On the subject of External an DAC to drive a Hi Fi amp

[Graham Smout]

Hi - Happy Christmas to all.

If any one has any experience of using an external DAC to hook up a Hi Fi amp I'd appreciate  your opinion on this please.

My set up is using the B2 to drive a set of decent bookshelf speakers from the built in amp and also an elderly but much loved Pioneer amp hooked upv vai the Analogue Line Out  to some more recent Tannoys. The speakers are in differernt rooms.

The problem with this, as others with a similar set up will understand, is that varying the B2 volume control alters the level of the Hi FI input, which ideally needs to constantly be at the maximm level - around 60 - to drive the Hi Fi amp line input and avoid all the issues associated with a low level out.

So I have dceided to aquire a DAC

 

1) Brennan say they have tested an inexpensive DAC here:  https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B005HFTUO0?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00

Has anyone else tried this unit or can anyone recommend an alternative?

2) In particular does the B2 have sufficent wattage at 5 volts availabe on the USB ports to power a DAC or is a separate power supply recommended? I imagine a simple USB phone charger plug would to the trick if not.

I have a related but different enquiry as to what  would be required to be done to modify the B2 to accept a direct optical (digital) input? As I mentioned in an earlier post, sometimes I have experienced interference when using the analogue input fitted  and as there is an optical output on the b2, why not an optical input ? Just a thought!! It could be a worthwhile improvement .

Thanks

Graham

2) I may wish to couple a second amplifier and I am looking for a DAC with twin analogue outputs, or a simple splitter

[Chris Jones]

Hi 

I have used the DAC that Brennan have tested, and the difference is chalk and cheese, its turned an average sounding piece of equipment and in a definite CD player replacement and now my go-to audio source, and yes I had it connected to one of the B2's USB ports (USB C  if I remember correctly)

I have recently upgraded to the Nobsound HiFi Headphone Amplifier&DAC Audio Decoder: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics still cheap at £68 but give the added advantage of having a headphone socket, this one has to be run from its own power supply.

I do hope that if a B3 is ever developed that it would be equipped with a true line level output

[Chris Jones]

Sorry that should have said " its turned an average sounding piece of equipment into a definite CD player replacement "  the audio output when using the analogue O/P and the B2 volume set to 60 is rubbish (in my opinion ) 

[Jasper Warwick]

I use a Cambridge Audio DACMagic 100 and it has completely transformed the output quality of the B2

https://www.richersounds.com/cambridge-dac-magic-100-blk.html

£129 (but still £40 cheaper than when I bought mine)

Not so cheap but the quality of the sound is amazing and competes with my £1000 Meridian CD player

Jasper.

[Peter Howarth]

Can I just check here that what you're doing is to use the usb output (not the optical output) to bipass the Brennan D/A converter and use an exernal D/A converter.

Am I right in thinking that either using the USb output OR the optical output will bipass the Brennan D/A converter?

Cheers,  Peter

[Daniel Taylor]

Peter,

On the B2, the USB output cannot be used to pass the music to an external DAC.  Your only digital options are the Toslink ouput or the HDMI output.  On the BB1, you can use the USB output.

[PMB]

Hi csj,

That DAC looks identical to the FX-Audio-DAC-X6 I use - link - I have the optical in connected to the B2 and the USB to the BB1 and can easily switch between the two (on the DAC) for testing.

Perhaps they come from the same factory in China.....

Paul

Brennan Support.

[Graham Smout]

Hi - I am lookign for a decent DAC too. As the item linked above FX-Audio-DAC-X6  ) is no longer available are there any other recommended ones?  I am a little cautious about ordering the really low cost item losted on the Brennan website. I can stretch to roughly £50 .

Thanks

Graham

[RogerH]

Hi Graham,

I've had my B2 for about 4 years and I love it, but having read previous posts about adding a DAC I took the plunge and bought one about two months ago to connect to my Quad 34/306 system. The improvement is sound quality is amazing, so this is one upgrade I'd definitely recommend.

I can understand your concern about buying cheaply, but not knowing what to expect I decided to try a cheap DAC and see how it worked. That way if I couldn't hear any difference it wouldn't be a great loss, and if it did improve things I could always spend more in the future. So, I bought this one from Amazon for £11.99:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08318WQWR/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It's powered via USB and doesn't come with a mains adapter, but I have lots of old chargers lying around so that problem was easily solved.

No doubt the DACs from better known names are higher qaulity, but until this one fails I'm very happy to stick with it. It's probably the best value for money audio upgrade I've made in my many long years of audiophilia!

Good luck,

Roger

[Natalia Rodriguez]

I used the Cambridge 100 DAC too using the SPDIF/Toslink hybrid connexion and the difference in sound quality was amazing. On your smartphone you can access the B2's equaliser to adjust the sound. However I changed Amp to the Cambridge CXA81 with its own internal DAC which resulted in massive distortion until I went back into the equaliser and re-set it to "Flat". The sound is even better....noticeably so. I was surprised that the equaliser had any effect as I thought the signal was direct from source.

[PMB]

Hi Volvonata,

The equalisation is done in the digital domain so will affect all outputs from the B2.

Paul

Brennan Support.