[luckybaer]

Pardon my ignorance, but what would I do with analog inputs on a DAC?

Thanks.

 

[MindsMirror]

A DAC itself cannot have analog inputs. You might have a product for instance which combines a DAC and amp, and has analog inputs which allow you to use just the amp section of the product with an analog source such as a phono preamp, or use a different DAC with it.

 

[luckybaer]

A DAC itself cannot have analog inputs. You might have a product for instance which combines a DAC and amp, and has analog inputs which allow you to use just the amp section of the product with an analog source such as a phono preamp, or use a different DAC with it.

Benchmark DAC3 HGC has them. They function as some kind of home theater pass-through... does that make sense?

 

[yong_shun]

There are Coaxial, Optical and Analogue inputs. Analogue is used when you wish to use the setup as an amplifier only. It will bypass the DAC chip.

 

[wuwhere]

My DAC has a pair of RCA for analog input. So it is a DAC/preamp. My transport is a universal player. So when I play SACD I use its analog RCA output to my DAC/preamp since my DAC/preamp cannot decode SACD.

 

[gimmeheadroom]

I think the point is since there is a headphone amp, it gives you a way to run analog in to use the box as a pure headphone amp and *also* as a DAC.

 

[Koei]

A DAC itself cannot have analog inputs. You might have a product for instance which combines a DAC and amp, and has analog inputs which allow you to use just the amp section of the product with an analog source such as a phono preamp, or use a different DAC with it.

A DAC chip also has an amplifier. How do you think it outputs 2v or 4v as a line out?


To answer the TS question: there are DACs (as in the piece of equipment not the chip alone) that also serve as a pre-amp. This stops the need for a separate pre-amp and allows to DAC to be hooked straight up to a power amplifier. Extra inputs are nice to allow other sources to be also connected.