Riiiiight...
So I've got a bee in my bonnet - yes, I'm slowly putting together a dedicated stereo system, but this is in the interest of faffing around in the meantime... so indulge me while I chase the dragon in trying to extract good stereo music performance from an HT setup.
Currently the main HT system also doubles as a stereo setup:
Fiddled Marantz CD67 or Plex Media PC --> Integra DHC 80.3 --> Sunfire Cinema Grand Signature II --> N802's, with the processor switched into Direct mode.
It does a good enough job, but obviously the DAC on the Integra leaves a bit to be desired - it's a tad bright and clinical, and not entirely made with music in mind.
Now I've been hoarding an Emotiva USP-1 preamp, which I reckon sounds pretty darn decent... and best of all, it has HT Bypass inputs...
And now a Vivere DAC has come up - something that's always intrigued me.
In the opinion of those who have tried this kind of thing in the past, the question would be whether the following setup would make for a significantly appreciable difference in stereo music presentation:
CD67 or HT PC feeding FLAC via USB --> Vivere --> USP-1 --> Sunfire --> N802's
In theory, it allows for the best of both worlds, as it doesn't require ditching an AV processor that does a brilliant job at HT...
Or am I better off just replacing the Integra with the XMC-1 or Yamaha processors that Carel is selling?
Thanks in advance!
So I've got a bee in my bonnet - yes, I'm slowly putting together a dedicated stereo system, but this is in the interest of faffing around in the meantime... so indulge me while I chase the dragon in trying to extract good stereo music performance from an HT setup.
Currently the main HT system also doubles as a stereo setup:
Fiddled Marantz CD67 or Plex Media PC --> Integra DHC 80.3 --> Sunfire Cinema Grand Signature II --> N802's, with the processor switched into Direct mode.
It does a good enough job, but obviously the DAC on the Integra leaves a bit to be desired - it's a tad bright and clinical, and not entirely made with music in mind.
Now I've been hoarding an Emotiva USP-1 preamp, which I reckon sounds pretty darn decent... and best of all, it has HT Bypass inputs...
And now a Vivere DAC has come up - something that's always intrigued me.
In the opinion of those who have tried this kind of thing in the past, the question would be whether the following setup would make for a significantly appreciable difference in stereo music presentation:
CD67 or HT PC feeding FLAC via USB --> Vivere --> USP-1 --> Sunfire --> N802's
In theory, it allows for the best of both worlds, as it doesn't require ditching an AV processor that does a brilliant job at HT...
Or am I better off just replacing the Integra with the XMC-1 or Yamaha processors that Carel is selling?
Thanks in advance!