Speakers & Headphone Combo

[maj]

For the past few years I've always used headphones due to living with other people. Now that I have my own place I'm wanting a setup where I can switch between using speakers or my headphones when needed.

For speakers I was thinking more Hi-Fi speakers rather than your typical Logitech or Creative desktop speakers. I've found a retailer selling Wharfdale Diamond 9's for a pretty good price which I'm very tempted by. These will of course need an amp of some sort and whilst I currently have a Vali 1, I might take this opportunity to upgrade as well as getting a dedicated DAC. There's also the Edifier R1280T that OCUK sell but these would be at the top of my budget for the speakers alone but not sure if I'd need an amp or not or how to switch between them and my headphones.

Ideally I'd like an amp with more than one input so I can easily switch between speakers and headphones using a dial on the front, something like the Cambridge Audio Topaz but really I'd be wanting something smaller if I can. Looking at the Schiit range they only support one input unless I spend some serious money. So I was wondering if I could just get something like the Vali 2 paired with a Modi 2 uber and simply switch inputs by unplugging speakers from the back of it and then plugging headphones in.

So a couple of questions to summarise. Will my plan work? Will the Vali 2 power the speakers? Can anyone recommend an amp that I maybe haven't considered? Because Schiit use phono for inputs I'm also not sure how I'd connect everything together if I got the Wharfdale's.

Thanks for any help & advice.

 

[rids57]

The Vali 2 has pre-amp output, so you can leave the speakers plugged in and switch by simply inserting or removing the headphone jack.
The Vali 2 acts as a pre-amp and doesn't have a power amp, so could drive powered speakers such as the Edifiers but not passive speakers such as the Diamond 9's.

Ok, I think you're getting inputs and outputs mixed up...

The Modi 2 Uber has 3 inputs, USB, Co-axial and optical and these are used to connect to your sources, such as the PC, PS4, etc.
It only has a single output however and this is used to connect to the amp, whether it be the Vali 2 or Magni 2 Uber, both of which have pre-out features.

The amp then takes care of powering headphones and sending a signal with the suitable power to your speaker amp, whether that is a separate power amp, such as the SMSL A2 or the built in amp of the Edifiers.

If you can stretch another £10, the Edifier R1600T III is a better speaker than the 1280T

One possible setup would be...

Schiit Modi 2 Uber -> Schiit Magni 2 Uber -> Edifier R1600T III (all solid state)

or

Schiit Modi 2 Uber -> Schiit Vali 2 -> Edifier R1600T III (Tube pre-amp with solid state output)

There are of course infinite permutations when you start mixing and matching the various options from other manufacturers.

 

[maj]

The Vali 2 has pre-amp output, so you can leave the speakers plugged in and switch by simply inserting or removing the headphone jack.
The Vali 2 acts as a pre-amp and doesn't have a power amp, so could drive powered speakers such as the Edifiers but not passive speakers such as the Diamond 9's.

Ok, I think you're getting inputs and outputs mixed up...

The Modi 2 Uber has 3 inputs, USB, Co-axial and optical and these are used to connect to your sources, such as the PC, PS4, etc.
It only has a single output however and this is used to connect to the amp, whether it be the Vali 2 or Magni 2 Uber, both of which have pre-out features.

The amp then takes care of powering headphones and sending a signal with the suitable power to your speaker amp, whether that is a separate power amp, such as the SMSL A2 or the built in amp of the Edifiers.

If you can stretch another £10, the Edifier R1600T III is a better speaker than the 1280T

One possible setup would be...

Schiit Modi 2 Uber -> Schiit Magni 2 Uber -> Edifier R1600T III (all solid state)

or

Schiit Modi 2 Uber -> Schiit Vali 2 -> Edifier R1600T III (Tube pre-amp with solid state output)

There are of course infinite permutations when you start mixing and matching the various options from other manufacturers.

Just what I was looking for, thanks for that and yes does seem I got input and output mixed up. Unless I've misread then if the Edifiers are powered speakers I'm assuming they could be run on their own without help from either a Magni or Vali? Just wondering what benefits giving them even more power would bring. I know I will need some sort of amp to be able to choose between speakers and headphones anyway so not planning on running them on their own.

I think I will pay the extra and get the R1600T's with probably a Vali 2 as seems the most logical step up from the Vali 1.

 

[rids57]

The signal put out from the Vali 2 is a variable line level, so more like the speaker out socket from your motherboard but with a volume control attached.
The way to use the speakers with the Vali 2 is to set the Vali 2 volume to maximum and then adjust the volume control of the speakers to the loudest you will ever want them to go. You then never touch the control on the speakers again and instead use the volume control of the Vali 2 to adjust the volume.

The Edifiers will indeed work straight from the computer and this is how I use mine, although I use an Asus Xonar STX sound card rather than motherboard audio, using the Windows audio panel to switch between the STX > Edifier R1600T and Modi > Magni 2 > Headphone systems..
As you will be getting the Vali 2 anyway, you might as well use the Vali's pre-out features as this means the speakers will be getting audio from the Modi 2 Uber DAC (AK4490) which is of considerably better quality than the one on your motherboard. It's not going to make a huge difference to sound quality but it should be a slight improvement plus you'll also have the convenience of having a physical volume control on the desktop.

 

[maj]

Bumping this as looking to go ahead with this come pay day next week. I was all set for something like the Schiit Modi 2 Uber -> Schiit Vali 2 -> Edifier R1600T III (Tube pre-amp with solid state output) setup and just unplugging headphones as and when needed but then I found out about the SMSL AD18 from another thread on here. Will this do same job for just £116? I like the simplicity of how I would switch between speakers and headphones using either the remote or menu on the amp itself. I would need alternative speakers to the Edifier's as the SMSL uses banana plugs so I'd be back to something like the Diamond 9's.

Just wanting to keep all my options open really so I know I'm getting the right setup for my needs.

 

[Sgt_Pepper]

I use an SMSL ad18 with a pair of Diamond 9.1's and AKG 701's, it's a nifty little amp. Goes quite loud too if u need a bit of volume for movies. Plenty good enough for a desk setup. I replaced a seperate Dac, headphone amp, and stereo amp with it. It has enough inputs for everything i use on my desk to be connected at once and only uses one wall socket

Ive just bought a pair of Acoustic Energy Compact 1's of ebay as my desk is a bit on the small size for the diamonds.

 

[maj]

I use an SMSL ad18 with a pair of Diamond 9.1's and AKG 701's, it's a nifty little amp. Goes quite loud too if u need a bit of volume for movies. Plenty good enough for a desk setup. I replaced a seperate Dac, headphone amp, and stereo amp with it. It has enough inputs for everything i use on my desk to be connected at once and only uses one wall socket

Ive just bought a pair of Acoustic Energy Compact 1's of ebay as my desk is a bit on the small size for the diamonds.

So it's a DAC as well? Thought it was just a amp so that's a bonus. Just went to double check the specs of it and item description now says:

ITEM UNDER REVIEW

This item is currently unavailable because customers have told us there may be something wrong with our inventory of the item, the way we are shipping it, or the way it's described here. (Thanks for the tip!)

We're working to fix the problem as quickly as possible.

Wonder what's going on there...