Starting to venture into the world of integrated amps w/DAC

[tomlinmgt]

I'm building a living room system around a pair of recently acquired Klipsch Chorus II's. Because this system will have several digital sources that will be switched between frequently, and because this system will be used by others, I need an all in one solution that's simple to operate from a single remote...so I've pretty much ruled out separates for an integrated with built in DAC. I started simple and cheap with an NAD D 3020, but am ready to take it to the next level. I'm looking at the Peachtree Nova SE series, Cambridge Audio CXA 60 and NAD's new c368. The NuPrime IDA-8 would be my clear choice, but they've only equipped it with a single optical input and I need at least two. I also need pre outs and and a digital coax input (or two). Any others I should be considering? Has anyone spent any significant amount of time with any of the units I mentioned?

 

[seminole54]

What are the digital sources and what kind of outputs do they have available? Reason I ask is that the IDA-8 would be the logical choice. Will your budget allow you to go up to a used IDA-16 which has a better preamp and DAC than any of the units mentioned?

http://audiokarma.org/forums/index....ted-amp-dac-product-of-the-year-award.740938/

 

[tomlinmgt]

The sources will be an Amazon Fire TV (optical), ATT Uverse cable receiver (optical), Oppo DVD player (spdif), and windows laptop streaming Tidal (usb or spdif). The IDA-16 is a very nice unit, but with all that power feeding the 101db sensitivity Chorus II's I'm paying for a lot more power than I really need (for critical listening I was planning on usinging preouts for one of my tube amps)...and may wind up with an ultra sensitive volume control situation (perhaps not ideal for the uninitiated user). It's stretching the budget a bit, as well. I'd like to keep it around $1k or less.

 

[seminole54]

Can you just take the audio feed for the two video sources off of the TV's optical or SPDIF output. I have never really found the sound for those sources to be that much different done either way.

 

[tomlinmgt]

I could actually probably just take an analog audio signal from the Uverse receiver and run RCA's into the analog input of the IDA-8 as there isn't really any audio content on cable that I'm going to be that picky about wrt sound quality. But the other concern I have with the IDA-8 is the line out having "3x the standard output power....specifically designed for subwoofers". I'd really like to be able to use the IDA-8 as a pre/DAC to drive a separate amp (I have a TAD-60 and First Watt f5 clone) and fear the unorthodox output voltage may create an issue.

 

[seminole54]

I only used the pre-out for the subs and it wasn't a problem there at all. Never tried using it as a preamp as it was more than enough power with the Triton 5's. One solution for around $50 are a pair of Rothwell attenuators. I have both SE and XLR versions and they reduce the gain 10 db with no signal degradation that I have found. There is a dealer for the SE versions on EBay in NC.

 

[tomlinmgt]

Well now those attenuators sound like a reasonable solution (I didn't know such a thing existed). Looks I have no good reason to not get the IDA-8 now. It's practically impossible to find anything less than a glowing review or ample praise for it everywhere I look.

 

[HeyWaj10]

I'm really interested to see how the Elac EA101EQ-G integrated amp performs and reviews. It really does look like a complete package: dac, amp, headphone amp, room correction, eq features, and remote. If it can outperform the standard integrated amps out there (Marantz, Yamaha, NAD, etc.) in that price range, I would really look into getting on of them.

 

[tomlinmgt]

Thought I'd update this...I went with the Nuprime IDA-8 and have been listening to it for a few months now. This is an impressive little unit. Very impressive, actually. Absolutely brings a good bit more fidelity (in every category) to the table compared to the NAD D3020. These stock Chorus II's (with original, aged caps) and the IDA-8 sound very good together. Last night I messed with placement a little and found a spot that added a good bit of depth and resolution to the sound stage...illuminating the likelihood that the the Nuprime has even more performance in its bag of goodies that I've yet to extract. So with a set of stock Chorus II's and this unassuming little integrated/DAC and in a room that hasn't had any acoustic treatments (though with the existing furnishings and dimensions things are fairly favorable wrt acoustics) things are getting serious and I'm squarely back in the zone of some pretty high fidelity...reminiscent of where I'd climbed to with some of my nicer rigs when I was clawing my way up the audio chain in my dedicated listening space and with carefully selected separates. I still haven't compared it directly with any of my favorite separates, but I'm hearing what I'm hearing...the goods delivered in mass.

 

[Poultrygeist]

Don't know if you still need multiple optical inputs but this 3 into 1 works great and comes with a remote for under $20. These switchers can be found on Amazon and eBay.

 

[tomlinmgt]

Thanks for sharing that.

 

[tomlinmgt]

I'm really interested to see how the Elac EA101EQ-G integrated amp performs and reviews. It really does look like a complete package: dac, amp, headphone amp, room correction, eq features, and remote. If it can outperform the standard integrated amps out there (Marantz, Yamaha, NAD, etc.) in that price range, I would really look into getting on of them.

Did you every pursue the Elac? I'm pretty satisfied with my Nuprime, but I've been very interested in hearing some user feedback on the Elac.

 

[HeyWaj10]

I no longer needed to pursue it due to coming into a B&K receiver - more than happy with what I have!