Would it be a poor idea to stick an attenuator on the output of the Micro Dac?
Probably not, just make sure that it's a good quality attenuator (not necessarily expensive). Ideally it would be a simple voltage divider made up of appropriately chosen resistors but I haven't really looked into commercial offerings. I'd suggest searching the forums a bit to see what you can find, I'm sure there are threads that discuss options.
Edit: a quick googling yielded a company called Rothwell Audio that would appear at first glance to make exactly the product that I was trying to describe. I have no experience with them or their products so you might want to do more research before buying.
Probably not, just make sure that it's a good quality attenuator (not necessarily expensive). Ideally it would be a simple voltage divider made up of appropriately chosen resistors but I haven't really looked into commercial offerings. I'd suggest searching the forums a bit to see what you can find, I'm sure there are threads that discuss options.
Edit: a quick googling yielded a company called Rothwell Audio that would appear at first glance to make exactly the product that I was trying to describe. I have no experience with them or their products so you might want to do more research before buying.
The Rothwells work fine, but add a bit of midrange warmth and high-freq rolloff IMO. There are a few pricier alternatives (stepped) and a guy on eBay out of the UK who sells a Rothwell-like version that is a bit more neutral. These are also RCA and are available with 10, 14 or 20 (I think) dB of attenuation. I've owned all three and all work well, but with different tradeoffs in terms of how they colour the sound (the stepped version by far the least) but all do so pretty gently.
Sorry if the question has been asked, but what are the differences between the 2006 micro DAC and the 2007 version in terms of sound quality and added features?
If I use my Macbook as a source (it has optical out). Which would be better the USB or Optical? I'm assuming the optical?
Whoa...sorry to jump in late here, but I just got my micro portable, and I think the USB is much better! I'm coming from 6 months of Bithead use, and I think the USB on the portable micro makes it sound like my Bithead but a shade more sophisticated on top of that. The Optical on the other hand, while more detailed seems more "dry" and "cold" by comparison. Maybe by USB board is really good, but I much perfer it to the optical!
Sorry if the question has been asked, but what are the differences between the 2006 micro DAC and the 2007 version in terms of sound quality and added features?
Thanks for the question, Fud! ...
The discontinued HeadRoom '06 Micro DACs operated from either dual 9-volt batteries when on the go OR from AC-current via a linear 'wall-wart' power supply.
The new 2007 HR Micro DACs are strictly 'plug-in-only' devices operating in true "Class-A" biasing, thus requiring AC-power at all times... The 2007 Micro DACs offer upgraded internals versus the old battery-powered edition, with improved D-A stages & better overall SQ imho. The Ultra Micro DAC features an up-sampling stage for superb sound from just about any digital-output audio source
FYI~ Our "mobile-use" Micro DAC is now available as a 'built-in' option within the HeadRoom Portable Micro Amp unit [w/ lithium rechargeable battery power]...
Whoa...sorry to jump in late here, but I just got my micro portable, and I think the USB is much better! I'm coming from 6 months of Bithead use, and I think the USB on the portable micro makes it sound like my Bithead but a shade more sophisticated on top of that. The Optical on the other hand, while more detailed seems more "dry" and "cold" by comparison. Maybe by USB board is really good, but I much perfer it to the optical!
Anyone else found this with thier micro amp?
In pure scientific terms, in this design, the USB implementation is less accurate. Both USB and Optical will both be bit perfect, however as the USB has to go through a USB to S/PDIF converter, there are more timing errors (aka jitter) introduced along the way. In the Max DAC, which has reclocking to undo some of the damage, there is still a 3 fold increase in jitter going from optical to USB (from the 2xxps range to 6xxps). The DAC's without reclocking will probably show even more difference.
What you prefer to listen to is your call, but the one closer to the 'truth' is optical (unless there is something wrong with your optical output...)
Is it bad to use the power switch on a power bar to power up the Micro Stack instead of the front panel power switches (keep the power switches on, but use the power bar as a master switch?)
I thought it was best to turn on the dac-> amp-> (speakers if used) and turn off in reverse order to keep a sound bump from damaging speakers or headphones.
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Mobile: Ipod Video->Total Bithead-> Line out-> Shure E5C
Is it bad to use the power switch on a power bar to power up the Micro Stack instead of the front panel power switches (keep the power switches on, but use the power bar as a master switch?)
Hello WarpDriver,
No such thing as a dumb question at HeadRoom!
Using the power bar should not pose any major problem as long as the Micro Amp is ALWAYS turned all the way down [.... or preferably off! ] during the powering-up/down process.
Yeah I have accidentally turned off the microdac while my amp is turned up loud and you hear a kind of bump sound that sounds like a couch hitting a wall when youre moving or something. Best to avoid that I imagine.
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Home: Chaintech AV710(Foobar2k!) or Macbook Optical Out--->Headroom Micro DAC--->Rotel RA-1062 HP Out---> AKG K701
] during the powering-up/down process.
Linear Mode
