leslens

i have been informed by the retailer that the SVDAC05 volume control is via an op amp and he says that is already analog hence the distortion at max volume going from amplifying analog TWICE (once via the DAC 2nd via the Preamp) is that correcT? i understand that its prob not advisable but connecting both does NOT seem to affect the sound in an A/B testing my wife too cannot hear the difference

looks like i will have to bring this set to the dingy shop i bought it from.. problem is, they might tell me to just turn down the db!! could this be a tuning problem? ie the DAC is tuned wrongly ? PS: i have scoured the internet, no other users have mentioned this issue

hi guys thanks for the fast replies For the pre amp : no mention of max input voltage input impedance line in : 47kohm +-5% For the DAC : i can only find RMS 3V guess that doesnt help, so this could be a case of a matching issue though i understand that it is rare? some other scenarios i have found 1. itunes half volume -> DAC at MAX 0Db-> Pre amp USP -> no distortion 2. DAC -> power amp (UPA-1) play at 40-50db, no distortion 3. itunes half volume -> DAC (0Db) -> power amp (UPA-1) no distortion what gives? it seems that the total output (from itunes + DAC) is too high for the pre-amp... im using a SVDAC05 from musiland/dieyeden can anyone help? im close to selling the DAC and finding another one with no such issues

Dear all, appreciate your inputs on the above equipment 1. musiland svdac05 itunes -> dac -> pre-amp (emotiva usp-1) -> power amp (upa-1x2) -> quad 12 L i understand that digital volume should be max to reduce bit loss, hence my volume for itunes is max, my volume for my dac is 0db (max) however at this settings, i noticed that i get distortion of high frequencies which is very noticable. This goes away when i set the DAC to about -3db and below. I also noticed that when i connect my CD player to the DAC, the distortion is also present at 0db. when i compare my CD player direct to the pre-amp USP-1, the volume is lower then when i connect the CD player to the DAC at 0db then to the USP-1 The volume is equal when i set the DAC to -6db my questions hence are 1. is my DAC faulty ? 2. or issit merely a design/implementation flaw? is my DAC amplifying the digital signal? and -6db on my dac is actually 0db (ie, pure digital signal) ? i base this because at -6db, the volume is the same compared to my cd player plugged directly to the pre-amp Thank you all i have been much bugged by this issue i want to have bit perfect output but have to limit my dac at -6db which i understand is not desirable (though i cant hear a loss in SQ)