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I need a DAC for my Powered Speakers

post #1 of 18
5/16/10 at 5:46pm
Thread Starter 

Hi everyone,

 

So, in a little while I plan to be upgrading my audio system. The system will be used strictly for music (320 bit MP3's, and lossless FLAC every now and then).

I will be buying the KRK Rokit 5 G2's, or maybe the Rokit 6 G2's. One or the other. http://www.krksys.com/product_rokit.php

I will also be buying a subwoofer, although I am currently undecided as to which. Right now, if I could just find it being sold in Canada, this HSU STF2 is looking like a winner. http://www.hsuresearch.com/products/stf-2.html

 

I am on a fairly tight budget, hence me going with powered speakers instead of passive (takes out the cost of a receiver), but I have recently been informed that I can't run my Rokit 5 monitor's and a sub out of my computer sound card (either the Auzentech Forte http://www.auzentech.com/site/products/x-fi_forte.php or the Asus STX Essence http://ca.asus.com/product.aspx?P_ID=zCDHPnfR1jymHK2f&templete=2 ). Apparently I need a DAC.

My first question is whether or not someone can confirm this for me. Is it true? Do I need a DAC to run my powered monitor's and a passive sub out of my computer?

 

My second question is which DAC would you recommend? Do DAC's come with sub out's, or would I have to get an amp for that? If I can go with a DAC, I don't need any sort of MIDI connections, though XLR would be nice. RCA is a must, as well as a sub connection.

 

We'll start off with that, and then if further questions arise I suppose I can go from there. Until then, thanks in advance.

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post #2 of 18
5/16/10 at 6:35pm

Not really sure about your dac question.

 

As for the hsu sub, i was considering getting one a month ago. No stores in Canada carry HSU subs anymore, as HSU ships direct to Canada now. I haven't really seen them for sale used either, so best bet would be direct from HSU.

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post #3 of 18
5/16/10 at 6:39pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by calvinjai View Post

Not really sure about your dac question.

 

As for the hsu sub, i was considering getting one a month ago. No stores in Canada carry HSU subs anymore, as HSU ships direct to Canada now. I haven't really seen them for sale used either, so best bet would be direct from HSU.


Thanks for the info!

 

Still wondering about the DAC though..

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post #4 of 18
5/17/10 at 2:15am

I can't see why you couldn't run powered speakers from a sound card - that's what most people do anyhow. It may or may not sound as nicely as a dedicated DAC but in any case, it IS a DAC in its own right

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post #5 of 18
5/17/10 at 4:19am

The problem isn't one of amplification or digital conversion per se, but rather one of connections. Because he's seeking to run active speakers with an active sub, and I don't see the Hsu having a line level passthrough or whatever they're called, he needs something to split the signal between the speakers and the sub. So he doesn't need a digital to analogue converter per se, he needs something with a subout and line out, I'm not sure if the device exists.

 

Honestly, for purely music use, do you really need the sub? I mean, if the studio types can get along time without a sub, shouldn't you be fine too?


Edited by Ypoknons - 5/17/10 at 10:36am
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post #6 of 18
5/17/10 at 4:21am

Indeed a sound card IS a DAC in itself.

 

I would highly recommend you to use the KRK 10S with the KRK because it is made to work with and the STF-2 simply can't work with powered speakers.


Edited by Omega17TheTrue - 5/17/10 at 9:25am
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post #7 of 18
5/17/10 at 4:34am

How about the KRK Ergo DAC..?? Comes with a volume control, seeing as the monitors have the volume controls on the rear. Maybe even look at the e-mu 0404.

 

http://www.krksys.com/product_ergo.php

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post #8 of 18
5/17/10 at 5:14am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Omega17TheTrue View Post

Indeed a sound card IS a DAC in itself.

 

I would highly recommend you to use the KRK 10S with the KRK because it is made to work with and the STF-2 simply can't work with powered speakers.



No reason why the STF2 won't work with the monitors - it has low level rca inputs. I'm not so sure getting that KRK sub is a good idea. Or another sub from a speaker company for that matter. Subwoofer-focused companies like Hsu, SVS always make better subs than speaker-focused companies.

 

All the OP needs is a DAC with two RCA outputs and that'll work. I used to run that config (monitors + sub) with my old DAC19 and it worked fine.

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post #9 of 18
5/17/10 at 5:21am

Get some KRK Rokit 8's, no need for a sub as they have plenty of bass.

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post #10 of 18
5/17/10 at 5:38am
Quote:
Originally Posted by noinimod View Post

All the OP needs is a DAC with two RCA outputs and that'll work. I used to run that config (monitors + sub) with my old DAC19 and it worked fine.


How exactly do the connections work in that setup? RCA -> woofer, then how are the active speakers connected?

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post #11 of 18
5/17/10 at 5:43am
Thread Starter 

Thanks for all of the info guys! Here is the DAC I'm looking at, would it work? http://www.amazon.com/NuForce-Icon-uDAC-USB-headphone/dp/B002VNIRWM

I am a total bass head, so be it for music or movies, a sub is necessary in my setup. I don't really have the room or the money for the Rokit 8's anyways.

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post #12 of 18
5/17/10 at 6:06am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ypoknons View Post


How exactly do the connections work in that setup? RCA -> woofer, then how are the active speakers connected?

2 RCA outputs; 1 for the sub, 1 for the active speakers.
 

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post #13 of 18
5/17/10 at 4:02pm
Thread Starter 

So then the DAC I posted above would work?

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post #14 of 18
5/17/10 at 4:36pm

No, the third RCA-style output on the uDAC is a coaxial S/PDIF digital output (it converts USB-S/PDIF.)

 

The root of the problem here is getting the crossover network right. On a soundcard for example that has sub and speaker outputs, it has a configurable crossover so that you can send lows to the sub and the rest to the satellites. All normal stereo DACs output full range. What you need is a setup that can do the crossover to send the correct frequencies to the sub or satellites. This means either something like a soundcard that has dedicated sub output or a home theater preprocessor aka 'prepro' (or receiver, although then you'd be buying an amp and whatnot too which is not needed for powered speakers) that has a built-in crossover. I'm not aware of any 'DACs' that have a dedicated sub output, they may exist but they'd more properly be called preprocessors.

 

The other option is to get a sub that has line-level input AND crossed-over outputs for satellites. In that case the subwoofer has a built-in crossover so it will route the lows to the sub amp and speaker and the highs to the satellites.

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post #15 of 18
5/18/10 at 3:26am


 

Quote:
Originally Posted by noinimod View Post



2 RCA outputs; 1 for the sub, 1 for the active speakers.
 



I don't understand at all, the 2 RCA output are "left" and "right" output for stereo if you use the KRK sub with the speakers the signal first goes to the sub and take only the bass spectrum signal so the speakers don't anymore need to recreate the low bass resulting in lower distortion.

 

DAC out > Sub in > Sub out > Speakers In

 

The stf-2 are primarily made for Home theater and the Sub In RCA are usually for HT receiver. You can't connect Active speakers on it.


Edited by Omega17TheTrue - 5/18/10 at 8:26am
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