bondheli Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 I'm thinking about doing a DAC>Receiver>Tube Amp setup and using a receiver for the volume control and remote functionality (possibly the tape and phono inputs as well). This will be for 2.0 home theater and music. Will I experience any noise or quality loss? Would it be receiver dependent? The reason I'm thinking about doing this is it seems like it would be easier/cheaper to get an older somewhat high end receiver for $50 then it would be to get a preamp with the remote functionality and inputs that I'm looking for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest " " Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 source>dac>reciever>amp will work if the reciever has pre-amp out jacks, but you will have more noise and distortion than if you were to go source>dac>tube amp. A lot of sources have remote volume level and a lot of dac's can drive tube amps directly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bondheli Posted January 31, 2012 Author Share Posted January 31, 2012 I actually have the source and the DAC on the way already. The source is a Psyclone HDMI and Optical switch which will be fed optically by a PS3, a PC, and a couple of Directv receivers. The DAC is a bit older, a Theta Cobalt 307, but it's my first DAC and I got it at a good price so if it it doesn't cut the mustard I can always replace it. This is a home theater though so remote volume control is a must. Ideally I would like to find a used tube amp with a couple of inputs and a remote (do those even exist?) at a good price, or at least some way to control the volume without introducing audio noise/loss. Speakers will most likely be RB-5s or RB-35s or possibly RF-3s/5s if I can find some locally. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cornfedksboy Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 I don't think you'll get much bang for your buck going tubes to Reference speakers in an HT set-up. I would go solid state on the amps in this case. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bondheli Posted January 31, 2012 Author Share Posted January 31, 2012 A good 25% of the time the speakers are going it will be for music and I don't really have the cash to do a seperate system for stand alone music. That being said, my frame or referance is fairly limited with my current setup being the stock speakers on my 52" Sharp LCD and a couple of Logitech Z-10s computer speakers, so a SS amp might be good for a start. I have owned a Bose cube speaker set in the past as well as a Quintet III set with sub. They never really did it for me and I'd like to do it right this time with a 2.0 setup at least. I plan to dip my toe into LPs for the first time and I understand tube amps are a good match. Also, reading stuff like this http://community.klipsch.com/forums/p/9552/68811.aspx#68811 (colin's second post on that page <what no permalink?>) raving about tube amps makes me want in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cornfedksboy Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 I would love a 2-channel tube amp set-up, and I went down that path, but the price was killer. For just a handful of watts I was staring $600 in the face. FWIW, that integrated tube amp was NOT the type you hear everyone raving about. Also, for HT, much more than music, you WILL want some headroom. A 16 wpc tube is not likely to offer a good HT experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
W27 Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 I agree with Cornfed. Tube amps can be great, but not ideal for home theater. Also it seems that you're on a tight budget, which means you should really look into the price of good tubes. One tube may cost you more than you're talking about for a receiver. A good tube amp should be paired with a good tube preamp. Solid state amps work very well with tube preamps as well. It's kind of the best of both worlds. A solid state pre doesn't usually mix as well tube amps. I suggest you do a little more research on tube amps before you make you're purchase. I'll tell you I always notice much more difference in sound when switching my preamps than amplifiers. Just my .02 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rivernuggets Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 ...so a SS amp might be good for a start... Or maybe digital power? The discontinued Panasonic SA-XR series are great units for around $100-150 on Ebay. The sound they give is somewhere inbetween solid state and tubes. No Phono inputs, though. Here is a lengthy thread if you have time to kill. This is the model I own, SA-XR55: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quiet_Hollow Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 Or maybe digital power? The discontinued Panasonic SA-XR series are great units for around $100-150 on Ebay. The sound they give is somewhere inbetween solid state and tubes. Video of my SA-XR57 and SA-XR700 in action....for reference. In fact, all my home system videos on YouTube are powered by Panasonic. However, the one above gives a real good idea what they sound like driving tower speakers as opposed to horns. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel Posted February 1, 2012 Moderators Share Posted February 1, 2012 A good 25% of the time the speakers are going it will be for music and I don't really have the cash to do a seperate system for stand alone music. I use a HT receiver for a pre-amp from the pre-outs, it works fine.(not tubes) Would a separate pre-amp sound better, probably would, I would hope, maby one day I may. I think it sounds good now, and with the speakers I have connected I think I would hear any problems. One good thing is whatever source you have connected for ht, like satellite ,BR player or anything is shared by both setups. You could have your Ht on the receiver and have a tube amp (or SS) connected to the pre-outs for 2 CH music. My receiver has speakers A or B, I use HT fronts on A and use the pre-outs from B for 2 ch and just hit stereo button to turn off the other HT speakers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bondheli Posted February 1, 2012 Author Share Posted February 1, 2012 A digital receiver looks like it might be a great solution. It will make the DAC I have coming useless but I might find somewhere else to use it. The ST theme sounds great with that setup. Does anyone know if there is a digital receiver with a discrete phono input? How do analog sources sound? Also, I did some searching but I couldn't find a real explanation about how digital receivers work/differ from a normal receiver. Can anyone explain it? thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bubo Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 A digital receiver looks like it might be a great solution. It will make the DAC I have coming useless but I might find somewhere else to use it. The ST theme sounds great with that setup. Does anyone know if there is a digital receiver with a discrete phono input? How do analog sources sound? Also, I did some searching but I couldn't find a real explanation about how digital receivers work/differ from a normal receiver. Can anyone explain it? thanks Consider buying a used TOTL line Pioneer receiver and using it as the pre-amp DAC, you should be able to get one for a few hundred dollars. You can pre-amp anything you like this way. My suggestion is to pick up a Yamaha MX-800 Class A A-B 170WRMS power amp. Set the gain controls at 12 so you don't tear your speakers apart. $350 mint MX 800. The pioneer can be used on direct from the DAC to the pre-amp section. Check out the TOTL pre HDMI interface receivers with the best decoder chips, this things will also pump 120WRMS over 7 channels and have a LP Sub out you can jack a sub into. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derrickdj1 Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 AVR's as a preamp works great: and the cost benefit ratio is a plus. Due to the technology changes over a period of 4 to 5 years, one might wish to upgrade a preamp. AVR's can be purchased cheaper and have all the new things that make it an attractive option. AVR's with pre-outs are generally higher quality models and do a great job as preamp. I use a Pioneer SC 35 as a preamp and find the quality to be excellent. This keeps the space requirements down and the avr complements HT use, and can dive the surround and surround back channels while amps drive the front stage. This type of setup is great for 2 or multi-channel music in addition to HT for movie use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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