Samuel T Cogley Posted March 31, 2017 Share Posted March 31, 2017 35 minutes ago, Ralf11 said: I have lots of 1st world problems... The odd thing is that remote operation couldn't cost them more than few bucks per unit. Maybe they thought it was too much Schiit. I agree. They seem to be coming around slowly. The Freya has a remote (the only Schiit product that does, I believe). Link to comment
Popular Post The Computer Audiophile Posted March 31, 2017 Popular Post Share Posted March 31, 2017 I asked Mike about building a Yggy with volume control and he looked at me like I asked him to help me move on a Sunday during football season. Ran, Jud and darascal 2 1 Founder of Audiophile Style | My Audio Systems Link to comment
Samuel T Cogley Posted March 31, 2017 Share Posted March 31, 2017 3 minutes ago, The Computer Audiophile said: I asked Mike about building a Yggy with volume control and he looked at me like I asked him to help me move on a Sunday during football season. It's a......... DAC. I would have looked at you like that too. I know a few DACs have them (Sonica comes immediately to mind), but most don't. Link to comment
Popular Post The Computer Audiophile Posted March 31, 2017 Popular Post Share Posted March 31, 2017 4 minutes ago, Samuel T Cogley said: It's a......... DAC. I would have looked at you like that too. I know a few DACs have them (Sonica comes immediately to mind), but most don't. Looking at a selection of 15 DACs in my room right now, only five don't have volume control. Yggy, Bifrost, Emm Labs DA2 and D2X, and Audio Research DAC 9. eternaloptimist and tmtomh 2 Founder of Audiophile Style | My Audio Systems Link to comment
crenca Posted March 31, 2017 Share Posted March 31, 2017 4 minutes ago, Samuel T Cogley said: It's a......... DAC. I would have looked at you like that too. I know a few DACs have them (Sonica comes immediately to mind), but most don't. While I agree, the market appears to be moving towards a DAC/volume-preamp/remote/and even streaming (network enabled) convergence at the, say sub $5k level. Think of those iFi products you and I love that do most of these things... Hey MQA, if it is not all $voodoo$, show us the math! Link to comment
Samuel T Cogley Posted March 31, 2017 Share Posted March 31, 2017 1 minute ago, The Computer Audiophile said: Looking at a selection of 15 DACs in my room right now, only five don't have volume control. Yggy, Bifrost, Emm Labs DA2 and D2X, and Audio Research DAC 9. I get it. But you're the guy with FIFTEEN DACs!!! darascal 1 Link to comment
LarryMagoo Posted March 31, 2017 Share Posted March 31, 2017 A DAC with a Volume control ??? Kinda like a NAS with a volume control...it does not make sense! 15 DACs...Yikes...do you have a problem with commitment? Streamers with Volume control..makes sense...straight DACs...not so much! Link to comment
The Computer Audiophile Posted March 31, 2017 Share Posted March 31, 2017 Just now, Samuel T Cogley said: I get it. But you're the guy with FIFTEEN DACs!!! Ha! I forgot a couple including the McIntosh D1100 (that also has a volume control) :~) Samuel T Cogley 1 Founder of Audiophile Style | My Audio Systems Link to comment
Samuel T Cogley Posted March 31, 2017 Share Posted March 31, 2017 Just now, crenca said: While I agree, the market appears to be moving towards a DAC/volume-preamp/remote/and even streaming (network enabled) convergence at the, say sub $5k level. Think of those iFi products you and I love that do most of these things... Oddly, the iDAC2 (the only one in the class without a battery, making it the obvious desktop choice) only provides volume control for the headphone out, not line out. Link to comment
The Computer Audiophile Posted March 31, 2017 Share Posted March 31, 2017 DACs with volume control makes a lot of sense to me. I usually have a single digital source and single analog output. Founder of Audiophile Style | My Audio Systems Link to comment
crenca Posted March 31, 2017 Share Posted March 31, 2017 1 minute ago, Samuel T Cogley said: Oddly, the iDAC2 (the only one in the class without a battery, making it the obvious desktop choice) only provides volume control for the headphone out, not line out. 1 minute ago, The Computer Audiophile said: DACs with volume control makes a lot of sense to me. I usually have a single digital source and single analog output. In an increasingly digital source world, the DAC/preamp/network convergence makes a lot of sense. It appears you can do it at a very very high level, perhaps only the last 1% or so smidgen of sound quality being reserved for separate box, and very expensive solutions... Hey MQA, if it is not all $voodoo$, show us the math! Link to comment
LarryMagoo Posted March 31, 2017 Share Posted March 31, 2017 Then what does your Pre-Amp do? Or is it part of your DAC...hence the Volume control? Link to comment
The Computer Audiophile Posted March 31, 2017 Share Posted March 31, 2017 3 minutes ago, crenca said: In an increasingly digital source world, the DAC/preamp/network convergence makes a lot of sense. It appears you can do it at a very very high level, perhaps only the last 1% or so smidgen of sound quality being reserved for separate box, and very expensive solutions... I actually believe the last 1% can only be achieved with built-in volume control (analog or digital). A preamp adds another set of cables and a lot of circuitry to traverse just to control volume. Founder of Audiophile Style | My Audio Systems Link to comment
