PS Gaincell Dac?

Audio Components DACs
1

Does anyone have one of these units? How is the Dac ? Currently, I am using a Schiit Gungnir multi bit unit.
I am thinking of replacing my old Musical Fidelity A3.2 preamp with the Gaincell. It would be part of Stellar M700/Powerplant 3 combination.

2

I use one with my M700 stack and PW SACD/Transport, with Magnepan LRS’. Wonderful combo for my 12’ x 20’ room and musical tastes.

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3

I recently got the GCD and while the preamp section is the best I’ve ever owned, the dac was easily smoked by my Schiit Yggdrasil GS. It wasn’t even close.

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4

Interesting question with this combination of gear. I’m also contemplating a GCD to pair with M1200 and likely displace a Schiit Bifrost. But I’m also considering a Musical Fidelity M6S Pre.

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5

That is an interesting impression on the internal dac.

6

Are you using a music streamer with this combo. .
I have a very nice Innuos Zen MK3 that I recently purchased new.

7

Is there any consensus among GCD owners as to which aspect of GCD is stronger - the preamp or the dac?

8

IMO, definitely the preamp.

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9

Nope. CD Transport, FM Tuner, and occasionally iPhone/iPad.

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10

This is perhaps a stupid question. Can you bypass the Gaincell dac and use an external dac ?

11

As there are no preamp outs ahead of the DAC circuit then no. If you’re looking for good preamps only in the same price range there are other alternatives.

12

Yes. The output from an external dac will be analog so you can just connect to one of the SGCD analog inputs. I had a Black Ice DAC for awhile that I ran into the SGCD.

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13

Yes you can, if you use analog inputs.

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14

I have a one year old GCD in black I’m not using if you are interested. $1000 includes AC-5 power cable, PayPay fee and CONUS shipping.

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15

There’s something very right about the “Gain Cell” topology. I have the GCHA still though not in use at the moment–it’s a great headphone amp that is always ready to go the minute you turn the volume knob giving meaty big and bouncy sound.

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16

Yes, you can do that. I had a Chord Qutest feeding the Analog RCA inputs. The digital source connects to the Qutest, the Qutest connects to the Gain Cell DAC input, and you can listen on the headphone jack, or connect an amp or external headphone amp.

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17

Is this correct what you are saying ?
Other responders are saying you can.
Thanks.

18

As others have said, the GCD is also a preamp with analog inputs (xlr and rca) so running an external DAC is not an issue. Suggest you download the manual to see if it covers the functionality you need. There’s a lot to be said for buying a preamp designed to work with your amps from the beginning.

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19

I have SGCD+M700s and DSDAC too, the DSDAC is balanced design, same as Schiit Gungnir, my DAC is connected to SGCD on the XLR balanced input 1, this leaves two more analog inputs, one for my FM tuner.
As for SGCD’s DAC section, IMHO, it is decent, I tried it with old SONY DVD as transport, it sound much better than my old ARCAM 7SE. However, after I get the DSDAC, I never went back to SGCD DAC.
SGCD as preamp, IMHO, is a good preamp for PSA gears, other choice will be the BHK pre, (which is a huge price jump, and is in my very long term upgrade plan :slight_smile: )

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