Linn Akurate DSM

[Antoine]

Interesting. Is it possible to disable internal ADC and use Devialet as a pure integrated amp or pure power amp?

Yes. You are right. That is why majority of streamers (transport+DAC) use I2S interface with reclocking system. It is the most advanced way to send digital data from transport to DAC nowadays.

There is no reason to worry. But taking into account the fact that Akurate DS is not only transport, but also DAC with high-quality internal volume control, it is possible to use it with a pure two-channel power amp. Why do you need Devialet then?
Triple-convertion (from digital to analog and then analog to digital and then again digital to analog) is not good for SQ.

No, it's not possible to disable the ADC inside the Devialets for analog inputs. All inputs signals must be(come) digital as they all tie in to the DSP which is the central hub of the Devialet. It's needed for the ADH amplifier part to do it's work. The ADC is known to be very transparant (as is the rest of the Devialet design) capturing even the analog sound character of an external DAC.

Yes, at least in theory the triple conversion should be detrimental for SQ to some degree. It could however be that in the end it is still sounds better than the digital output of the Akurate. Not saying it does but I've learned one simply can't generalize based on textbook knowledge/theory alone. In the end it's the real world result that matters.