Headphone DAC/AMP > Desktop AMP > Speakers... Can I do this?

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Hxc

Hxc

Hxc

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Hey guys

Bit of a lame newbie question here, but I need to check. Am FINALLY picking up my hifi gear soon, just need to decide on some fairly good speakers to pair with a Cambridge Audio A5, and I need a way of getting my PC audio to the system, and my onboard is, in a word, crap.

I currently will own a USB DAC/AMP which has a headphone output...can I connect this via 3.5mm to RCA addaptor to the desktop amp without problems? Don't want to damage the desktop amp by feeding it an amplified signal if I shouldn't or something.

Sorry if it seems silly.
 
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You'll be fine. I have 5.1 connected from my X-fi to my AV amp using the same kind of connection, 3.5mm jack plug to phono. Its amplified a bit from the x-fi and then again on the amp and there isn't any problems. Might be worth investing in a decent sound card though. USB sound isn't great as a rule.
 
rlm said:
You'll be fine. I have 5.1 connected from my X-fi to my AV amp using the same kind of connection, 3.5mm jack plug to phono. Its amplified a bit from the x-fi and then again on the amp and there isn't any problems. Might be worth investing in a decent sound card though. USB sound isn't great as a rule.
Click to expand...

Commercial USB sound isn't great no, but if you go for specialist headphone dac and amps they will often do better than onboard and internal stuff, as they are completely free from any chance of electrical interference, and can provide a bit perfect transport which a hell of a lot of soundcards can't do (thanks in part to how Windows in particular is coded, you will need AISO to bypass the kmixer)

Most people on head-fi will go for an emu 0404 USB over the PCI version because there is zero chance of interference.

Cheers for the answer on the output stuff though :) Will get on with buying my gear. Have settled on some Wharfdale Diamond 9.1s.
 
Sorry I was expecting something a bit more standard. As you said the Emu 0404 is brilliant, used one myself before I wanted to go back to multi-channel. If its something of that caliber then I'll just shut up :p
 
It's not quite that calibur, but it's still something rather good. Specifically made for headphones, built by MisterX (rather famous on Head-Fi), it's meant to be pretty darn good. Should be arriving in a couple of days so I'll be able to tell you if it is or not :P

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f42/sold-misterx-hpdac-277095/

It's that, for reference. It looks a bit amature but the stuff that it packs inside is really rather impressive, so I'll see. If it doesn't fit my requirements, I'll sell it back on, but I've got a good feeling about this :)
 
Could go PC digital out--->DAC-->Pre-amp/headphone amp.

That's what I do on Hi-Fi, that way cheaper sources won't influence the sound.
 
That's not a bad idea. Would need to buy a decent standalone DAC though, which I can't really afford atm
 
Hxc, have you tried using your headphone DAC for your amplifier and speakers yet?

I'm just curious because I have a Corda Move and if I decide to get an amplifier and a pair of bookshelves it'd be very handy to use it as a DAC rather than buying a dedicated one.

Oh, and sorry for resurrecting a semi-old thread.
 
Hi there mate, reviving again myself.

Nope I've not tried it yet, saving cash to buy everything first... should have the speakers and amp within about a month or so, though.
 
Ah nice. Would you mind posting an update when your gear arrives? I'm interested to see how it works out.

Thing is, with my Corda Move, it can't really be used as a standalone DAC. And I doubt amplifying the signal, which will then be amplified by an amplifier, would be a very good idea.

Can your MisterX (?) amplifier be used as a standalone DAC?
 
Nope, that's why I asked this question.... according to some Head-Fi users it'll be okay. Perhaps I'll try and find a cheap standalone DAC....
 
I'll have it down low most definitely. I don't want to risk blowing an input or anything...
 
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