preamp to warm up my airport express?

Anybody of any suggestions on how to warm up the sound from my airport express? Compared to my vinyl setup (both through a Marantz 2230), the AEX just sounds cold. Right now I'm running it through a cheapish little Fiio DAC and then to the Marantz. Any other DACs, maybe tube-based, that could get me some warmth in the maybe $200 range? And should I be running optical to the a DAC at all or just regular 1/8" from the AEX to the Marantz?

 

AEX has both optical and analog output ,have you tried both ?

 

why waste the money and add more equip to the chain? youve got tone controls on that marantz, good ones, use them!

 

I noticed a good deal of warmth when I added my Emotiva DAC to my old Harman Kardon receiver. And I use Apple TV for my front end. Upgrading your DAC may give you the difference you're looking for.

 

Yeah, the DAC sounds cleaner (in a good way), but both leave me missing something.

 

I've futzed with the mids, but it just doesn't get me there.

 

Do you have a budget in mind?

 

He listed $200

 

And just to add the ultimate reason for this - I love how my vinyl setup sounds so much that a) I only want to listen to stuff I have on vinyl b) I'm now only buying things on vinyl which is untenable because of space considerations and a lot of albums just aren't available.

 

Oops! Thanks for pointing that out. Must have forgotten it as soon as I read it.

Wow, I really have no idea what could done in that price range, to be perfectly honest. My DAC was just a hair over that @ $269.

I know Schiit makes some DAC's for under $200, and I've never heard anything but rave reviews about their equipment.

 

How about this? It fits in the budget and is specifically designed to "warm up" a digital bit stream.

 

I've been thinking about the Schiit stuff, but since I really want to use it more as a pre-amp I wonder how something like the Bifrost would work? The modi is USB input only, which rules it out for my usage from an AEX.

The budget is flexible for the right product. There are a bunch of russian and chinese tube-based dacs on amazon for under $200, some that get decent reviews on headfi, but unsure how they too would work as a preamp.

 

Hey, that looks pretty good! I'll have to read some reviews. Looks like a good option at first glance, especially with the preamp out jacks.

 

Wow, that looks pretty awesome. Just got done reading about it. Seems like a steal for $200!

 

You can also bypass the tube section if desired:

 

Warmth normally means distortion
I prefer clean.

 

Yes, but there is a happy medium there.

 

The midrange control on the Marantz isn't that great. It doesn't dig deep enough. You need to futz with your bass and treble.

 

I never had this Marantz receiver, but can tone controls actually create a "warm" sound? Seems as though they're at the mercy of the circuitry they're controlling. I certainly never had any luck trying that with any of my previous receivers. My Harman Kardon had a "somewhat warm" sound, but that's a signature of theirs. So I bypassed the tone controls on that one.

 

Well, i guess you could fake it by upping the mids and dropping the treble, which is what I tried. I'm most likely going to order that Maverick Audio DAC. It gets solid reviews around and the price is right. I wouldn't call it a total looker, but the functionality I'm looking for is all there.

 

I really don't see how you could go wrong with it. I'm glad gloomrider chimed in with that gem. As I said before, from everything I've read about since he posted that this morning, it's an absolute steal! Even though I'm completely enamored with my Emotiva, I'm kinda sorry I never stumbled across this one before buying it.

I predict you're going to absolutely love it, and get exactly the sound you're looking for. As for looks, eh, it's all subjective, right? Let's call it "unassuming". And one of those pieces that when others ask you how you made your system sound so good, you can point at and say, "it's all about this little guy..."

That's always a good feeling.

 

Well, I don't know how else to describe it. Warm = Bass > Treble. I think that's a law of audio physics.

 

But "tube warmth" can also mean the addition of even order harmonics, no?

 

Tube Buffer?

 

I don't even know what an airport express is. You say you are running it through "cheapish little Fiio DAC" but you don't say what it is or where it comes from. Complete the picture for this novice please.