Questions from a Newbie

[Echoplex]

Hey,

Sorry if all these questions sound completely simple or have been answered but I am quite new to whole audio thing. I was clearing out the loft the other day and found my dad's amp (pioneer a-400) and the CD, turn table, tuner and tape separates to match.

Rather than get rid of it I am interested in setting it up so I can use it, my only problem is everything I want to connect to the amp is modern stuff like MP3 players, phones, laptops and games consoles etc, so I have a few questions mainly out of interest;

1. Am I right in thinking that things I want to connect are digital and the amp I have is analogue? Is this what a DAC is for, do you just connect all your digital stuff to the DAC which converts back to analogue and then connect that to the amp?

2. The DAC I looked at didn't say analogue out but said phono out, my amp has phono in, how is this different to the other analogue inputs, i.e the ones the cd player, tape deck, turn table and tuner would plug into?

3. Is analogue sound better or worse than digital and does converting digital to analogue via a DAC reduce the sound quality?

Sorry the post is so long and full of questions but thank you to anyone who takes the time to help me out,

Thanks

Chris

 

[The_Lhc]

3. Is analogue sound better or worse than digital and does converting digital to analogue via a DAC reduce the sound quality?

You can't listen to "digital" sound directly, it's basically noise, so you have to convert it to analogue, so don't worry about that.

The DAC should say line-out, rather than phono out (what DAC is it?), the Phono In on your amp will be specifically designed for a Turntable, you shouldn't plug anything other than a turntable into that input (and only a Turntable that doesn't have a phono stage built-in to it already as well).

 

[BigH]

I will attempt to clarify a few points. All digital needs converting to hear it, so your laptop/mp3 player will have a DAC inside, so you should be able to connect it to your amp with the correct cable, you may have to use a headphone out socket?

Phono on your amp will be for turntable. Phono on the amp will have phono stage which will amp. the low output from the Turntable. Best to play your laptop through a cd/tape or tuner inputs sockets or via a DAC if your laptop/mp3 has the correct output connection.

 

[Echoplex]

http://www.whathifi.com/review/cambridge-audio-dacmagic-plus is the DAC i was looking at, i think i got a bit confussed as it does have an RCA out which is what you plug into the amp, right?

 

[davedotco]

So you would need a digital to analogue converter (dac) that has sufficient inputs of the right type to handle all of your other sources.

They would be converted into a 'normal' analogue music signal and outputed at line level, usually on two RCA type plugs which are often referred to as phono plugs. A standard RCA (phono to phono) cable will transfer the signal to any of the line inputs on your A400, which although labled CD, Tuner, Tape etc wlll usually be all the same.

Confusingly the phono to phono leads described above are carrying a line level signal of around 1 volt and should be connected as above. The 'phono input' on an amplifier is specitically designed for the connection of a turntable, which produces a very different signal indeed, in the region of 5 millivolts.

Do not use this input unless you are sure of what you are doing.

 

[davedotco]

http://www.whathifi.com/review/cambridge-audio-dacmagic-plus is the DAC i was looking at, i think i got a bit confussed as it does have an RCA out which is what you plug into the amp, right?

Crossed posts.

The Dacmagic Plus is actually more than you need, it has a volume control and headphone amp that you already have on your A400 (I think it has a headphone socket) and a few other fearures that you are paying for but don't need. Nothing at all wrong with the Plus, just more than you need at this point.

The cheaper Dacmagic 100 is more basic but should still do what you require, comes with a good free dock and cable at the moment, ideal if you have an iPod or similar with the 30 pin connector. At £200 for dac and dock, it could be just what you need.

 

[Echoplex]

Thanks for the post, that cleared it all up in my head. Does anyone know if the A-400 is actually good enough to warrent getting a DAC and new speakers?

 

[BigH]

Never heard it myself but have read it was pretty good at the time, so yes I think it will be worth it if it is working alright.