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General Asylum General audio topics that don't fit into specific categories. |
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General Asylum General audio topics that don't fit into specific categories. |
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In Reply to: more info posted by Rashomon on February 20, 2007 at 18:23:57:
Your sound card is your DAC. Most stock sound cards sound fine (with the exeption of laptop soundcards, which are usually trash), but if you want to get better sound from your computer, you could buy something like an M-Audio Audiophile PCI card for $50 used.The DACs the other forums are talking about is what you buy after you've dialled in the rest of your system. You'll want to think about that around the same time you start contemplating upgrading your interconnects (wires between source and amp) - which is a long way away.
Your computer/sound card is your preamp, so you don't need one.
All amps are designed to amplify a signal to listening level or higher without adding anything to the signal. The cleaner the amp (less added to the signal), the better it is. Outside of some really cheap receivers from the 70s and 80s, most amps and receivers sound good.
One rule that seems to be true about amps, and follows common sense, is that the fewer circuits it runs through, the cleaner the sound will be. So it makes sense that a straight amp with no receiver, no preamp, no treble/bass/balance will produce a cleaner amplification.
In theory, all amps should sound exactly the same. If they amplify a signal without adding anything of their own, then the output should be identical. And you're not likely to hear the difference between two decent amps.
People who can hear differences have spent years training their ears to listen for certain audio signatures - and even they would have a hard time telling two good amps apart (based on the dreaded double blind tests that I won't mention here).
If you want the best sounding system, start with speakers. If you like your speakers, then buy a good amp - like those I mentioned before - Marantz/Sansui. If you're lucky you can find an old solid state Marantz or Pioneer power amp.
Example of Marantz power amp:
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Follow Ups
- You don't need a DAC - benhen 09:28:20 02/21/07 (0)
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