crenca Posted March 31, 2017 Share Posted March 31, 2017 2 minutes ago, LarryMagoo said: Then what does your Pre-Amp do? Or is it part of your DAC...hence the Volume control? Well, in my computer speaker setup, I have a pre-amp solely so I can roll tubes. It's almost a toy - a DAC/pre-amp(i.e.volume, inputs, etc.)/network box would actually make more sense...probably is one out there that is tubified... Hey MQA, if it is not all $voodoo$, show us the math! Link to comment
The Computer Audiophile Posted March 31, 2017 Share Posted March 31, 2017 4 minutes ago, LarryMagoo said: Then what does your Pre-Amp do? Or is it part of your DAC...hence the Volume control? Depends on my system. Right now I'm writing a review of the Audio Research DAC 9. Preamp needed. Later I'll bypass the preamp with the dCS Rossini. Sometimes there's a better synergy with the preamp, other times not so much. Founder of Audiophile Style | My Audio Systems Link to comment
crenca Posted March 31, 2017 Share Posted March 31, 2017 1 minute ago, The Computer Audiophile said: I actually believe the last 1% can only be achieved with built-in volume control (analog or digital). A preamp adds another set of cables and a lot of circuitry to traverse just to control volume. I believe you are right, but the top crust audiophile gear philosophy believes in separating power supplies/function/etc. as much as possible (thus separate boxes), and they seem to believe that very expensive cables add to the sound quality so.... Hey MQA, if it is not all $voodoo$, show us the math! Link to comment
Samuel T Cogley Posted March 31, 2017 Share Posted March 31, 2017 I drive active monitors with the XLR output of the Yggy. I will concede that things improved dramatically once I moved from a manual passive attenuator to this: I ordered the version with a remote . It's an amazing headphone amp as well. Link to comment
wwaldmanfan Posted March 31, 2017 Share Posted March 31, 2017 26 minutes ago, LarryMagoo said: A DAC with a Volume control ??? Kinda like a NAS with a volume control...it does not make sense! 15 DACs...Yikes...do you have a problem with commitment? Streamers with Volume control..makes sense...straight DACs...not so much! I have a NAD DAC with 35-bit digital volume control. It works flawlessly, and I couldn't live without it. My friend loaned me a $4,000 Mark Levinson preamp with balanced interconnects. I added it to my system, and there was zero difference in SQ. Should there have been? Link to comment
LarryMagoo Posted March 31, 2017 Share Posted March 31, 2017 Great looking unit! Checked out their Home Page. While they have nice photos...No Specs? Looks like they're are built well! Link to comment
LarryMagoo Posted March 31, 2017 Share Posted March 31, 2017 My point was that for a DAC to have a volume control...it's got to control something...must be a pre-amp! But heck, this thread should be about Yggys? Which have no pre-amp built in...so no Volume knob! Link to comment
Samuel T Cogley Posted March 31, 2017 Share Posted March 31, 2017 5 minutes ago, LarryMagoo said: Great looking unit! Checked out their Home Page. While they have nice photos...No Specs? Looks like they're are built well! Have a look here. Link to comment
LarryMagoo Posted March 31, 2017 Share Posted March 31, 2017 Usually impressed with most stuff made in Germany, I found the amp's specs underwhelming.. .. Since my HD-800S is a bit power hungry, I always look for amp output at that impedance... The specs showed Amp ratings at 1 KHz and at less <.1% distortion. Hell at 1000 Hz then is not at all what music demands from the amp. Like saying an Amp has boat loads of "Peak Power" but RMS @ 20Hz-20Khz is a whole different animal. But I'd guess it's got enough power for your requirements and that's all that matters!! Link to comment
Ralf11 Posted March 31, 2017 Share Posted March 31, 2017 The Benchmark DAC has a Volume control - in fact it is a "hybrid" Volume control for both digital and analog sources - maybe it is 2 ganged together(??) AFAIK, the idea is that a digital volume control reduces volume by tossing out bits - a big no-no... no? Link to comment
jabbr Posted March 31, 2017 Share Posted March 31, 2017 6 minutes ago, Ralf11 said: The Benchmark DAC has a Volume control - in fact it is a "hybrid" Volume control for both digital and analog sources - maybe it is 2 ganged together(??) AFAIK, the idea is that a digital volume control reduces volume by tossing out bits - a big no-no... no? The volume control could be on the common output (analog) Digital volume control *could* shift i.e. Divide by 2^n but in the PCM domain how else would you do volume control except by division? The SDM domain would be different -- in some sense the pulse density would be modulated. Since most DAC chips have an SDM conversion it would make sense to volume control by pulse density modulation following the frequency upconversion. Custom room treatments for headphone users. Link to comment
gmgraves Posted April 1, 2017 Author Share Posted April 1, 2017 3 hours ago, Samuel T Cogley said: I agree. They seem to be coming around slowly. The Freya has a remote (the only Schiit product that does, I believe). The Ragnarok integrated amp has a remote, I believe. George Link to comment
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