Meridian G68 as a DAC with a Moon 340i X

[dhansak]

I am currently running a Moon 340i X integrated amp in my system, which is predominantly focused on vinyl playback.

Rega P8 > Apheta 3 > Gold Note PH-10 and PSU-10 > Moon 340i X > Dynaudio Special Forty

I have a cheap Topping E30 which I use for gaming, TV, movies, and background digital music listening.

At the weekend I picked up a used Meridian G68ADV (at a great price) which I am planning to use as a DAC, not a pre-amp. My thinking is that I can run the digital inputs to the G68, from my TV and streamer, and then connect the G68 to my Moon integrated using the second or third-zone line-level outputs. I want to retain the all analogue signal path for my turntable.

QUESTION: Has anyone here used a G68 in such a way? Any gotchas? Are there any DRM concerns? Assume downmixing to 2 channels will work in the same way as it would if used as a pre-amp with setup in only stereo.

 

[bencat]

Can I just check with you that the rear of your unit looks like this one ?

https://www.meridian-audio.info/public/g68j[1217].pdf
If yours is the same then I would say the main out on RCA pair would be the best option for sound quality . However it may well be that this output would be controlled by the Meridians volume control etc which may not be what you want . The Zone outputs above it appear to be line out only but will have been subject to any treatment and filtering that you do on the Meridian including DSP . Not sure if you can do a full bypass but it should be possible . Then again as the unit contains quite a highly specified DSP Room Correction section that also my well be something you could use to good effect as well but of course that will only be on sources connected through your Meridian and not thise directly connected to your amplifier .

 

[dhansak]

Update: My Moon amp allows a bypass of it's preamp section on A2 inputs so I have connected the Meridian to that.

This means that, for digital sources, I can use the Meridian G68 on it's main outputs as the processor/preamp and the Moon as a power amp only.

For vinyl, I can use the balanced inputs to the Moon and maintain a fully analogue signal path, using the Moon as the pre-amp.

This is pretty much the best solution I could have hoped for.

Curve ball: I have connected my phono stage by RCA to the Meridian and just A/B'd the sound quality between each preamp (one which digitises the signal) and they sound different but I couldn't say which one is better or worse........

More testing to follow!

I haven't yet done room correction as I don't have the mic yet but being able to apply this to my vinyl, whilst potentially sacrilegious, might be desirable.

If I end up using the system like this then it would make sense to move on the Moon and use the money to get a power amp only.

 

[bencat]

As someone who makes a big use of DSP room correction I would always say give it a try and see if you like it . The good thing is you can just ignore it if you do not like it .

 

[Tintinabulum]

Good detail here-
https://www.meridian-audio.info/show.php?compid=25