Polk XRt12 thru DAC
steveinaz
Posts: 19,545
Got bored last night and decided to try the Polk XM tuner thru my Benchmark DAC, via coaxial cable.
It's not a worthwhile thing----why? Well, although the music did sound better in alot of ways, flaws of the XM compressed signal were also highlighted; sort of a "double-edged" sword scenario. I also noticed the "Error" led flickering every now & then on the DAC w/the XM signal.
The built-in DAC/analog section of the Polk tuner helps to hide the flaws of the XM tansmitted signal---a good thing in this case...
Just an FYI.
It's not a worthwhile thing----why? Well, although the music did sound better in alot of ways, flaws of the XM compressed signal were also highlighted; sort of a "double-edged" sword scenario. I also noticed the "Error" led flickering every now & then on the DAC w/the XM signal.
The built-in DAC/analog section of the Polk tuner helps to hide the flaws of the XM tansmitted signal---a good thing in this case...
Just an FYI.
Source: Bluesound Node 2i - Preamp/DAC: Benchmark DAC2 DX - Amp: Parasound Halo A21 - Speakers: MartinLogan Motion 60XTi - Shop Rig: Yamaha A-S501 Integrated - Source: Rotel CD14MkII CD Player - Speakers: Elac Debut 2.0 B5.2
Post edited by steveinaz on
Comments
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Great post. I am currently using the analog connection and I agree that it seems to hide the flaws of the original XM signal. Most of the issues appear to be from the bitrate used, and not necessarily the music itself. In fact, I would say that most of the music on XM appears to be quite dynamic and the upper channels (Symphony Hall / XM Pops) are really "fine" channels. Despite the bandwidth restrictions, the music itself is still of good quality, and that's what matters the most.
I wonder if this still holds true with the other tuner Polk makes - the Sirius SR-H1000.polkaudio RT35 Bookshelves
polkaudio 255c-RT Inwalls
polkaudio DSWPro550WI
polkaudio XRT12 XM Tuner
polkaudio RM6750 5.1
Front projection, 2 channel, car audio... life is good!
