Thank you!

Yes 100%. There is a separate setting on the Marantz and Denon receiver for 2-channel where you need to make that configuration. Great point!

Thanks. No difference. On the Marantz that input has HDMI connectivity and that’s why I chose that.

Thank you!

I just brought a arcam avr 30 and love it does run warm though so I purchased a ac infinity aircon t10 have it set to 87 and she pretty much stays there. Only use it for two channel though vinyl and reel to reel, cd sound horrible on it though have not been able to get Dirac live setup yet to much noise in home right now. But my question is I have like 200 albums on my external hard drive and want to listen to them from my Mac is this the way to connect it ? And how does that dac stack up to say a SMSL vmw d1. Have a fluance 85n turntable a teac x 1000r vintage dcm time frame 5 speakers, have a set of klipsch r 26f but I'm not impressed with them on the Arcam they sound good with my dennon and my onkyo avr but way to bright on arcam. Also have a vintage onkyo m 504 and p305 that I am using for a pre amp for the fluance until I settle on a preamp, and thinking about using the m504 to power the system and use the Arcam as a processor I know I'm all over the place but I'm just tired of the surround sound and just want to close my eyes and two channel myself to death right now

@buddiec41 Thanks for the question. I couldn’t help but smile at your last statement. Amir at AudioScience reviewed the SMSL VMW D1. I am including a link to that review below. As long as you use Balanced output I believe you will be happy with its performance. The Arcam AVR 30 doesn’t have balanced inputs and therefore you will need to use RCA connections. On your other question about the external drive, you would connect the external drive via USB to your Mac. Connect your DAC to the Mac via USB and then output from the DAC into the Arcam via RCA. Follow the directions in the video to setup your audio out correctly on the Mac and then on the audio player that you use. Happy listening! audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/review-and-measurements-of-smsl-vmv-d1-dac.4375/

Hi. Laptop to DAC via USB, DAC to preamp via XLR or RCA if your preamp has XLR that’s preferred, preamp to amp via RCA or XLR. You can also go direct from DAC to amp via XLR but you need to be cautious with that and make sure the DAC has enough voltage for the amp and MUST make sure the volume on the DAC is set to zero and not max. I used to have the Oppo DAC which I would connect to an amp directly because the Oppo DAC had a digital volume control. Having the preamp in the mix makes it easier and simpler.

@@magnoliamo great, thank you good sir :)

@@Gibonz My pleasure!

I am assuming you have a preamp, equalizer, and an external amp. That’s the only way to hookup an equalizer. It would go between the preamp and amp. The DAC connects to the preamp.

Yes as long as you have iOS 14.5 or above you should be able to connect the iPad to your DAC via USB to achieve the highest resolution. Make sure Tidal is set to output max resolution.

@@magnoliamo Thank u for your quick response. Researching some more, I found that my amplifier - Arcam AVR 10 has a WiFi setup…So, I can connect my iPad (with Tidal) through WiFi. ANy thoughts on that?

The audio going into the DAC is going to be via a USB in. Not via RCA and therefore it will have all the bits that are needed for the DAC to decode. The output from the DAC is via RCA and yes RCA output to your preamp or directly into your amp will have all the detail. Hope that makes sense. Thanks for the question. If your DAC has HDMI in than you can use that as well. Typically HDMI in from a PC into an outboard DAC will add jitter to the signal and can degrade the signal. Thanks for the question.

So would i get jitter going hdmi from my pc to my yamaha avr?

@@user-tv4kh1pe4r all new receivers and processors employ some sort of jitter reduction technology these days. This article provides all you need to know about HDMI jitter. Audioscience Review also has KZfaq channel. audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/a-deep-dive-into-hdmi-audio-performance.56/

This is a very good DAC/Streamer. Personally, I would use the analog RCA output over the optical because then you can fully utilize the hi-res decoding capabilities of the built in DACs on the Fiio R7. This thing can decode sampling rates up to 384 kHz/32 bit and DSD256. You can use the optical output but it will limit the sampling rates to 96 hz and no DSD256. Enjoy!😉

Good question. No it’s not. You will have to engage pure direct/analog direct on the receiver and then you are good to go. But, depending on your receiver it still may not be “Pure”, i.e., the receiver could still be doing analog to digital conversion. So, check the manual to be absolutely sure. I know Marantz, Denon, Pioneer, and Yamaha will not do any Analog to digital conversion in pure direct or analog direct mode.

Hi. What kind of USB DAC are planning on using. If that DAC is better than the micro hifi system then yes you will get better audio than with what’s built in to the micro hifi system. Once you connect the analog RCA into your hifi system and play is direct mode the sound from the DAC will not go through built in DACs in the hifi system.

@@magnoliamo i am using fx audio x6 dac and my micro hifi system dont have any option to chose direct mode you can google micro hifi system SONY NAS-M70HD if that helps you to better understand n i would really appriciate if you could help me listning to flac or wav files...!!

@aLiRazA-sc7tv RCA input is pass though since there is no eq or other processing going on in the unit. The DAC you are using will produce better audio. I prefer flac because it takes up less space compared to WAV files. I don’t hear a difference between WAV and FLAC files in my system. FLAC uses lossless compression. WAV is uncompressed.

@@magnoliamo so you mean my sony amp is not converting my dac signals again?? if yes then why cant i hear clear difference btw 320kbps mp3 and flac file is it because of my micro hifi system is not so good...??

From the DSP it will output via RCA to 3 amplifiers (2 four channel and a monoblock powering an active 3way front, rear fill and subwoofers for a HQ sound set up

That’s a hell of a car audio setup! I am not an expert in car audio but I do know signal processing. The Sennuopu X14 is a signal processor in of itself. I’m not sure what DACs it has. But the Fiio bta30 has ESS Sabre ES9038Q2M DAC which is awesome. The signal from the Fiio bta30 would have already passed through digital to analog conversion via the ESS Sabre DACs. It’s best to use analog RCA out from Fiio bta30 for audio signal. That analog signal can then pass through the Sennuopu x14 but you are defeating the purpose of having the Sennuopu signal processor because you are converting the analog back to digital in order to process the signal through Sennuopu. The Sennuopu already has digital to signal processing as far as I understand. So, I guess try and see if you hear a difference headunit->fiio->sennuopu->amps or headunit->sennuopu->amps

Thanks for the response I'm 62 and considered to be a "cheap" audiophile in that sense. At home I have Denon 7.2 with diy 12" subs and Mission 5.1 towers with in-ceiling speakers, BenQ projector, 4 meter wide screen. In bedroom I have BRZHIFI X21 Chinese amps with diy 6.5 two way and 8" subs. Also have a Maverick headphone amp with Sennheiser HD 650 for private listening. I'm 62 all my years was also into car audio multiple amp systems in my car but this time around want to fit a decent SQ hi end sound that will out perform everything I have at home. I already have all the components and currently busy with the active front stage fabrication and installation (Mid/tweeter in custom pods in a- pillars, 8"midbass in kick panels (free air) and front 10" sub. So my question was just about the components interconnect as I need only to purchase the right cabling be it optical / coaxial and quality RCA? Thanks for your response if possible when project completed can share some pics if interested

I will also as you suggested try out different interface connections and see what gives me the best possible audio signal/satisfaction to my ears