will
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I don't know about DACs with volume these days, but they are getting good by all reports, including yours. Question is, does the particular DAC adjust output voltage like the ZDSD and CSP do, and therefore adjust sound qualities? In my room voltage-out can be a pretty big deal, but not for volume, for tuning.
I wonder if you have tried the CSP in your desktop setup, used for sound and gain riding rather than volume.
Though no doubt different with our different systems and rooms, I think I get some of Stone’s conclusions having tried the ZDSD with a CSP3 together here.
With the ZDSD's adjustable output voltage, along with Steve's very transparently tuned output, ZDSD adjustments make a pretty big difference in its sound..a nice tuning tool. Then, aside from how we basically can make the CSP3 a lot of different pres using different tubes, the CSP3 adjusts output voltage also, potentially by quite a lot. Along with its tube volume pot adjustments, and its OTL signal path, it imparts its own sound that also can be pretty varied depending on settings alone.
That said, I found that the ZDSD and the CSP3 individually had relatively narrow setting values for which each sounded their best. And since both loaded up signal power at my favorite settings, increasing the body and clarity at the same time...it was not exactly redundancy...but depending on recordings, the increased signal density from both together could be really nice, or a bit much in my system. I should note that my system already had great signal density though, so it is relatively easy to overdo it.
I also had another challenge. My NOS Tranquility DAC, having been designed/optimized for very natural, complex, and revealing Redbook playback...it allowed me to reach levels of revealing transparency in my system/room that just seemed normal. It was only after loads of time experimenting with the ZDSD, that I realized that the way my system had evolved with the Tranquility, was a little too strong a lens for the Tascam DAC circuit in the ZDSD (at least for my rebook collection). Steve's very real and clean output being so revealing, and my CSP3 set to be very revealing contributed to this. But mostly I think the way my highly tuned computer feeds the Tranquility, and their ability to musically reveal “analog” complexity from Redbook...this made it possible to go deeply into "revealing" over time. For this reason, with all error corrected, uncompressed redbook, the ZDSD in this setting could not overall come up to my Tranquility setup for Redbook.
Whereas, Stone’s DAC quest, for Rebook (in his system/room and with his transport) revealed that the ZDSD was the best of some very well respected DACs he tried. He also found his ZDSD setup better without the CSP3. But in my case, the CSP3 tuned to pull the most from it (not as a volume), the CSP3 supports/improves playback quality as a whole.
This is not to say that one front end is better or worse, but more, that how a DAC or Pre sound is totally dependent on its own qualities, but as much, on how they are tuned in the system with...source, room, system components, cables, power, etc, etc. And here, two adjustable voltage out circuits of Decware quality, can be really good, or can potentially be too much depending how they are tuned, and on the rest of the system/room tuning.
The way I use the CSP3, it is set up first to sound its best. Then the volume is used in a fairly narrow range for gain riding with the amp, as a means to adjust body, clarity, dynamics to make different recording qualities sound better.
Using the CSP3 as a primary system volume gives a family sound, but different sound qualities (ones I personally don’t prefer)...another variable to look at in your question.
If you like the qualities you can get with your CSP, not as a volume, but set for the very best sound you can pull from it in your system/room, a DAC with transparent volume could be a really good thing with the CSP. This would allow the preamp decision to be more about sound than volume, allowing optimizing the CSP for ultimate sound and gain riding. It would also provide the choice as to whether to use the CSP or not. Thinking of possibly upgrading to the CSP3. Its sound can be adjusted with two sets of pots, one set for the input tube, and one set for the output tubes, making each tube position and how they integrate together tunable; also you have some good cap choices; and at least as far as we have heard, it is Steve’s latest CSP for sound quality (though I can imagine a CSP4 on the horizon with recent advancements elsewhere...).
Another consideration... I had a stock CSP3 upgraded to Jupiter caps, and the caps used make it a different pre really. This would likely be the case with your CSP, presenting another option.
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