# Pre-Amp or Dac-Pre



## pxj (Jun 10, 2011)

Strictly for 2chl music in my study. I was thinking about a DAC-Pre amp combination instead of a pre-amp something on the lines of Benchmark DAC1 or AVA Vison DAC Pre paired with my Vincent SP331Mk. My source is a Rega Apollo player. Any suggestions or comments


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## Jungle Jack (Jul 28, 2009)

pxj said:


> Strictly for 2chl music in my study. I was thinking about a DAC-Pre amp combination instead of a pre-amp something on the lines of Benchmark DAC1 or AVA Vison DAC Pre paired with my Vincent SP331Mk. My source is a Rega Apollo player. Any suggestions or comments


Hello,
The Benchmark is excellent. Just thinking outside the box, what about selling the Rega and using the proceeds from that and the money allocated towards the Benchmark/AVA and get an OPPO BDP-95 instead? 

The 95 uses the ESS Technologies Sabre DAC which is absolutely one of the finest DAC's available. It is even configured in Dual Differential for Stereo. You would also gain SACD/DVD-A, and of course one of the best BD/DVD Players in the World.
Cheers,
JJ


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## pxj (Jun 10, 2011)

Good idea Jack. The problem is this is in my study. I already have a OPPO 93 in the HT area of the home. So this is sticky 2 chl music only


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## Jungle Jack (Jul 28, 2009)

Hello,
If fairly serious about 2 Channel and planning on using it a good amount, the BDP-95 would be a stellar 2 Channel Player. It just also happens to be perhaps the finest DVD/BD Player in the World. The Sabre DAC's are so astonishingly good that if a true passion, $1000 is not an insane amount of money. Especially as many Standalone DAC's cost well in excess of this amount.
Cheers,
JJ


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## jackfish (Dec 27, 2006)

The Rega Apollo uses a Wolfson WM8740 24 Bit Delta Sigma DAC in an elegant British chipset implementation with 20MB of memory and 32-bit digital signal processing. It is no slouch. Since the Rega Apollo is going to be the only source, why not keep things simple and use a passive preamp like the Axiom?

http://luminousaudio.com/axiomrca.html


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## pxj (Jun 10, 2011)

#1 not selling the Apollo as I got it from a dealer friend for under 500. When my pre-amp died I knew I had to purchase another pre-amp so with my budget of up to 1500, I was just interested in the DAC pre combo hoping that it would enhance my 2chl. Maybe I got this DAC stuff all wrong, most likely couldn't hear the difference anyway. I use Usher BE-718 DMD speakers.


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## Jonmarsh (Dec 17, 2011)

*Re: Pre-Amp or Dac-Pre NAD M51*

I just picked up a new unit that might be of interest to you to look at, the NAD M51 DAC, which incorporates a high quality volume control function and both balanced and unbalanced output. Also, for the videophile, it has pass through HDMI with two channel audio decoding. 

I bought it for a secondary system with both audio and video duties, but keeping the electronics clutter down, but so far it's "stuck" in my main audio system because the audio playback quality is pretty stellar, both on AES/EBU from a Tascam transport and from USB from a Mac (no drivers needed). 



The only drawback I see is no front panel controls to speak of. If the remote goes down, you've got nothing more than an on/off switch. OTOH, the remote looks pretty high grade. And the sonics stand up well to DAC's costing 2x, including on material you wouldn't typically call audiophile, like Ambrosia, Boston, and Pink Floyd. 

In the 2K price range, it seems to me to be a stand out- give it a listen if you can.


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## pxj (Jun 10, 2011)

Unfortunately the NAD dealer close by stopped carry NAD, plus on that unit I would want controls on the face in the event the remote bit the dust.


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## HionHiFi (Feb 18, 2007)

pxj said:


> Strictly for 2chl music in my study. I was thinking about a DAC-Pre amp combination instead of a pre-amp something on the lines of Benchmark DAC1 or AVA Vison DAC Pre paired with my Vincent SP331Mk. My source is a Rega Apollo player. Any suggestions or comments


I own a Benchmark Dac1 Hdr and love it. The convienence of having the DAC and preamp in the same box is great. I don't think I need to comment on the performance of the DAC as their has been volumes written about it. Suffice it to say it is among the DAC's available. 

The Oppo 95 is a nice unit as well. It was designed as a 2 channel high end piece that happens to do video as well, very well. I was speaking to a legendary engineer in our indutry the other day and he owns one himself.

The rega is no slouched either, but the days of a dedicated cd player being better than a dvd player or CD-Rom based memory player are over.


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## pxj (Jun 10, 2011)

Ordered the Benchmark today. Thank you for all your comments and suggestions.


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## HionHiFi (Feb 18, 2007)

pxj said:


> Ordered the Benchmark today. Thank you for all your comments and suggestions.


Cool, which model did you endnup with? Be sure to let us know what you think about it.


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## pxj (Jun 10, 2011)

DAC1 PRE , and what's nice is the 30-Day Risk Free Trial Benchmark has.


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