[Vinc]

Hi,
Recently, I've been wondering if buying a dac that has an internal amp (such as the nudac-2) will be a bad match when you plug it into a higher level amp.
 
Will the DAC/amp limit the quality of songs that I am listening to ? I mean, will the amp amplify the default of the lowerclass amp/dac? And does it mean that I would be better with only a Dac and an amp instead of dac/amp and amp?
 
Also, does anyone have suggetions about an amp/dac combo for around 500$ (I'll be listening to HD650) Or would I be better with an amp stand alone and a dac standalone.
Thanks!

 

[Vinc]

Any further answer will be really appreciated!

 

[Syan25]

Are you looking for a portable or stay-home DAC/AMP combo - for home - I would suggest mine - the Yulong D100 great amp/DAC as long as you have the right PC for audio playback - then you won't have issues...
 
If you are wanting portable - probably look at Ray Samuels or IBasso - they are renowned for quality amps in the first place - in particular for sound quality - Ray Samuels...
 

 

[Uncle Erik]

You don't want to double amp. An amp's inputs are only designed to handle so much input. Giving it more might harm it. Also, this has a way of increasing distortion. Unless the DAC section has a line output (as opposed to being directly connected to the amp), don't do it.

A combined DAC/amp I enjoyed with the HD-650 was a PreSonus Central Station. They runn around $500 and, being pro gear, are widely available. You shouldn't have trouble finding one in Canada.

I really liked the Central Station I had - it was briefly popular here and you'll find older reviews. I got rid of it for unrelated reasons. One, my father's computer died, so I gave him my music server. Two, I got into tubes, vinyl and SACD. So I had to have separate components and the Central Station was sitting unused. I thought it best to sell it. But one of them might be perfect for you.