Which DACs fit this criteria

[unsleepable]

You can upgrade the remote control. No volume knob. The volume control works superbly, and is no less than any others from my experience.

I am not saying that the remote is bad quality. Just that it's strange to have two sets of volume control buttons on it, and then nothing on the DAC itself. So as preamp this is clearly a limitation, but if you use it with headphones, it's even more disconcerting having to reach out for the remote to change the volume. To me it's equally strange thinking of upgrading the remote control when purchasing a DAC at this price level from a vendor such as Hegel.

It's in the StereoLife review—the same you referred to—where they say that the DAC does not perform so well at low volume:

At low volume levels, Hegel does not show everything yet, what it can do. During the test, depending on the connected headphones fun really began at the level of 40-50 or even a bit higher.

I also believe this may be the first product that Hegel releases with digital volume attenuation.

I am looking forward to listening to it anyways.

 

[unsleepable]

It is good practise not too use too much digital attenuation, a good implementation is variable analogue output and then a properly dithered digital attenuator.

With analogue attenuation the signal and background noise are reduced, with digital only the signal is attenuated.
Keith.

I used to think something similar but then one day I tried a line-level DAC straight into a power amp, attenuating the volume from the source application in the computer. Among other things, I found that the background noise was clearly lower than when using analogue attenuation between the DAC and the power amp.

I am not sure if maybe the noise introduced by the DAC is proportional to the voltage it emits, so when the signal is digitally attenuated, the noise is also reduced. And then of course, the analogue volume control is another source of noise itself.

 

[Purité Audio]

I used to think something similar but then one day I tried a line-level DAC straight into a power amp, attenuating the volume from the source application in the computer. Among other things, I found that the background noise was clearly lower than when using analogue attenuation between the DAC and the power amp.

I am not sure if maybe the noise introduced by the DAC is proportional to the voltage it emits, so when the signal is digitally attenuated, the noise is also reduced. And then of course, the analogue volume control is another source of noise itself.

This paper by Daniel Weiss neatly explains ,
http://www.weiss.ch/assets/content/41/white-paper-on-digital-level-control.pdf

Keith.

 

[Igloo Audio]

I am not saying that the remote is bad quality. Just that it's strange to have two sets of volume control buttons on it, and then nothing on the DAC itself. So as preamp this is clearly a limitation, but if you use it with headphones, it's even more disconcerting having to reach out for the remote to change the volume. To me it's equally strange thinking of upgrading the remote control when purchasing a DAC at this price level from a vendor such as Hegel.

It's in the StereoLife review—the same you referred to—where they say that the DAC does not perform so well at low volume:



I also believe this may be the first product that Hegel releases with digital volume attenuation.

I am looking forward to listening to it anyways.

And we would be more than happy to loan.

I understand some of your points or personal choices. The new RC3 remote control only has one set of volume controls, and the RC2 remote control is really for aesthetics given it's milled from thick aluminium, so you would expect it to cost more given the lean £900 price for the DAC. We carry the RC2 in stock for the credit card control haters.

The review refers to using headphones, so it's hard to understand whether he just means the level of drive or a reduction in sound quality. Hegel says, "The volume works in the digital domain, but the new AKM chip actually reduces the noise floor in steps when you reduce the volume." To be honest, I've connected 50+ converters to active ATC speakers, and all being they are set-up correctly, I have never heard noise on full volume (DAC or computer) even inches away from the tweeter, so the only question IMHO that needs answering is whether your chosen DAC provides enough direct output or gain for your chosen amplifier to work at its full potential.

Kind regards,
Peter

 

[Musicarch]

We supply both Young and Benchmark - both exceptional. We will supply free high quality USB or coax with either. If you would like to try either/both let me know.