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pico as stand alone dac?

post #1 of 13
5/30/08 at 12:34pm
Thread Starter 
Didn't want to cluitter up Justins order thread any more than it already is, and have searched but can't seem to find an answer to this specific question.

Is it possible, to use the pico as a dac, and connect another amp to the pico to use as the amp section thus bypassing pico's amp but utilising its dac?

Is this perfectly normal and acceptable, with regards the designed intentions of its usage or could it be problematic or will it just not work?

I have never used a dac as such, and would be interested if possible, in using the pico's dac with the iqubes amp when connected to my computer and was wondering if this is feasible?

How do others deploy their pico? Use the dac and amp or connect another amp after the dac has done its thing?

T.I.A.
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post #2 of 13
5/30/08 at 1:13pm
It'd be possible, but may have some weird side effects concerning impedance, load, and the fact that the volume output of the DAC is not "fixed" like an iPod line-out, for example.
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post #3 of 13
5/30/08 at 1:19pm
Thread Starter 
ahhh ok Mule thanks for that, I was told it would be possible with the ibasso d1 so was wondering if this was like a standard configuration or not capable with all amp/dac combos, no problems, and thanks for the reply.
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post #4 of 13
5/30/08 at 2:56pm
I use mine as a dac into my gilmore lite. Sounds great! I use low gain on the amp with the volume turned all the way up on the pico. No problems here.
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post #5 of 13
5/30/08 at 3:31pm
I used Pico as a USB DAC to feed Little-Dot MK4se via mini-to-RCA IC. It's working as a DAC and pre-amp.
I set the volume at 65~70% in high gain.
It sounds very very very good.
There are several Head-Fi'ers that do this, and they all sounded happy as well.
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post #6 of 13
5/30/08 at 7:13pm
Thread Starter 
Oh cool, thanks for the information guys, I guess I will do some l;istening tests and check it out but as long as it wont damage anythign and its an acceptable way to connect things up then thats all I am bothered about.

Thanks for all replies
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post #7 of 13
5/30/08 at 9:10pm
Works no worse than standalone DACs when paired with GLite of GS-1. Not aware of any side effects.
I use mine in min gain with maxed out volume. You'll need mini to RCA IC, something like Zu Pivot will do.
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post #8 of 13
5/31/08 at 12:03am
Quote:
Originally Posted by dazzer1975 View Post
...Is it possible, to use the pico as a dac, and connect another amp to the pico to use as the amp section thus bypassing pico's amp but utilising its dac?
...
T.I.A.
just to clarify, you cannot bypass the Pico's amp.
if you wanted to use it as a dedicated Dac, the signal would still have to go through the amp stage.
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post #9 of 13
5/31/08 at 12:22am
Thread Starter 
hmmm, so essentially you would be amping the pico's amp if I was to connect another amp to the pico e.g:

pc>pico>amp>headphones?

So, it can be done and would be fine with regards the operation of the equipment causing no damage etc but as to wether it would be "best" in terms of sound quality to do this is another matter?
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post #10 of 13
5/31/08 at 12:30am
Quote:
Originally Posted by dazzer1975 View Post
So, it can be done and would be fine with regards the operation of the equipment causing no damage etc but as to wether it would be "best" in terms of sound quality to do this is another matter?
I had this question too and pestered HeadphoneAddict about how he was going with his Pico as DAC/preamp feeding his bigger tube amps, and he seemed satisfied with the result.

The thing to keep in mind is that any standalone DAC has an output stage that utilizes voltage/current gain to get a line out. Its just that the amp section of the Pico is designed for a higher power output than most DAC output stages provide.

The only potential issue I could see would arise if the Pico had any significant DC offset at the output, when paired with a second amp that is finicky about the amount of offset coming from the source (B22 for example, being DC-coupled without a servo).
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post #11 of 13
5/31/08 at 1:26am
^
there are some NOS designs that use passive current/voltage conversion without a gain stage, but yes, the result is a lower output voltage.

Quote:
Originally Posted by dazzer1975 View Post
hmmm, so essentially you would be amping the pico's amp if I was to connect another amp to the pico e.g:

pc>pico>amp>headphones?

So, it can be done and would be fine with regards the operation of the equipment causing no damage etc but as to wether it would be "best" in terms of sound quality to do this is another matter?
basically, yes to all of the above.
if it makes you feel any better, i emailed Justin at Headamp awhile ago about this, and his response was that labeling the output "headphone out/ pre-out/ variable output" is really just about semantics, and that the Pico should work fine in this capacity.
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post #12 of 13
5/31/08 at 2:41am
Thread Starter 
Guys,

absolutely fantastic replies, extremely helpful and patient with my questions, appreciate all the time and effort explaining this stuff to me.

Much appreciated, thanks very much
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post #13 of 13
8/17/11 at 8:31am

Hi i would like to do something similar to what this htread is about. I want to buy a ibaso D2 boa and connect it to my little dot mk4 and then my 600ohm headphones.

I know the ibaso has a  Wolfson WM8740 and Texas Instruments PCM2706 DACs for processing and analogue conversion.so i would lice to use it as my DAC and the mk4 as my amp.
knowing that i can not bypass the amp on the ibaso D2 i will be feeding my mk4 amp from another amp. is this ok or will i have any kind of problem? and if so can someone please just suggest me a cheap dac that will do a good job so i can connect to my mk4 and get good neutral sound out of my headphones. thanks

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