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pico amp/dac as dac only

post #1 of 9
11/18/09 at 3:26am
Thread Starter 
Has anyone compared if it makes much or any difference?
1. Pico amp/dac as dac only (as preamp) to an home/desktop amp
2. Pico dac only to an amp.

The reason is, I have a pico amp/dac and use it as dac only through the headphone out with volume at low gain all the way turned up. Is it worth getting a pico dac only. It's the pico dac line out going to make a significant difference?

thank you
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post #2 of 9
11/28/09 at 11:38am
From what I heard, there isn't a significant difference between Pico Amp/DAC and Pico DAC line.
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post #3 of 9
11/28/09 at 11:41am
I doubt changing out picos for a dac only version will provide you with much audiable difference, the amp in the pico is very transparent and on low gain there is little effect of double amplifying the signal.
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post #4 of 9
12/1/09 at 11:23pm
The only thing that changes is a cleaner analog stage. Some people can hear a difference, most probably can't.
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post #5 of 9
12/1/09 at 11:38pm
I used my Pico amp/DAC as DAC only to feed my tube amp. I was happy with it and was able to borrow a Pico DAC prototype to compare. I could not hear any difference. Low gain at max volume is the way to go.
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post #6 of 9
12/2/09 at 1:52pm
never had the pico dac only but when i had the pico dac/amp, i used it to feed littledot iv se and gilmore lite.
excellent sound!
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post #7 of 9
12/3/09 at 9:15am
how much better is the pico usb dac than the usb rsa predator dac.. i hope much

so is it fair to say that hte pico is the best portable dac on the planet?

TallyHo!
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post #8 of 9
12/3/09 at 9:18am
Quote:
Originally Posted by tjumper78 View Post
never had the pico dac only but when i had the pico dac/amp, i used it to feed littledot iv se and gilmore lite.
excellent sound!
gilmore light- thats the funniest sounding amp ever! lol...well is gill any good?
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post #9 of 9
12/3/09 at 9:25am
Quote:
Originally Posted by sling5s View Post
Has anyone compared if it makes much or any difference?
1. Pico amp/dac as dac only (as preamp) to an home/desktop amp
2. Pico dac only to an amp.

The reason is, I have a pico amp/dac and use it as dac only through the headphone out with volume at low gain all the way turned up. Is it worth getting a pico dac only. It's the pico dac line out going to make a significant difference?

thank you
hi,
say how is that configuration sounding, i mean the dac
as a preamp --> desktop amp?
--i ask because im thinking of doing that and i wanted to see if their were any disadvantages vs. using an all in one dac amp.

is there background hiss if you use a good cable?

thanks
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