CDP to receiver - am I bypassing the receiver DAC's? (1 Viewer)

[Kincade]

Hello all - I just bought a Jolida tube CD player, and i want to make sure i'm bypassing the internal DACs in my HK avr 7200. Right now, I have my analog out interconnects to the analog "cd in" jacks, left and right.

Is this bypassing the DACs, or do I have to use the "6 channel direct" inputs to accomplish this?

If it's the latter, how would I run both this, and a SACD/DVD-A player together with only one sets of inputs? Is there such a thing as a decent switcher that doesn't add any interference?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Aaron Gilbert]

You are bypassing the receiver's DACs IF the receiver does not convert all incoming analog signals to digital. On those receivers which do convert all analog to digital, there is usually a mode to defeat it, going by names such as pure direct, line straight, analog bypass, etc.. Not knowing the AVR7200, I can't say which is true for that particular receiver, but it should be in the manual.

Aaron Gilbert

 

[Brian L]

To add to Aaron's comments, the 6 CH in will most likely stay analog, unless it allows bass management (rare, but not unheard of), and even then, it may still be analog, particularly if its a single 80 Hz toggle like Outlaw on their 950.

It may be tough to ferret out the answer regarding the stereo inputs though, unless it is explicitly stated in the literature.

BGL

 

[Kincade]

Thanks for the answers!

On the 6 channel direct, I can select whether or not I want to apply bass management; it DOES say here how to bypass the dacs.

However, on the analog stereo input, there is nothing I can find in the manual or setup that says one way or another.

FWIW, on the analog stereo inputs, I can adjust the BASS and TREBLE on the front of the receiver, although I do not like to. Is this a sign of running through the DACS?

Anyone know of a decent switcher?

Thanks again!

 

[Aaron Gilbert]

Well I took me a while, but I found your answer! Check page 22 of your owner's manual, where it says:

"NOTE: When the front speakers are set to the LARGE option and the surround mode is set to "Surround Off", or pure two-channel stereo, when an analog signal source is present it will be routed directly from the input to the volume control without being digitized or processed."

The number of options make the permutations quite complex, but to me it LOOKS as though you can have your analog bypass on any input you want. The only caveat is that in order to get output from your subwoofer when using a stereo source, you'll need to select 'SUB LFE+L/R' in the subwoofer menu. Otherwise, the subwoofer will get nothing. Coincidentally, this is how I run my Kenwood, although it wasn't out of any desire to get analog bypass.


Aaron Gilbert

 

[Kincade]

Aaron,

I saw that in the owners manual. but i'm a little confused...

If I can use the bass and treble controls, and if I am running SUB LFE+L/R in the menu, wouldn't that mean that the HK is using it's DAC's to process the signal? And if I select just plain 2 channel stereo with just the L/R, no subwoofer, is it then bypassing the signal altogether?

I just want to make sure I get the use of my $1k CDP... ;-)

 

[ScottCHI]

if you're bass managing the cdp's analog output with the receiver in any way, then you're not bypassing the receiver's dacs

 

[Aaron Gilbert]

Here's how I interpret the manual. Given a stereo source, no surround mode, and front L/R set to large, the input signal sent on to the front L/R will NOT have been digitized, regardless of subwoofer configuration. However, if you DO want the subwoofer to play, then that input signal will be copied, digitized, and crossed over before being sent to the subwoofer output.
Does that make sense? That's how I read the manual.

Aaron Gilbert

 

[Brian L]

Not always.

My NAD 762 has a stereo mode that is said to perform BM in the analog domain. I lack a circuit diagram to prove it, but that is what NAD has advised via my dealer.

BGL

 

[Aaron Gilbert]

Even discounting bass management done in the analog domain, which several manufacturers do, there's no reason that you couldn't send the input signal straight to the volume control, while also sending that signal to the ADC, low pass it, then to the DAC and on to the subwoofer output. This certainly appears to me to be what H/K is suggesting happens with the unit in question, though to be certain, one would likely need to shoot them an email or know someone who is intimately familiar with the unit's operation.

Aaron Gilbert

 

[BrianWoerndle]

Bass and treble controls can be added in the analog domain and have nothing to do with "bass management"

 

[Kincade]

Hmmm, i've opened up a can of worms here! ;-) I may email HK and see what they say, although who's to say if they're "tech support" is correct...

So far, it looks like if I use the analog CD input and set the speakers to "LARGE", I am bypassing the dac's altogether...

I wasn't aware that bass and treble controls could be added to an analog signal... Interesting.

 

[Aaron Gilbert]

How do you think receivers had bass and treble controls before they had digital inputs, then? And what about graphic equalizers, how do they work?


Aaron Gilbert

 

[John Garcia]

Yes, analog control has been around for a LONG time. If you have knobs for bass and treble, they are analog. Bass management is not exclusively digital.

When you apply a DSP to that analog signal - THEN you are passing through DACs. As Aaron said in the first response, using "analog direct" or something similar should bypass all tone controls, bass management, and DSP.

 

[Kincade]

I don't know - i'm not a design engineer for Denon! I'm a lowly consumer, who is struggling to figure out how to mate all these damn parts together, and wade through the marketing gibberish to figure out what is actually happening.

Thanks for all the responses! It appears that I can use the 2 channel analog for my Jolida, and my 6 channel direct for my Multichannel music, and not use the HK dac's on either one.