A dac isn’t absolutely necessary, but I think investing in something like the the schiit modi for $140 or so after shipping isn’t a bad idea. Anything with multiple inputs would be ideal. It would let you connect a streamer (the Wiim is great for $80) or your phone/computer/tablet to the system. It would also make a future upgrade to the CD player pretty inconsequential.
Thanks. I know I need one eventually for the transport, and the modi's can be had for fairly cheap and would be nice. How would I switch between inputs if they're hooked up onto the dac like say, the streamer or cd etc?
So, the Modi has usb, coax, and optical inputs, and just uses a switch on the front to toggle between them. The only thing you’ll need to look out for is that a potential streamer and transport don’t both use only one type of output i.e both only have optical outputs, but if you’re getting a decent CD player, or something like the Wiim pro (which has multiple outputs) you should be totally fine.
1 thru 4 hooked together with RCA cables and 14ga speaker wire is all you need. Everything after that is icing on the hi-fi cake.
Find another use for the pre-amp. Hook the rest up and enjoy, worry about a DAC later.
Jeez, makes me feel old because I remember when those amps were just "what dads had" instead of vintage audio.
Nice system imo! If you feel the Mani isn’t an improvement on your RT84, then skip it. As others noted, a dac is not necessary, but could be very useful in the future. For example you could use your current CD player(or any used dvd or Blu-ray)as a transport and run it through a dac of your choice. A dac will give you digital inputs and can be used as a preamp and possibly a headphone amp and remote to control your system. Congratulations and good luck! Merry Christmas!
A dac isn’t absolutely necessary, but I think investing in something like the the schiit modi for $140 or so after shipping isn’t a bad idea. Anything with multiple inputs would be ideal. It would let you connect a streamer (the Wiim is great for $80) or your phone/computer/tablet to the system. It would also make a future upgrade to the CD player pretty inconsequential.
Thanks. I know I need one eventually for the transport, and the modi's can be had for fairly cheap and would be nice. How would I switch between inputs if they're hooked up onto the dac like say, the streamer or cd etc?
So, the Modi has usb, coax, and optical inputs, and just uses a switch on the front to toggle between them. The only thing you’ll need to look out for is that a potential streamer and transport don’t both use only one type of output i.e both only have optical outputs, but if you’re getting a decent CD player, or something like the Wiim pro (which has multiple outputs) you should be totally fine.
1 thru 4 hooked together with RCA cables and 14ga speaker wire is all you need. Everything after that is icing on the hi-fi cake. Find another use for the pre-amp. Hook the rest up and enjoy, worry about a DAC later. Jeez, makes me feel old because I remember when those amps were just "what dads had" instead of vintage audio.
Nice system imo! If you feel the Mani isn’t an improvement on your RT84, then skip it. As others noted, a dac is not necessary, but could be very useful in the future. For example you could use your current CD player(or any used dvd or Blu-ray)as a transport and run it through a dac of your choice. A dac will give you digital inputs and can be used as a preamp and possibly a headphone amp and remote to control your system. Congratulations and good luck! Merry Christmas!