nonpattern said:
Hi all, I currently have use B&W 685 S2 speakers (which I intend to keep) with Cambridge Audio Azur 651A amplifier. I am thinking to add an Arcam irDAC to the system. Do you think it's a good idea? The other option would be to sell the Cambridge, add the money for the DAC and buy an amplifier in the £800-900 range, that already has an integrated DAC. Will the Arcam irDAC work fine later if I decide to upgrade to a an amplifier that already has an integrated DAC? Thanks for reading!
I guess it will depend on your sources and what you think is lacking in your system right now.
The budget and middle market seems to be moving away from separate dacs, as you say a lot of amplifiers have them built in and separate dacs are begining to look rather expensive
In the new Cambridge CX range all the amps and recievers have built in dacs and their CD player does not, it is purely a transport. For the price you are quoting their are a fair few amps that have digital inputs, Cambridge as mentioned, Creek 50a, Quad Vena, Peachtree are standout options and there are more mainstream models too.