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rega dac, cdq, young dac bake off

The best analog potentiometers are disproportionately expensive.
Cheap digital volume controls sound disproportionately good.
Digital attenuation is excellent value.

If we switch suddenly to a discussion of the ultimate volume control, well, good luck with that . . .

The best analogue pots outperform 'all' digital solutions, particularly at low listening levels. I've yet to see any proof that cheap anything works well in audio, the best digital volume solutions come in the best equipment, and that's usually the most expensive.

Quite how you'd extract the cost of the digital volume implementation from the Weiss 202 I'm not sure, but it wouldn't be cheap would it. Likewise the volume control from the Benchmark, the better HDR unit cost several hundred more than the previous model it replaced.

It's nice that you have a low cost product to sell, but claiming it does it better than analogue simply isn't true.
 
Elliptical. Mysterious. Gnomic, even . . . care to elaborate?


farting-garden-gnome-L.jpg
 
Funny that the guy who headed up the design team at ESS that designed the Sabre chip, and now the Invicta DAC disagrees with you- even though he's trying to sell a digital volume controlled product.
He doesn't disagree with me.

Paul
 
The best analogue pots outperform 'all' digital solutions, particularly at low listening levels. I've yet to see any proof that cheap anything works well in audio, the best digital volume solutions come in the best equipment, and that's usually the most expensive.

Quite how you'd extract the cost of the digital volume implementation from the Weiss 202 I'm not sure, but it wouldn't be cheap would it. Likewise the volume control from the Benchmark, the better HDR unit cost several hundred more than the previous model it replaced.

It's nice that you have a low cost product to sell, but claiming it does it better than analogue simply isn't true.

There you go with the paranoia again . . . I'm not talking about/selling the Emotiva, and haven't claimed 'it' is 'better than analog'. I've been generalising about digital volume control.

Yes, your position is defensible re: analog attenuation, but it's an Ivory Tower argument: the ultimate VC may be analog (although some smart folks disagree), but a cheap analog pot sounds worse than a cheap digital attenuation. Digital attenuation is very good value, as I said before, when I said 'digital attenuation is good value'.

Whether Weiss' or Prism's implemenation of a digital VC is really inferior to a well-made analog attenuator, you'd have to take up with them. I suspect it all becomes a bit esoteric and moot.

The common sense bottom line is that you need a hell of a preamp to better the transparency of a DAC with digital VC direct to power amp. QED.
 

gnomic (comparative more gnomic, superlative most gnomic)
1. Of, or relating to gnomes.
2. (of a saying or aphorism) Mysterious and often incomprehensible yet seemingly wise. He always makes gnomic remarks/utterances.

Translations
• Spanish: enigmático es(es)
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I've been discussing volume control and input gain settings with lavry tech support, think the guy who deals with it from there end is called Brad. After many emails and good healthy discussions I've learnt the volume control on my DA11 is pretty much lossless after '08' out of the '56' db steps allowed. I turned the gain down on my Deltas to allow '05' to be low enough for late night sessions.

IMHO, Lavry have done a cracking job with its analog controlled digital VC.
 


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