Submitted by vaguedetails on Sun, 03/14/2010 - 13:32
Does anyone have any experience using a laptop as a preamp. I'm wondering if I will have gain issues. I recognize there are quality compromises at work here, so perhaps I should explain the proposed upgrade path.
I'm currently running an Atma-sphere S30 amplifier powering Zu Druid speakers(a combo I quite enjoy) but from there my system needs an upgrade path. All of my music is ripped to apple lossless and lives on an external drive. I've been serving this up wirelessly via a squeezebox for some time. I'm ready to buy a dac now and have my eye on the ayre qb9. Given the atmasphere's balanced circuitry, I'm wondering if I can run the qb9 direct to the amp via xlr and attenuate the volume from my laptop. This would eliminate the squeezebox from the equation and allow me to control everything via my MacBook or iPod touch remote app.
The other option would be a bel canto dac 3 (which has a volume control) which (because of it's jittery adaptive USB) would mean either keeping the squeezebox running off the coaxial to the dac, or add an airport express so I can control things via laptop.
I should probably add that I've been having issues with the squeezebox forgetting where my library is located and I'm ready to get rid of it if I can make the system work without it.
Is anyone running a system with a dac straight to an amp, using software to attenuate volume?
Personally, I would recommend against using player software as your only volume attenuator for the simple reason of safety. If this software malfunctions you risk sending a full gain signal straight to your amps and speakers! A potentially very costly mistake.
Mac Mini / Amarra & Pure Music > Firewire > Metric Halo LIO-8 > Atma-Sphere M60 Mk3.1's > Geddes Abbey Speakers > Rythmik Servo Subs // ASI Liveline Cables, HRS MXR Isolation Rack, PurePower 2000
I ve been doing this now for some month and am very satisfied with the sound (see signature). The QB-9 has a very good output stage and if you use amarra or pure music you have a dithered volume control. Also you truncate 1 bit per -6db, I find the sound very good. I tried various preamps and now found one, which significantly improved the sound. But its in the 10000$ league. Of course there are much cheaper ways. Some use TCs Level Pilot.
Is it dangerous? Of course. You could forget, that the volume is turned up all the way and hit play. Amarra and Music remember the setting of the volume control, so this minimizes the risk.
You could also opt for the wavelenght dacs. Most of them come with an analog volume control.
Greeetings from Germany
Claudius
Amarra 1.2, I-Tunes, Mac-Mini (4GB) SSD, Transparent Cables USB, Ayre QB-9, Octave HP-500SE, all PCs Lessloss Signature, HMS Sestetto, ADAM Pencil MK2 (active)
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