P Floding Wrote: > Perhaps even having a look in the manual? Also, don't compare while > listening to Dolby processing. As mentioned in one of my previous posts, I did look in the manual... unfortunately, it doesn't specifically mention anything about A->D conversion; it just says that it "bypasses all effects and surround settings." Still worth a shot though!
P Floding Wrote: > The extra bit is a "D->A->D". The first D->A being in the SB. Well, I was considering the D->A conversion in the SB to *not* be extra, but rather that the receiver's A->D preamp conversion (and subsequent digital processing, then D->A conversion) to be the extra part. All depends how you look at it, obviously, as to which one is the extra part! P Floding Wrote: > You'd rather use the preamps A-D than bypass that so you don't waste a > full D->A->D sequence? You also feel confident that the preamps > A/D-converter is as good as the SB's D/A, but you don't think the > preamps digital input will be any good (although you prefer it with > your CD-player). Actually, I meant exactly the opposite. What I intended to say is that I'd rather use the SB's DAC and pass its analog output directly through the amplifier to the speakers, without the receiver preamp doing an extra A->D step, digital signal processing, and D->A step. I don't think the preamp's A->D converter is as good as the SB's DAC... I basically wanted to just bypass the receiver's processing and just use it as an amplifier. I'm sure the preamp's digital input is perfectly fine, and you're right that I like how it sounds with the CD player. What I'm trying to say is that I suspect (but am not certain) that the SB's DAC is better than the receiver's DAC, so what I'd like to do is send the SB's analog output "unfiltered" to the speakers. I did not mean to imply that I'd rather do extra processing with the receiver JUST to use the SB's DAC... I meant that I'd rather be able to use JUST the SB's DAC. Now, obviously I don't know for sure that the receiver's DAC is inferior, and clearly I do like it with the CD player, so it'd probably be just as good using the SB's digital output. What I'm wondering is whether it would be even better using the SB's DAC directly (without extra processing by the receiver). If the receiver's "Direct" setting does indeed bypass the preamp's A->D conversion, then I'll be able to "easily" test whether the SB's DAC is better or not. If the "Direct" setting simply bypasses all the effects but still goes through the A->D conversion, then that won't help. You're right, this IS all just speculation... but isn't that what forum posts are all about? ;-) I'll start switching cables and playing with other settings in the morning, and I'll let you know how it turns out. P Floding Wrote: > And then you have those analogue direct inputs as well to try out... They're not actually separate inputs. The "Direct" setting is toggle-able, and can be enabled or disabled on all inputs. If I'm lucky, it shunts the input signal directly to the amplifier without going through the A->D conversion... if I'm not lucky, it just disables all the digital signal processing without modifying the signal path. Since the manual doesn't tell me, I can't really know without asking someone who's got detailed technical knowledge of this particular receiver. P Floding Wrote: > Go and move some cables now instead of speculating! I'm a scientist, it's my job to speculate! =) But yes, eventually theory must give way to experiments (but don't tell that to the theorists!). I'll get my hands dirty tomorrow. P Floding Wrote: > P.S: "New" gold coated connectors usually need a good cleaning. Good to know. I'll give them a cleaning tomorrow, too. What do you think of 'Radio Shack's Tuner Control Cleaner' (http://tinyurl.com/kldxu)? I've got some on-hand... (the active ingredients are 1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane, cyclomethicone, and mineral oil). Thanks for all the advice! I definitely appreciate it! -- cepheid ------------------------------------------------------------------------ cepheid's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3845 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=22635 _______________________________________________ audiophiles mailing list [email protected] http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
