Quote:
Originally Posted by Cecala /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I have a question which I just read elsewhere was asked by someone else and would like answered please. I am interested in the Desktop amp with 'Home' module plus 'Max' Dac-is this possible? Is the difference greater going from the 'Home' dac to the 'Max' Dac than going from the 'Home' amp to the 'Max' amp?
That was a mouth full.
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Hi there,
Firstly, you can spec the Desktop line with any combination of Module and DAC that you choose. They are on separate, unrelated riser boards, and the amp will ship with which ever combination you choose installed.
Secondly, to my ears, there is a bigger difference between the Home electronics module and Max electronics module than there is between the Home DAC and Max DAC (this is also true in terms of differece in components used).
This is partly source dependent however, as the difference between the Home and Max DAC is that the Max DAC has upsampling and reclocking to reduce jitter, whereas the Home DAC does not. Therefore the benefit of the Max DAC ought to be greater the worse your source is - for example, there is a lot of jitter involved in a USB connection, so if you use that you will get a particular benefit from the Max DAC. Otherwise, the two remain the same - the DAC chip is the same, and the ouput stage is the same pair of OPA627's biased into class A.
The difference between the Home and Max electronics module is quite significant - all the dual 2134 opamps are replaced with the single 627's (sonically a big upgrade), only top shelf caps and resistors are used, and the output transistors are upgraded to a top of the line pair.
If you can afford it, I strongly recommend Max Electronics and Home DAC rather than the other way round. Remember that the benefit from the upgraded electronics applies to any source you might use with the amp, whereas the upgrade to the DAC is ony relevant when you are using it as your source.