Re: AT analog output

Thanks for the advice. 
And Happy Mardi Gras everybody!
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Peter G. Viscarola 
  To: [email protected] 
  Sent: Monday, February 07, 2005 11:04 PM
  Subject: Re: [AT] AT analog output


  > 
  > Following your suggestion I had a look on ebay for DACs. 
  > There is a huge variation in price. What do you lose buying a 
  > cheap one? What should you stay away from/look for? Thanks Grant
  >

  I'd suggest you stay away from Ebay, and instead would recommend
  www.audiogon.com (I have no present or former affiliation with either
  site).  At least audiogon tends to be a smaller community, so I
  personally feel a bit "safer" buying there.

  There are a lot of differences in DACs... Both in the D/A performance
  and in the analog audio stage quality.  For the purposes of using a DAC
  with the AT, the D/A performance really won't be the issue. You don't
  need anything better than basic 16/44 (standard CD decoding). So, the
  money you spend gets you better quality handling of the audio signal
  AFTER it's been converted and before it gets to your pre-amp.

  In terms of what to look for: Don't forget to make sure the unit has a
  TOSlink interface  and (unless you have a more "advanced" pre-amp)
  unbalanced analog audio outputs (normal RCA connectors). Note that not
  all DACs have both of these, and some have neither!

  If you're just looking for a good DAC to play your AT through, and
  you're not going to become Mr. Audio, I'd recommend staying away from
  anything with tubes.  That should be sorta obvious, but...

  Lots of the classified on Audiogon have links to reviews/descriptions of
  the unit for sale, which can be helpful (especially when augmented with
  googling).

  There are almost always DACs for sale from the MSB series Link DAC
  series. These DACs were first introduced back in 1999, are inexpensive,
  and generally receive good reviews. Google "MSB Link DAC" and you'll get
  a ton of them.

  I see a few "Channel Islands" DACs for sale there also.  These also
  generally get good reviews, though are not as widely knows as the MSB.

  Peter