AVS › AVS Forum › Audio › CD Players & Dedicated Music Transports › Standalone DAC or receiver built-in ?
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Standalone DAC or receiver built-in ?

post #1 of 6
1/29/13 at 11:47am
Thread Starter 
Hi-

I've added a NuForce U192S USB to SPDIF adapter to my setup.

My question is:

How much of a difference/benefit is a standalone DAC such as the BIFROST from Schiit vs the DAC built into my receiver(s)?

I have a Yamaha RX-V473 connected to a pair of Definitive Technology Studio Monitor 450's
and an
Onkyo TX-NR905 connected to a pair of Definitive Technology Mythos Ones.

What component is now the weakest link in the chain?

Thanks!

Greg
Reply
Reply

AVS Top Picks

post #2 of 6
1/29/13 at 1:32pm
Quote:
How much of a difference/benefit is a standalone DAC such as the BIFROST from Schiit vs the DAC built into my receiver(s)?
Not enough that you could hear the difference in a fair test.
Quote:
What component is now the weakest link in the chain?
No matter how much you spend, the answer to this question will always be the same: Speakers. They are the weakest component in every working system out there.
Reply
Reply
post #3 of 6
1/30/13 at 5:26am
Quote:
Originally Posted by greg631 View Post

Hi-

I've added a NuForce U192S USB to SPDIF adapter to my setup.

My question is:

How much of a difference/benefit is a standalone DAC such as the BIFROST from Schiit vs the DAC built into my receiver(s)?

From negligible to zero.
Quote:
I have a Yamaha RX-V473 connected to a pair of Definitive Technology Studio Monitor 450's and an
Onkyo TX-NR905 connected to a pair of Definitive Technology Mythos Ones.

You should probably be looking at subwoofers instead of spinning your wheels with DACs.

The 6.5 inch woofer in the 450's are not serious sources of true bass. The 10" bass radiator is just a passive port replacement. They could have made the box a bit bigger and used a port to do what it does.

The Mythos Ones have two 5 1/4 woofers which again fall well short of providing serious bass dynamic range. The other two 5 inch devices are also just passive port replacements.
Quote:
What component is now the weakest link in the chain?

In your and everybody else's story that never changed - the weakest link is the room, followed by the speakers. You can improve them, but they will under perform the rest of your system for the foreseeable future, as will my speakers and everybody else's.
Reply
Reply
post #4 of 6
1/31/13 at 7:12am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by arnyk View Post

From negligible to zero.
You should probably be looking at subwoofers instead of spinning your wheels with DACs.

The 6.5 inch woofer in the 450's are not serious sources of true bass. The 10" bass radiator is just a passive port replacement. They could have made the box a bit bigger and used a port to do what it does.

The Mythos Ones have two 5 1/4 woofers which again fall well short of providing serious bass dynamic range. The other two 5 inch devices are also just passive port replacements.
In your and everybody else's story that never changed - the weakest link is the room, followed by the speakers. You can improve them, but they will under perform the rest of your system for the foreseeable future, as will my speakers and everybody else's.

Oops... I didn't even think to mention the subs... I've got a sub connected to each system.
Very big difference before vs after... biggrin.gif

So, now that I can check that box, what should I be looking at next? confused.gif
Reply
Reply
post #5 of 6
2/4/13 at 5:31pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by greg631 View Post



How much of a difference/benefit is a standalone DAC such as the BIFROST from Schiit vs the DAC built into my receiver(s)?

I just read your questions asked on another website. It's interesting how many more replies you received.
Reply
Reply
post #6 of 6
2/4/13 at 6:23pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by greg631 View Post

Quote:
Originally Posted by arnyk View Post

From negligible to zero.
You should probably be looking at subwoofers instead of spinning your wheels with DACs.

The 6.5 inch woofer in the 450's are not serious sources of true bass. The 10" bass radiator is just a passive port replacement. They could have made the box a bit bigger and used a port to do what it does.

The Mythos Ones have two 5 1/4 woofers which again fall well short of providing serious bass dynamic range. The other two 5 inch devices are also just passive port replacements.
In your and everybody else's story that never changed - the weakest link is the room, followed by the speakers. You can improve them, but they will under perform the rest of your system for the foreseeable future, as will my speakers and everybody else's.

Oops... I didn't even think to mention the subs... I've got a sub connected to each system.
Very big difference before vs after... biggrin.gif

So, now that I can check that box, what should I be looking at next? confused.gif

ROOM.
Reply
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home

AVS Top Picks

AVS › AVS Forum › Audio › CD Players & Dedicated Music Transports › Standalone DAC or receiver built-in ?