to upgrade the AVR any time soon, but I had figured I might need to look into at least a dedicated ADC if I was serious about getting high quality digital files from analog sources. It sounds like you are both suggesting the onboard Yamaha ADC will be as good as a reasonably priced aftermarket external ADC?

I had thought a few hundred bucks (eg Focusrite Scarlett) would get me a decent step up, but I'm happy to stick with what I have if a meaningful upgrade would be pushing into 4 figures.

Cheers,
W

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Interesting, thanks guys. Just to be clear I'm not looking to upgrade the AVR any time soon, but I had figured I might need to look into at least a dedicated ADC if I was serious about getting high quality digital files from analog sources. It sounds like you are both suggesting the onboard Yamaha ADC will be as good as a reasonably priced aftermarket external ADC?

I had thought a few hundred bucks (eg Focusrite Scarlett) would get me a decent step up, but I'm happy to stick with what I have if a meaningful upgrade would be pushing into 4 figures.

Cheers,
W

Again, assuming your Yamaha works great, I am 100% confident that the Yamaha’s DAC sounds as good as any outboard DAC.

 

[mtrycrafts]

...
but I'm happy to stick with what I have if a meaningful upgrade would be pushing into 4 figures.

Cheers,
W

I doubt even that would help. We can only hear so much. One reason why perceptual coding works so well.
You should read the first post here:
Trained Audiophiles Fooled by a Blind Listening Test? | Audioholics Home Theater Forums

 

[lovinthehd]

Interesting, thanks guys. Just to be clear I'm not looking to upgrade the AVR any time soon, but I had figured I might need to look into at least a dedicated ADC if I was serious about getting high quality digital files from analog sources. It sounds like you are both suggesting the onboard Yamaha ADC will be as good as a reasonably priced aftermarket external ADC?

I had thought a few hundred bucks (eg Focusrite Scarlett) would get me a decent step up, but I'm happy to stick with what I have if a meaningful upgrade would be pushing into 4 figures.

Cheers,
W

In terms of a dedicated production/recording goal I'd look beyond an avr more for feature set and/or convenience.....my point earlier was more about worrying about any adc/dac conversions an avr may use, in that they're rather inconsequential.

 

[wibble]

That's great, thanks again guys. I have adequate gear on the analog side to create a happy output, it was the digimification that's a bit of a dark art to me and I assumed an upgrade of some sort would be indicated for even modest aspirations.

Point well taken regarding features and convenience, obviously that's something I can look into if the bug bites harder, but for now I suspect even basic software will meet my needs.

Cheers,
W