“What now?” Sell it! Get something else or go back to what you had before.
Has anyone else noticed that the OP has checked out here. I’m sure the DS can be returned and this topic closed at this point.
Yes you can get great sound without a preamp in many situations if you are careful (a limited range of digital volume and/or using the attenuator as needed to ensure SNR stays high).
However, for optimal performance or maximum performance I recommend a high quality preamp to ensure always the highest quality audio with lowest noise floor all the time at any volume setting. What I stated is really intended for “optimal performance” under almost any situation. Those who are savvy can probably get great sound without a preamp in many or most situations.
1 Like
Agree with you on the preamp but I’m pretty sure with or without sfrounds will still be unhappy and heartbroken.
1 Like
What? Stop beating the topic to death?
2 Likes
I too want to go back to Snowmass 1 but do not know how because the site where download soft is shown does not show 1. Please help.
Hmm, I’m experiencing the same thing. SM 1 blew me away, and now I’ve been waiting for SM 2 to settle in and sound as good, but so far, with many hrs on it, I’m not quite as satisfied as I was originally.
1 Like
Dear John,
I sent you two mails thanking you but I got message to decline my message. Did you receive them?
iPadから送信🎌
Indeed your statement is true when the DS Sr volume is at 100 and Mac Mini is at full fixed digital volume or bit perfect. Not true at 30 or if digital volume control in the Mac Mini reduces it to the equivalent of 30. This is the point about optimal.
Headroom management is necessary for optimal performance.
And yes - a preamp could be a limiting factor on ultimate SNR however an analog preamp attenuates the signal and noise together which best preserves the SNR performance at all volume levels - even as low as 30.
I did get one of your thank you emails. Don’t know what that was about. Email is a strange animal sometimes!
And it then adds in noise from its own circuitry, which may or may not be lower than that of the DS. Given an appropriate impedance and gain match with the amp, a preamp is unnecessary, and will add electronic distortion to some degree.
1 Like
Well I would suggest a good quality preamp rather than what you seem to propose. My experience is that a good quality preamp or good quality analog active volume control is essential if you listen to a wide variety of music and at a variety of volumes. You are welcome to believe what you want but relying merely on digital volume control is a serious limitation in a high end setup.
The Directstream has lossless volume control. So it is not as you describe.
The output of the DS Sr is analog and if you lower the output digitally you will reduce the SNR at the output correspondingly according to the amount of digital attenuation applied irregardless of whether the digital volume reduction is a “lossless” process.
In a sense DS Sr is no different from many line level devices - you should always keep analog signal levels as high as possible (but within specification) through the audio chain for as long as possible. This is good practice and good headroom management.
Of course, you should use XLR connections for best connection. Canare Starquad cable is excellent and reasonably priced. If your preamp is only RCA input then it is unlikely to be of high quality.
Again my comments are with regard to optimal performance.
You can still get great sound in many situations with a few compromises. RCA is often excellent sounding even though it is a cheaper less robust solution.
1 Like
So that being said, are we saying anything less than a 100 volume setting results in a loss of fidelity? I typically listen to the DSD at 88-95 volume settings. I guess I need to reduce the volume of my preamp and set DSD at a 100.
You can try. At 88-95 you are quite close to getting the full performance SNR out of the DS Sr DAC.
If your preamp is sitting typically at between 8 and 9 o’clock on the volume control (never more than 9 AM) then you could start to run into linearity issues between preamp L & R channels at such low volume settings on the preamp. Preferably preamp volume level should be above a minimum of 10 o’clock all the time.
(Roughly speaking - preamps are all slightly different and quality varies - a high quality preamp may have output pad resistor passive attenuators much like the DS Sr in order to ensure optimal headroom management - so use that to keep signal levels always as high as you can through the audio chain. Your power amp may have input attenuators too which can help. Getting proper signal level to maximize headroom is worth pursuing in high end systems which is why high end designers often include options for attenuator resistor pads so that active circuitry stays as far above the noise floor as possible for as long as possible)
DS Sr is a high end device - it has a passive attenuator. So you might turn that attenuator on and set volume to 100 and find your preamp now sits at a nice optimal 2 PM setting instead of a highly attenuated 9 AM. The key is to realize that all devices have an optimal operating range. Your car engine undoubtedly performs better at 3000-4000 rpm than at 800-1200 rpm.
Somebody’s got to break this up. Sounds better with a preamp for me - not sure what my DS volume is set at. Some believe a preamp can only add distortion and there’s is no way to change their mind - just except it - Peace be with them…
1 Like
Yes. It is ok to disagree. No big deal. It is just a fun hobby. Sorry for long winded explanations. I try to offer explanations to help those interested but probably end up being boring to the majority.
Enough said on this topic.
No not boring at all it’s just that this topic has been covered many times and usually goes nowhere. Logically it’s hard to convince the preamp non-believers that putting another circuit between the DS and amp could actually improve the sound. It’s understandable and in some cases you could see how it could make things worse - especially if you’re using a poor preamp. If the person who designed both the PSA BHK amp and preamp thinks it sounds better with the preamp in the chain you would think you might at least want to give it a try before you decide. I asked someone recently why they haven’t given a preamp a shot with the DS and they said they didn’t want to know (if it sounded better). An honest answer and I’m sure some may feel this way. A good preamp’s not an inexpensive endeavor for many of us – Brodric excluded of course. You don’t miss what you’ve never had I guess. I could never exclude my preamp at this point.
1 Like