Hello from Paris and a question

[admin]

Got it. Makes sense. My general philosophy is to buy the functions you need/want, but not too much more. Having extra hardware in the package that you don't utilize just means that production costs were allocated to components that are not being used. That means less resources were put into the ones that are.

Again, it looks like this will be a solid performer and offers the different functions that you are looking for.

[Noventa98]

An quick update for those who may be interested.

I got the RME ADI-2 DAC and wow, already out of the box the quality is superior, but one has the added benefit of being able to squeak the sound even further according to your needs and preferences. So, definitely worth it.

While I wait for a streamer (most probably a Wiim) I have tested with smartphone and tablet and the results are excellent. I tested output with or without the CJ preamp and I preferred when the DAC is directly connected to the CJ power amplifier.

We also blind tested with one of my musician nephews the PrimaLuna Prologue8 CD with a coaxial cable to the DAC and connected directly to the CJ power amplifier and the result was that everyone prefers the sound through the DAC to the one through the preamp. The preamp sounded a bit warmer, but maybe too much. The combo RME DAC and CJ power amplifier was excellent: not too warm nor too analytical.

[admin]

Glad it worked out. Different folks are going to have different preferences. So if directly connecting these components to your amp sound better to you, then by all means. If there are volume controls on the units, then you really don't need a dedicated preamp. I supposed this kind of limits you to one source without the need to rewire however.

The Wiim is a low cost entry point streamer. If you have funds, I would try to get a bluesound Node if you can swing a slightly higher budget. I own both and pretty much never touch the Wiim.

[Noventa98]

Thank you very much. The RME has volume control indeed. Thanks for the advise on the streamer. I'll check again on the Bluesound before acquiring it. For the time being the iOs Tablet or android smartphone are put to work over USB cable without using their DAC.

[admin]

Thank you very much. The RME has volume control indeed. Thanks for the advise on the streamer. I'll check again on the Bluesound before acquiring it. For the time being the iOs Tablet or android smartphone are put to work over USB cable without using their DAC.

Cool. Make sure the phones/tablets are not resampling the audio. They have a tendency to do so and not pass bitperfect audio out.