Hello my name is Michael I have been following Ascend for a few years now. I picked up the Sierra 1 NRT upgrade L-C-R two years ago and love the sound. As an onlooker I am a fan of the product-first principle the Ascend company stands for.

Anyway, I'm currently powering the LR speakers with the ADCOM GFP-555ii and GFA-555ii preamp/amp combo. I think the bottleneck in the system is my PC's USB-out into a topping D10 DAC and RCA into the analog preamp. From what I've heard, ADCOM's preamps are not in the same league as their amps. I'm looking maybe for some insight into how well this system should perform. There is quite noticeable signal noise from the topping back to the PC.

To eliminate this issue and (get with the times) I'm looking at the Denon RCD N12 to use as a preamp to the GFA-555ii and have PC optical & HDMI ARC. Integrated CD player is big factor too. I've seen hardly anything on the internet for this product. Does anyone have experience with the Denon and is it risky to assume the internal DAC will be good?

Thank you
Michael