[lostrockets]

i've got a l&p 131 dongle dac which im enjoying very much- feeding it to both my elekit and antarex tube amps. i recently got another stax amp 007t and can take the volume all the way to 6 o clock (MAX).

ive realized its because the input is not line level and the output is not what it could be. i tested this by using my elekit headphone out into the 007t in... and by doing that the volume can get way too loud just past 12 oclock (halfway)

since the input from the dongle dac is low i fear im not getting the best out of my amps and speakers.. so to increase the power to the amplifier from the dongle dac, i was thinking i could get an active preamp for additional gain. (am i on the right track?)

so far was considering schiit saga S (remote and multiple input/outs would be useful) but was curious if youd recommend something different eg other preamp or small headphone amp or something else?

(note: i was trying to stay away from a desktop dac because i travel and wanted the portability of a dongle.)

 

[ProtegeManiac]

i've got a l&p 131 dongle dac which im enjoying very much- feeding it to both my elekit and antarex tube amps. i recently got another stax amp 007t and can take the volume all the way to 6 o clock (MAX).

ive realized its because the input is not line level and the output is not what it could be. i tested this by using my elekit headphone out into the 007t in... and by doing that the volume can get way too loud just past 12 oclock (halfway)

since the input from the dongle dac is low i fear im not getting the best out of my amps and speakers.. so to increase the power to the amplifier from the dongle dac, i was thinking i could get an active preamp for additional gain. (am i on the right track?)

so far was considering schiit saga S (remote and multiple input/outs would be useful) but was curious if youd recommend something different eg other preamp or small headphone amp or something else?

(note: i was trying to stay away from a desktop dac because i travel and wanted the portability of a dongle.)

The thing is the proper way to do this is to have a DAC with a proper 2V output (or 4V if balanced), not have two preamp circuits in series. If the first preamp adds any bit of noise that would otherwise not be noticeable if it's just followed by an amp stage, that might become more noticeable if you add that preamp before the other preamp, ie, the one in your headphone amp.

Besides, there's effectively no difference between using a dongle DAC using an amp output stage (whether built into the chip or not) then adding a preamp to your existing preamp in the amp vs getting a desktop DAC. If you're gonna DAC and amp a signal to get preamped that will get preamped again before getting amped again (confusing? exactly), it's not like you'll be hauling the new add-on preamp or the desktop amp with the dongle DAC-HPamp, you'll only be hauling the dongle DAC-HPamp. If you get a desktop DAC, you can keep the dongle DAC-HPamp in your bag for when you're out and about, and then plug the laptop into the desktop DAC at home which will then feed a line signal to the headphone amp that has its own preamp and output stages.

 

[lostrockets]

The thing is the proper way to do this is to have a DAC with a proper 2V output (or 4V if balanced), not have two preamp circuits in series. If the first preamp adds any bit of noise that would otherwise not be noticeable if it's just followed by an amp stage, that might become more noticeable if you add that preamp before the other preamp, ie, the one in your headphone amp.

Besides, there's effectively no difference between using a dongle DAC using an amp output stage (whether built into the chip or not) then adding a preamp to your existing preamp in the amp vs getting a desktop DAC. If you're gonna DAC and amp a signal to get preamped that will get preamped again before getting amped again (confusing? exactly), it's not like you'll be hauling the new add-on preamp or the desktop amp with the dongle DAC-HPamp, you'll only be hauling the dongle DAC-HPamp. If you get a desktop DAC, you can keep the dongle DAC-HPamp in your bag for when you're out and about, and then plug the laptop into the desktop DAC at home which will then feed a line signal to the headphone amp that has its own preamp and output stages.

Makes sense, i guess i can consider getting a desktop dac with a proper lineout