Using Headphone Amp (HDV820) With Speakers

Nemiyen

Nemiyen

Nemiyen

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I could probably ask AI this question but then Forums would start going the way of the high street! :(

So, my question is - what would people recommend for using my HDV820 DAC/Amp with speakers?

I was looking at amp/dac combos with speaker outputs but thought I can surely use my existing DAC to get the signal converted and then pass that out to something, dare I say, cheaper :o so I don't reinvent the wheel, so to speak!

I currently use this DAC with my headphones but when I play games and nobody is in the house I like to use my speakers. I currently have a Logitech Z906 setup for that but am looking to pickup some 2nd hand LS50 speakers maybe or something along those lines?

Most of the stuff I own is 2nd hand so I can wait until there's a bargain locally or something close to collect. :)

I'm on the hunt for a 5.1 or 7.1 compatible Linux sound card for my Z906 but I want to cover all options and think about getting a better 2.0 system for now and a separate sub later on.

Due to space restraints I've only got 2.1 setup on the Logitech anyway! Sometimes 3.1 if I move monitors to the side.

I'm just not sure if I should keep this Amp for headphones only (as it's supposed to be) or if I can use it as a good DAC via USB from my PC and then into a speaker amp for when I don't want headphones.

Suggestions or help is appreciated. Thanks.

Edit: Not sure if I'm being stupid or not but it looks like this would do the trick:

Emotiva BasX A3+ Three Channel Power Amplifier, Black​

But not sure if I'm going way overboard on this as I was hoping to get something for around £200 or so.

Although I'm not sure how this would work with a sub in the future.
 
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Your wise to look second hand but £200 is getting a bit tight for a decent power amp.
Your HDV820 only has XLR outputs so you need to get a power amp that has XLR inputs.

There's a guy on fleebay seliing a Nord One MP NC502 amp for 240. I have a very similar model from Nord that I also use to output from my RME headphone amp to my desk speakers. It's well built and the hypex class D amps measure superbly, run cool and have lots of power.

The only way such a setup would work with a sub would be one where the sub inputs are connected to the speakers via a high impendence cable (so the sub only takes a signal, not power from the amp output).
 
Cheers, that's given me a few more avenues to look into. :) I'll do some more research and will keep an eye on that fleabay listing. :)

I'd love some decent speakers and I know the z906 pale in comparison but they sound alright to my ears.
 
You could get some active speakers that have xlr inputs. Wouldn't need a separate power amp then.

Although you'd lose out on the option of a centre for 3.0. Dependant on what you go for, you can get active speakers with a bass output, so could do 2.1
 
Well as usual I do things backwards and have picked up some Kef R3 speakers for what I think was a steal. (£500) One does have a slight scratch on the bottom driver but nothing that's ever going to bother me or that ill notice. Now I just need something to either link to my HDV820 or go around it with maybe a Yamaha Rn1000a or similar?
 
Keep an eye over time, as that drivers are known to rip and tear over time.

That Emotiva is a power amplifier, you'll need a pre amp and possibly DAC before that, I wouldn't trust a PC analogue out straight into a power amplifier.

Basically you want a stereo digital integrated amp/DAC, USB input would come in handy also. Emotiva do a couple of models TA2, that has DAC, headphone amp and also useful high pass and low pass

ANother option could be a AVR, this is useful if you have movie sources so you can decode surround formats (even if you then downmix back to stereo)
 
hornetstinger said:
Keep an eye over time, as that drivers are known to rip and tear over time.

That Emotiva is a power amplifier, you'll need a pre amp and possibly DAC before that, I wouldn't trust a PC analogue out straight into a power amplifier.

Basically you want a stereo digital integrated amp/DAC, USB input would come in handy also. Emotiva do a couple of models TA2, that has DAC, headphone amp and also useful high pass and low pass

ANother option could be a AVR, this is useful if you have movie sources so you can decode surround formats (even if you then downmix back to stereo)
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he has a Senn HDV820, which is a DAC and pre amp, when I looked it up. So it's just the power amp he needs, if he's going to use his existing DAC.
 
Cheers for the replies everyone. I've been undecided if it's worth using the HDV820 as a preamp or just getting something that has everything built in. I hate wasting something I can use but if it's not going to do a good job (or I can find something cheap 2nd hand) I'll get an integrated amp instead.

I'm just constantly scanning ebay or Facebook now for something local and cheap and any ideas or pointers is much appreciated. :)
 
WIth Kef R3 you'd want a good power amplifier, they're not the most efficient or easiest to drive speaker

www.audiosciencereview.com

KEF R3 Speaker Review

This is a review and detailed measurements of the KEF R3 stand-mount (bookshelf) speaker. It is on kind loan from a member who sent a pair to me at great cost (they come two in a box). The R3 costs US $1,999 for a pair. The R3 is an example of superb industrial design by KEF: It oozes...
www.audiosciencereview.com www.audiosciencereview.com
 
The problem with an all in one system, is there's not really anything that's a true all in one. There's always a sacrifice. Choose between a box with a good speaker power amp with a mediocre single ended 6.3mm headphone output, or a good headphone amp with no speaker amp. There might be something that some of the more premium (expensive) names do, but in an affordable budgert friendly bracket, not really. I went round in circles until I found the Luxsin X9, and then paired it up with some active speakers.

