Would XDA-1 help me?

[ocezam]

When I listen to 2 channel I only listen to CD's, although one of these days I'll stream my iTunes to that room.

My set up now:
Sony 300 disk changer, optical out to RX-V756 used as pre/pro, to XPA-5 to Magnepan 1.6's. For two channel I listen with the RX-V765 in Pure Direct mode.

How much would the XDA-1 help? The digital side of modern audio isn't one of my strengths. The AVR has Burr-Brown 192 kHz/24-bit DACs. It seems the AVR's DAC is spec'd the same as the XDA's DAC, and both DAC's are spec'd higher than the output of the CD player, correct?. Would there be a sound difference?

I could run the XDA through the AVR, using pure direct, or straight to the XPA through a splitter or switch so the AVR is still connected also. Would this be even better than through the AVR?

The lack of base management doesn't bother me. I listen to my Magnepans without the sub for 2 channel most of the time.

Sorry if my questions are those of a neophyte. I bought my first CD player in '83, one of the first gen models. However I've never kept up with the advancement of digital audio.

[redcarpet]

I have the same question, will you notice any improvement by adding an XDA to UMC-1?

[jlafrenz]

The stand alone DAC should provide better performance than your AVR for 2 channel listening. You can run it through your AVR in a pure direct mode if you want. I like the second option of using some sort of switch to allow the AVR and the DAC to connect to the amp directly and this is similar to how I have my system connected. Each source goes through a passive pre, which is actually a switch with an attenuator (acts as volume control) so that only it is the source to the amps when each of them is playing. Essentially they act independently from one another. In your case you would not necessarily need the attenuation/volume control portion because the DAC and the AVR would have their own volume control.