I know this has been discussed at length here but maybe some have tried or could give their views for my particular application/circumstance.
At the moment I’m running a DSJ (as a DAC alone) to a not-so-modern integrated, the McIntosh MA6600 which I love. Its preamp section is really good and so is its phono MM, I think. BUT if the itch is there and one would explore the idea of maybe upgrading…
Would going for -say, a pair of MC75’s therefore having the DSJ double up as a dac and as a digital preamp- add or detract from the experience, SQ wise? Would someone encourage me to do this or ´always better with a preamp?`
Forgot to say that in that scenario (upgrading to just 2 monoblocs) then the phono preamp would be a MoFi Ultraphono. Not really superior/inferior to the one in my current integrated.
Most people here will say that having a good pre-amp “is better” for audio quality. Some of us run our DACs direct to power amp, especially with the DS Sr and its output transformers. Ultimately you won’t know what you think until you try it.
Not sure how you imagine using both the DAC and the phono stage though. The DS Jr has no analog inputs. You could get an AD converter I suppose, and go from phono stage -> ADC -> DAC -> amp.
Yes, I’m curious as well how you would run the DSJ and phono pre without messing around with cables each time you want to change source. The DSJ will still sound great going direct into the MC75s but a good pre will not only help the sound, but will also alleviate the headache of swapping cables around each time you want to change the input.