Since you have speakers coming, and already have the DAC and headphone amp sorted, you just need a power amp with xlr inputs, which has enough power to drive the speakers. It is possible to convert xlr to rca, while there are adaptors/cables to do it, it's best not to, I believe, as if done incoorevtly, it can kill both sides of the chain. There's small interface boxes to do the necessary leg work in the 2 xlr channels, which aren't expensive.
 
Starvald said:
The problem with an all in one system, is there's not really anything that's a true all in one. There's always a sacrifice. Choose between a box with a good speaker power amp with a mediocre single ended 6.3mm headphone output, or a good headphone amp with no speaker amp. There might be something that some of the more premium (expensive) names do, but in an affordable budgert friendly bracket, not really. I went round in circles until I found the Luxsin X9, and then paired it up with some active speakers.

Since you have speakers coming, and already have the DAC and headphone amp sorted, you just need a power amp with xlr inputs, which has enough power to drive the speakers. It is possible to convert xlr to rca, while there are adaptors/cables to do it, it's best not to, I believe, as if done incoorevtly, it can kill both sides of the chain. There's small interface boxes to do the necessary leg work in the 2 xlr channels, which aren't expensive.
Click to expand...

RCA source to XLR amp is ok, but not XLR to RCA, something to do with voltages/gain or something.


but yeah XLR power amp is going to cost a fair bit more...whether it's fully balanced or unbalanced over XLR bumps the price up.

If he goes for Emotiva amp with XLR I believe they wire the XLR input non standard way, reverse polarity or something, this can be corrected with inverting phase on the speaker cable
 
That Luxsin X9 looks like a nice DAC and amp. :) I know what you mean by going round in circles! It's the reason I went with the HD800s and HDV820 because Sennheiser rate them as a couple and it took all the guesswork and research out of it all! Whether it is the best setup or I paid mostly for the name, I'm not too sure.

I've seen Arcam do a PA240 that looks like what I might need as well, but that's quite expensive and not as much as I wanted to spend BUT buy cheap buy twice and all that! :D

I'm really out of date with my sound knowledge so I've been looking at a lot of different sources and my mind is blown lol. I think I'll get some Mogami XLR cables but I really don't want to wire them up and cause a problem or damage anything! Especially if some are wired differently as mentioned above.

The ones I'm looking at are:

Mogami Neglex 2534 Starquad Cable. Audiophile Neutrik Balanced XLR to XLR​


But then you can get different cables with higher or lower impedance etc but I'll only be going 1 to 1.5 metre at the most.

This is definitely a journey and I'm sat typing this on my phone while listening to Pink Floyd on my Open Run 2 headphones and it sounds great to me lol. I know it should pale in comparison when I get these speakers setup. Well, hopefully!
 
I've managed to snag a PA240 locally to me for £850. It's way more than I wanted to pay BUT the seller of the speakers said they need a good amp, hornetstinger also said this and everything I've read said that too.

I just need speaker wire and the XLR cables from my HDV820 now. Presuming the sale goes well and they don't back out or it doesn't work etc.

Not sure if I'm going down a wrong path or not but it seems right.
 
hornetstinger said:
I have these between my av pre and power amplifiers

151186847778
Click to expand...
Thanks very much, I've been looking at those and the mogami cables and now I'm stuck between quad or normal balanced cables lol. It sounds like neither will matter for my 2 metre runs but I'd still prefer to get the right cable for my use case.

Edit: That listing says the cable is for a microphone and AI tells me they're not the same cable lol. I'm guessing AI is wrong as the listing says it can be used as an interconnect.
 
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I ended up getting the PA240 from the seller last night. Very knowledgeable and a nice guy to boot. Demoed it with their Focal Katana 2 speakers (was hoping it wouldn't upset my decision on the R3's!) but they're leagues ahead so I can't worry too much!

As I was looking for speaker wire a listing for some Van Den Hul The TeaTrack came up so I bought that along with the Van Damme XLR cables recommended by hornetstinger too.

Hopefully they both arrive in the next few days and I can get it all setup and working.
 
Nemiyen said:
I ended up getting the PA240 from the seller last night. Very knowledgeable and a nice guy to boot. Demoed it with their Focal Katana 2 speakers (was hoping it wouldn't upset my decision on the R3's!) but they're leagues ahead so I can't worry too much!

As I was looking for speaker wire a listing for some Van Den Hul The TeaTrack came up so I bought that along with the Van Damme XLR cables recommended by hornetstinger too.

Hopefully they both arrive in the next few days and I can get it all setup and working.
Click to expand...

river shop

KabelDirekt – Pure Copper Stereo Audio Speaker Wire & Cable – Made in Germany – 2x4mm² – 15m – (For Hifi Speakers and Surround Sound Systems, Pure Copper, with polarity markings)​


or 2.5mm version
 
Just an update, got everything setup and the HDV 820 works well with the PA240 using the XLR outputs / inputs.

I had to order some no bull xlr cables as I think the others are taking longer to come from designacable. Their website says they're busy at the moment so probably why.

I think I miss the sub from the z906 so the sound is lacking as I love bass but listening to Stereophonics now and it sounds nice, clear and reasonably loud too. Not sure if I'm getting the best out of my kit and the speakers are only a metre apart at the moment as I need to sort my room / desk.

I'll be saving for a sub now and I'm sure that will help get the sound where I like it. :)
 
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