Equipment Recommendations - The Home For New System and Upgrade Advice

folsom_lives said:
I’m having a hard time not doing the same. I have plans for a second system…
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I know there are many many people on here that recoil at the idea of using a room correction suite like Dirac with vinyl because yes, it's running through digital circuitry. But honestly, I think it's a game changer in terms of sound quality in sub optimal listening spaces and I'd challenge anyone to be able to discern a drop in analogue quality when it's setup properly and running (at least through my AVR). Not only that but this is the first time I've seen it available for a price this low, that's huge too.
 
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Mather said:
I know there are many many people on here that recoil at the idea of using a room correction suite like Dirac with vinyl because yes, it's running through digital circuitry. But honestly, I think it's a game changer in terms of sound quality in sub optimal listening spaces and I'd challenge anyone to be able to discern a drop in analogue quality when it's setup properly and running (at least through my AVR). Not only that but this is the first time I've seen it available for a price this low, that's huge too.
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If I could add DIRAC to my NAD preamp, I would.
 
HiFi Guy said:
If I could add DIRAC to my NAD preamp, I would.
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They've made it SO MUCH easier to use from the prior models. The software is just light years ahead of where it was even a few years back and the difference it makes in bass clarity is pretty incredible if you happen to be running a sub in a uh... "challenging" room like mine. But really for me it's the ability to fill in the frequency gaps and drops that you get in your standard listening room, just tightens everything up. Whenever I have someone new over and I show them the difference between having it running, and going Pure Direct all analogue, the difference is pretty incredible. It's definitely a nice tool to have if you don't happen to have a dedicated listening room and are sort of forced to make do with a wonky room like I have to.
 
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Alrighty, after watching and reading some reviews, I am really leaning towards the NAD C 3050. I want to make sure I understand one thing though, so it has a phono, line in, and main in. I could, of course, use the phono because I am using MM grados currently, but I could use the line in with a phono stage at some point in the future? I could also run something that had a preamp in it through the main, so if I got something like the marantz n30, I could use it's dac instead of the onboard with the NAD?
 
Lee Newman said:
Alrighty, after watching and reading some reviews, I am really leaning towards the NAD C 3050. I want to make sure I understand one thing though, so it has a phono, line in, and main in. I could, of course, use the phono because I am using MM grados currently, but I could use the line in with a phono stage at some point in the future? I could also run something that had a preamp in it through the main, so if I got something like the marantz n30, I could use it's dac instead of the onboard with the NAD?
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Yeah you’re right. The line in could be used for anything that is outputting a line level over RCA. So an outboard phono stage, your iPod if you had the universal dock, or CD player/streamer using its own DAC.

If you bought that Marantz you would want to use it’s own DAC and output over RCA to the line in just because the it’s an SACD player and the SACD layer can’t be output over digital, only decoded on board and output a analogue over RCA. If you had a CD transport or a cheaper CD player it’d likely sound better using the NADs DAC over optical/coax.
 
Joe Mac said:
Yeah you’re right. The line in could be used for anything that is outputting a line level over RCA. So an outboard phono stage, your iPod if you had the universal dock, or CD player/streamer using its own DAC.

If you bought that Marantz you would want to use it’s own DAC and output over RCA to the line in just because the it’s an SACD player and the SACD layer can’t be output over digital, only decoded on board and output a analogue over RCA. If you had a CD transport or a cheaper CD player it’d likely sound better using the NADs DAC over optical/coax.
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the 30N has some type of preamp on it as it has audio out and the features clearly state you could plug it into active speakers or a power amp through the same output. Regardless with the main, I could use this thing like a power amp if I decided to go separates at some point which is my thought there. Not necessarily in the cards, but a thought. (the 30N may be the next piece of kit I look towards if I like the pre on this - I may do the dirac board before all that though. As we all know my room is great but the speaker placement is sub ideal, if I could swing the board now I would, but I don't think I can.)
 
Lee Newman said:
the 30N has some type of preamp on it as it has audio out and the features clearly state you could plug it into active speakers or a power amp through the same output. Regardless with the main, I could use this thing like a power amp if I decided to go separates at some point which is my thought there. Not necessarily in the cards, but a thought. (the 30N may be the next piece of kit I look towards if I like the pre on this - I may do the dirac board before all that though. As we all know my room is great but the speaker placement is sub ideal, if I could swing the board now I would, but I don't think I can.)
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The 30n is an SACD/CD player so it has an audio out to connect to amps without a DAC. It also lets you use its DAC for the likes of a streamer which is great because its DAC is likely going to be miles ahead of any built in to an amp. It would want to be though, it costs a lot.

I don’t think it is a preamp though. It doesn’t have the ability to control volume that I can see so it couldn’t really be directly plugged into a power amp. It’d work directly with active speakers because they tend to have an integrated amp with volume control built into them.
 
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Joe Mac said:
The 30n is an SACD/CD player so it has an audio out to connect to amps without a DAC. It also lets you use its DAC for the likes of a streamer which is great because its DAC is likely going to be miles ahead of any built in to an amp. It would want to be though, it costs a lot.

I don’t think it is a preamp though. It doesn’t have the ability to control volume that I can see so it couldn’t really be directly plugged into a power amp. It’d work directly with active speakers because they tend to have an integrated amp with volume control built into them.
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Okay, clears that up. So if I wanted to use it’s dac use the rca interconnects, to use the nad’s I would use optical or coaxial?
 
Lee Newman said:
Okay, clears that up. So if I wanted to use it’s dac use the rca interconnects, to use the nad’s I would use optical or coaxial?
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Exactly that. But if you bought that its own DAC is meant to be so good, plus the ability to use SACDs, mean I wouldn’t bother with the NADs DAC. If I wanted to use the NADs DAC I’d probably save the money and spend less on a nice CD only transport.
 
Joe Mac said:
Exactly that. But if you bought that its own DAC is meant to be so good, plus the ability to use SACDs, mean I wouldn’t bother with the NADs DAC. If I wanted to use the NADs DAC I’d probably save the money and spend less on a nice CD only transport.
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I was just clarifying 😜
 
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