For those of us upgrading to the DS or DSJr, is it worth it to keep the SGCD and use as a preamp? Or is there SQ degradation by doing so?
Thanks!
Have not tried it, but my guess would be no, and yes. Probably a question for Darren.
I would say yes. Keep it. The DS sounds better through it as long as you use balanced ins and outs.
Trumped!
; )
Cxp - I certainly generally advocate for a gain stage between the DS’s and the amp, and if you were asking if using one is better than not, I would say generally yes. If you were asking if the SGCD was a great choice for that role, I dunno. Paul may have actually tried that, while I have not. Certainly nothing to be lost by hanging onto it and trying it.
My BHK preamp made a huge difference between the DS DAC jr and BHK 250 poweamp in my system.
I say yes if it’s an excellent preamp. And if you can run balanced out into your amp, it had better be a really excellent preamp to top that sound.
I use my Decware ZTPRE preamp with the balanced output of the DSD and the balanced out of the ZTPRE into the Decware ZBIT which allows me the full voltage out into my Decware Torii MK III amp. That is the best sound I’ve ever heard. Period.
I didn’t realize the SGCD had analog inputs. The DS’s don’t, so I imagined it was a straight DAC as well. But it has the Gain Cell/analog section. So as long as it’s transparent, it should help. Very different price class though. Which I realize is not always what it’s about.