Amp/Preamp Asylum

RE: Nothing really new ... surprised we don't see it more today

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cawson@onetel.com

In Reply to: RE: Nothing really new ... surprised we don't see it more today posted by Feanor on July 16, 2023 at 04:31:11

> Unless I'm confused about it, I think NAD had some "direct digital" amps for a while, but I'm not spotting any of these in their current lineup.

NAD used a DirectDigital amp in their M32 all-in-one - predecessor of the M33 that I currently use. The sound improvement with the M33 is subtle and the M32 was still a great amp

Follow Ups:

I wasn't clear about that - Feanor 07:53:05 07/16/23 (5)
So NAD says of the M32, (not longer sold), "Combining all pre-amplification and power amplification functions into a single amplifying stage, the M32 ...". The M32 had analog inputs, so were these inputs converted to digital, (ADC), before being passed to the "single amplifying stage"?
For that matter, is this the case for the M33? As far as I know the Eigentakt needs analog inputs(?)

Dmitri Shostakovich

Edits: 07/16/23
- RE: I wasn't clear about that - cawson@onetel.com 11:47:36 07/16/23 (4)
  Yes, both the M32 and M33 convert incoming analogue signals to digital and later back to analogue.
  
  The forthcoming M66 will feature a bi-pass such that analogue will remain analogue throughout. In fact it offers lots of nice features for analogue users. Pity in a way because I'm planning on buying one and don't use only digital inputs - but will have to pay for the analogue features!
  
  Peter
  - NAD M66 info (Open in New Window)
  - It's pretty unique but not sure about that approach - AbeCollins 13:14:07 07/16/23 (3)
    I'm not a fan of the all-in-one approach with preamp and DAC combined and having the analog inputs first converted to digital. It's good that the M66 will have an analog direct mode but having the DAC in there would be wasted on me.
    I have to admit that I'm loving the sound of the pedestrian basic black NAD C 298 Purifi amp. It would be nice if NAD came out with a matching analog only preamp. Maybe they have one but I'm not sure.
    
    Edits: 07/16/23
    - RE: It's pretty unique but not sure about that approach - cawson@onetel.com 03:27:24 07/17/23 (1)
      > I'm not a fan of the all-in-one approach with preamp and DAC combined
      
      DACs seem to have matured to the extent that any worthwhile improvements may be long past the sell-by date of the amp it's built into.
      
      Since DAC modules are now tiny and require very little from the power supply, I'm very happy not to have to pay for the extra case, power supply, sockets, cables, etc that a stand-alone DAC would require. In fact the DAC element within such a stand-alone box may represent only 25% of its total cost.
      
      I'm thinking of moving away from an all-in-one to a 2 box solution where the low power demanding components (streamer, DAC and preamp) are in one box and the power amp in another. I have no concerns that the DAC board shares the box as long as it's a first-class DAC. The one in the M33 is the excellent ESS Sabre 9028, whereas the M66 will use the top-of-the-range 9038.
      - It's more than the DAC itself: - Freo-1 18:33:44 07/19/23 (0)
        
        In Reply to: RE: It's pretty unique but not sure about that approach posted by cawson@onetel.com on July 17, 2023 at 03:27:24
        
        It's also how the DAC is implemented in the design. The Devialet Expert Pro uses an excellent DAC, although not the latest (and greatest). It does, however, support an outstanding interface between the DAC and the power amp section (passive I/V) with an incredibly short and extremely low noise floor.
        
        I'm happy enough with the Expert Pro setup that I'll stick with the one box solution, as it also supports Roon/UPnP, and most importantly, Spe3aker Active Matching. Once you are exposed to it's virtues, very hard to go back to a non SAM supported speaker.
        " Don't look back. Someone may be gaining on you"
        Sctchel Paige
    - RE: It's pretty unique but not sure about that approach - voolston 17:25:44 07/16/23 (0)
      "Maybe they have one but I'm not sure"
      
      With analog falling by the wayside, I don't see that happening. Notice you don't see a pure standalone NAD DAC in the lineup either? Phono stage tech seems mature enough to be ok to include in a preamp, but digital/dac's is seemingly still evolving so I feel your sentiment abut not combining them in a preamp.
      
      Thanks for the link imbedding info provided elsewhere.
      
      voolston - audiophile by day, music lover by night!

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