[Cortes]

Hi guys,

this might be one of the most silly questions of the forum, but I don't find a neat solution

.

I want to buy a DAC (lavry da10,Electrocompaniet ECD1, mini-DAC, stello ...) to feed my ER4's and mainly my Genelecs 8020s. All my music comes from my laptop and the DAC should be my only source for many years. Therefore, I plan to use the DAC in the future as the heart of a home rig feeding good speakers, not just headphones.

The plan sounds nice, because I always can stream the music from a laptop. HOWEVER if I'm pleasantly enjoyng music in the couch how I change the volume without standing up (yes, I'm lazy) ?. I need a remotre control, but most of DACs come without remote control, and speakers also come without remote control. In the case I need an amp to feed the speakers (not for my genelecs) it's quite likely it won't have any remote control either.

Please, let me know if I'm missing something here!.

Thanks.

 

[gz76]

In a standard setup, the DAC provides a line-level output to be fed to an amp. The role of the DAC is to convert a digital signal to an analogue one. Volume control is traditionally the role of the amp.

 

[Bluetick]

Cortes,

I'm confused, where is the preamp in this scenario? The reason I ask is because it sounds like you still need one. A preamp would fix everything. Feed your DAC to the input of the pre, and the pre goes to your amp. Simple. This could be passive or active (and/or or remote controlled) depending on your needs and tastes.

EDIT: What about a Benchmark unit? That's a quality DAC, headphone amp, and preamp all rolled into one. For a little bit more money, it could be fitted with a remote for volume control.

 

[Cortes]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bluetick /img/forum/go_quote.gif Cortes, I'm confused, where is the preamp in this scenario? The reason I ask is because it sounds like you still need one. A preamp would fix everything. Feed your DAC to the input of the pre, and the pre goes to your amp. Simple. This could be passive or active (and/or or remote controlled) depending on your needs and tastes. EDIT: What about a Benchmark unit? That's a quality DAC, headphone amp, and preamp all rolled into one. For a little bit more money, it could be fitted with a remote for volume control.

it's true the pre-amp may be the missing link. Do they use to have remote volume control?. I'm not sure about that. The main point is that I don't want to buy a DAC and later to throw it away because of the lack of remote volume control. DACs are costly and I'd like to have it for many years.

BTW I didn't know Benchmark has the option of remote control, is that a mod to be done by hand?.

Thanks.

 

[Bluetick]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cortes /img/forum/go_quote.gif it's true the pre-amp may be the missing link. Do they use to have remote volume control?. I'm not sure about that.

Preamps come in every color and flavor. Some people call passive units preamps, but that term in more of an oxymoron. If it is passive it does not (pre)amplify. However, you need (at the very least) volume control and that can take many forms. It can be located between the DAC and amplifier, in the amplifier, or in the DAC. Because you require remote volume control, you need either a motorized pot or a digital system. There are numerous examples out there. What kind of budget are talking about?

Quote:

The main point is that I don't want to buy a DAC and later to throw it away because of the lack of remote volume control. DACs are costly and I'd like to have it for many years.

I don't balme you, but you do have a lot of options. There are a lot of nice DACs out there in use without volume control. I think the problem here is that you are missing a bit of basic information. Your source ( be it a laptop, cd player, whatever) needs to have two things before it becomes audible music. It needs gain/amplification and an output device (speakers or headphones). A DAC simply Converts your Digital signal to an Analog signal. In its raw form, that's all it does. Most of them also add enough gain so that they are outputting a "line level" standard again. While you may have enough gain to drive the input of an amplifier (be it an amplifier for speakers or headphone) you still need volume control. A passive volume control will get the job done, but (IMO) an active preamp does it one better. A preamp gives the signal more gain to power through the interconnects and the pre itself.

The confusing part is that any of these devices mentioned may or may not have other elements of other devices integrated into them. For example, a DAC might have a passive volume control integrated into it, or it may have a preamplifier integrated into it- or neither! In the case of the Benchmark DAC1, it has a preamplifier (with volume control) and a headphone amplifier built into it. Hence their popularity.

Quote:

BTW I didn't know Benchmark has the option of remote control, is that a mod to be done by hand?.

Yes, DIY only. Just about anything with a pot can be fitted to accept a motorized pot along with an external IR emitter/receiver (remote control). I once helped a guy make his speaker L-pads remote controlled. Since we could not find motorized L-pads (a true L-pad is not a pot) we fitted a gear to the shaft. Lots of things can be done.

 

[Cortes]

Hi,
the DIY solution may be useful but I don't see myself doing that. That would be the end of the poor DAC. Indeed for active speakers as my genis the preamp is not needed and the remote control is still missing. A possible solution would be to stream the sound from a Squeezebox and control the volume from the remote control of the SB, however I'm afraid that solution would lose bits and at the end would decrease the dynamic range. A possible solution would be the Bel Canto DAC3 with its remote control, but it's expensive and from what I've read not better than DACs in the $1k league.

Best.

 

[GAD]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gz76 /img/forum/go_quote.gif In a standard setup, the DAC provides a line-level output to be fed to an amp. The role of the DAC is to convert a digital signal to an analogue one. Volume control is traditionally the role of the amp.

The Lavry DA10 (OP listed as an option) has a volume control, though no remote.

GAD

 

[kugino]

never mind...

 

[error401]

Quote:

Originally Posted by GAD /img/forum/go_quote.gif The Lavry DA10 (OP listed as an option) has a volume control, though no remote. GAD

Since it uses pushbuttons to set the volume, it would probably be very easy to fit a remote control circuit to it, but again, we're into DIY territory...

The easiest way to do this would probably be something like a Welborne Labs remote controlled stepped attenuator (found here). Then your DAC choice is not constrained, and you can always swap out the DAC without losing your remote control unit. It's still semi-DIY as you'd need to find a way to case it and add input/output connectors, but the actual circuit itself comes prebuilt.

 

[gz76]

Quote:

Originally Posted by GAD /img/forum/go_quote.gif The Lavry DA10 (OP listed as an option) has a volume control, though no remote. GAD

That's why I said 'in a standard setup'. There's always exceptions to the rule!

 

[WilCox]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gz76 /img/forum/go_quote.gif In a standard setup, the DAC provides a line-level output to be fed to an amp. The role of the DAC is to convert a digital signal to an analogue one. Volume control is traditionally the role of the amp.

There are at least three DAC/headphone amps that I know of that have remote control.

• Grace m902 (remote optional)
• Citypulse DA-2.03e (remote included)
• Citypulse (remote included)

 

[GAD]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gz76 /img/forum/go_quote.gif That's why I said 'in a standard setup'. There's always exceptions to the rule!

But... but.. I have a DA10 in my standard setup!

GAD

 

[Cortes]

bump!

 

[gz76]

Quote:

Originally Posted by GAD /img/forum/go_quote.gif But... but.. I have a DA10 in my standard setup! GAD

Hahaha, yeah you know what I mean!