The #1 priority for the system in my main HT has always been music reproduction. It was put together for disc based music, but since then I've added the ability to play high resolution music. The problem is, that part of the system is rather out of date. I'm playing HD files that are stored on an NVMe drive controlled by an Oppo BDP-103, feeding into an Emotiva DC-1 DAC, which is then sent to an Emotiva XSP-1 preamp (which has a Home Theater Bypass mode) and on to an Emotiva XPS-DR2 amp which feeds my Thiel CS 3.6 speakers. The XSP-1 also has a sub crossover, which is fed to dual SVS SB-16 Ultra subs. I also have about 50 SACDs which I can play with a Marantz SA8004 two channel SACD player. I'm not interested in the surround sections of SACDs, but those would be played with the Oppo and fed into my surround preamp anyway, so nothing needs to change with that.
I had been planning to change to a good streaming DAC in place of the Oppo/DC-1 to play back music files, but in recent weeks my XSP-1 preamp has developed an electrical problem. It's generating a buzzing noise that fluctuates and comes and goes. So, instead of the streamer/DAC approach, I'm wondering about looking for a newer, hopefully better stereo preamp with HT bypass, which might or might not have an internal DAC capable of at least 24/192 PCM as well as DSD playback from a connected drive. Then the issue is how to control playback without the Oppo, which I can't rely on in the long term. If the new preamp has an internal DAC it eliminates the problem with how to get all file formats, especially DSD to it. Of course, my understanding is most if not all DACs which can play DSD are internally converting them to PCM anyway, so maybe I want to explore converting DSD files (from my SACDs) to PCM.
The bottom line is, I want the highest quality audio I can afford. I'm having difficulty finding stereo preamps that have an HT bypass and a sub crossover. There is the Parasound P6, which is a little more limited than I care for, and I wonder if the audio quality is as good as I'd like. It has an internal DAC, but only the USB input is capable of files greater than 24/96 or DSD. So I'd need some way to manage playback from the SSD that can be controlled by an iPad and output by USB. That part might actually be pretty easy. I'm just not very up on what's available.
I also haven't found any stereo preamps with an HT bypass and a sub crossover other than the Parasound P6. I also prefer balanced outputs. At least the P6 does have one pair of balanced inputs, so I could use a better, external DAC/streamer if needed. I had already pretty much decided on the Naim Uniti Atom HE for that, but am now holding off with the idea of bringing more of the system up to date. One weird problem with the P6 is it's not clear to me if the balanced outputs use the sub crossover or not. They simply don't make that detail clear. It appears the crossover only works on the unbalanced outputs.
I know this is a very specific and unusual setup I'm looking for, but I'm hoping especially that I can get some suggestions for the HD file playback which can be fed to USB or coax/optical and controlled by an iPad. The files I'd be playing are either ripped from CDs or bought from HDTracks, as well as DSD I will rip from my SACDs.
Any suggestions?
I had been planning to change to a good streaming DAC in place of the Oppo/DC-1 to play back music files, but in recent weeks my XSP-1 preamp has developed an electrical problem. It's generating a buzzing noise that fluctuates and comes and goes. So, instead of the streamer/DAC approach, I'm wondering about looking for a newer, hopefully better stereo preamp with HT bypass, which might or might not have an internal DAC capable of at least 24/192 PCM as well as DSD playback from a connected drive. Then the issue is how to control playback without the Oppo, which I can't rely on in the long term. If the new preamp has an internal DAC it eliminates the problem with how to get all file formats, especially DSD to it. Of course, my understanding is most if not all DACs which can play DSD are internally converting them to PCM anyway, so maybe I want to explore converting DSD files (from my SACDs) to PCM.
The bottom line is, I want the highest quality audio I can afford. I'm having difficulty finding stereo preamps that have an HT bypass and a sub crossover. There is the Parasound P6, which is a little more limited than I care for, and I wonder if the audio quality is as good as I'd like. It has an internal DAC, but only the USB input is capable of files greater than 24/96 or DSD. So I'd need some way to manage playback from the SSD that can be controlled by an iPad and output by USB. That part might actually be pretty easy. I'm just not very up on what's available.
I also haven't found any stereo preamps with an HT bypass and a sub crossover other than the Parasound P6. I also prefer balanced outputs. At least the P6 does have one pair of balanced inputs, so I could use a better, external DAC/streamer if needed. I had already pretty much decided on the Naim Uniti Atom HE for that, but am now holding off with the idea of bringing more of the system up to date. One weird problem with the P6 is it's not clear to me if the balanced outputs use the sub crossover or not. They simply don't make that detail clear. It appears the crossover only works on the unbalanced outputs.
I know this is a very specific and unusual setup I'm looking for, but I'm hoping especially that I can get some suggestions for the HD file playback which can be fed to USB or coax/optical and controlled by an iPad. The files I'd be playing are either ripped from CDs or bought from HDTracks, as well as DSD I will rip from my SACDs.
Any suggestions?