Raspberry pi into power amp

[Miserablegit]

Good morning all- I’ve been looking at DAC hats but can’t seem to find one which provides a variable output to connect directly to a power amp.

Is anyone able to assist please?
Many thanks

[OutInTheShed]

I have used a Pimoroni line out DAC hat with a hifi amp.
The output is variable just as you can control the volume your PC gives out, but if you reduce the volume digitally you are losing bits of resolution.
TBH you may tend to get some noise out of the Pi DAC, so it may be best to set the level high for best SNR and use a separate analogue pre-amp or volume control.

I spent some time playing with clean PSUs and filtering and all that to get a DAC breakout board to work firstly as well as the Pimoroni thing, then a bit better. The same chip is available on a little PCB for a few quid.

You can get I2C volume control chips, which could be controlled by the Pi
You can get motor-driven analogue volume pots which could be controlled by the Pi.
What kind of THD level would be acceptable? What is the application?

I'm not aware of an OTS solution, but would be interested.

[Miserablegit]

Many thanks for the reply- you’ve covered aspects I had overlooked.
I’m looking to repurpose some old linn poweramps in spare bedrooms. They’ll be hidden away with a pi running volumio or similar.