Do AV receivers double convert analog signal

manindra.mukherjee

Active Member
Joined
Oct 10, 2012
Messages
215
Points
43
Location
Mumbai
I tried searching the net without being able to get a satisfactory answer to the below query of mine

Does AV receiver convert analog signals to digital and then from D->A via DAC . If this be true , does it make sense to invest in any external DAC at all when using a AV receiver for listening to music.

I am planning to DIY a RPI 4 with an Allo Boss DAC as a network streamer and plan to connect to my AVR analog inputs. Is the external DAC redundant in this case or will the AVR bypass the internal DAC for all analog signals being sent. While playing spotify via ARC HDMI on my TV and when using my 3.5mm out to RCA on my Echo dot , i see s substantial audio quality difference (the sound over HDMI ARC sounding much better). I am assuming that since Echo dot is transmitting analog signal and it uses its own DAC , there is no further ADC and DAC conversion happening at AVR.

Is my understanding correct ?
 
Its more Digital to Analog conversion that your receiver does. That's the way music or sound reaches your loudspeakers. The reverse can happen only if you feed an analog signal and then get it to output via the digital outputs. I doubt if your receiver has any. Few do.

When you plug in the external DAC (or like you do for your Echo) using the analog inputs of the receiver, it is not using the AV receivers internal DAC circuit.

Whether an external DAC like the one you are looking at will make a difference, thats going to need a trial. Loan a external dac from someone and check if it makes any difference.
 
Yes, you got it right. AV Receiver does perform the ADC/DAC conversion (Audyssey Room Correction/Bass Mgmt.) for any input signal unless you are using the Pure Direct mode. BTW, what AVR are you talking about here? Yamaha/Denon/Marantz has a pretty good DAC built-in. While most AVR out of the box supports Spotify Connect (you can control it from Mobile Spotify App), I don't see any reason to introduce an external DAC in the chain unless I am missing anything here.

Edit:-
Here is a detailed thread on this topic.
 
Last edited:
Yes, you got it right. AV Receiver does perform the ADC/DAC conversion (Audyssey Room Correction/Bass Mgmt.) for any input signal unless you are using the Pure Direct mode. BTW, what AVR are you talking about here? Yamaha/Denon/Marantz has a pretty good DAC built-in. While most AVR out of the box supports Spotify Connect (you can control it from Mobile Spotify App), I don't see any reason to introduce an external DAC in the chain unless I am missing anything here.

Edit:-
Here is a detailed thread on this topic.

I have an old Yamaha V375 AVR which doesnot have any BT or wireless networking . Hence was planning to introduce a network streamer specially for spotify. Now as per the thread , my understanding is that irrespective of whether the input signal is analog or digital , the AVR will perform ADC and then DAC conversion which means that any external DAC is purely redundant and of no use .
 
I have an old Yamaha V375 AVR which doesnot have any BT or wireless networking . Hence was planning to introduce a network streamer specially for spotify. Now as per the thread , my understanding is that irrespective of whether the input signal is analog or digital , the AVR will perform ADC and then DAC conversion which means that any external DAC is purely redundant and of no use .
Exactly, all you need is a Pi4/Volumio based streamer connected directed to the AVR via HDMI. No need for any additional DAC in the Chain. It will kill the fidelity further. Pi4/Volumio3 supports bit-perfect streaming. So, connecting this set-up to AVR via HDMI and passing the bitstream directly to AVR makes perfect sense. Volumio also supports Tidal Connect (Rs.229/Month) and Spotify Connect, making the Tidal/Spotify integration seamless from any Mobile device.
 
Buy from India's official online dealer!
Back
Top