CEntrance DACmini DAC/Amplifier Official Thread - Page 58

You can feed the output of the E17 to the line-in of the DACmini, but in this case, you are double-amping the signal. Some people say this will degrade the signal.

Be sure to report back on the combo, cos I am seriously considering buying a pair of HE500's as well :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by bareyb 

Man I hope you're right. I just ordered a set of HE500s and I bought the Dac Mini to drive them. I was very concerned that it isn't going to get loud enough, but from reading the thread it sounds like it will probably be okay with the 8 dB gain. It's nice to know they can up the gain if need be though...

 

Here's an odd question...

 

Would it be at all possible to run the "headphone out" from an E17 to the "headphone In" on the Dac Mini? I'd like to use the E17 as a preamp to take advantage of the Bass and Treble controls. Now before anyone jumps on me, this will be a rare occurrence. Most of the time it will be running from USB off my laptop. Just wondering if theoretically that would work. I hate the idea of using a software EQ and having to digitially process every single frequency except the bass. Why don't large Amps come with Bass boost? A user selectable gain control would be a huge plus too as I'm concerned about the power out put of the Dac Mini. I am returning an Icon HDP because it didn't have enough Ooomph. I hope the Dac Mini does better... 

Quote:

Originally Posted by pekingduck 

You can feed the output of the E17 to the line-in of the DACmini, but in this case, you are double-amping the signal. Some people say this will degrade the signal.

 

Be sure to report back on the combo, cos I am seriously considering buying a pair of HE500's as well :)

I was going to just barely turn up the E17 to match whatever volume level  is coming out of the Line-out on the iPod (I was gonna plug my phones directly into the line-out of my iPod and see how loud it is). Hopefully I can match it up that way. I'm going "line-in" from the iPod to the E17.

It probably would degrade the sound somewhat, but I'm wondering if it would degrade it as much as using a software EQ and cutting all but the lowest frequencies... That almost seems worse to me than simulating a "line-out" condition. Tough call... 

I like the fact that it has a built-in DAC. I may not use it all the time, but it's great to have it for when I can... I just hope the Amp works out... 

Any thoughts on the bass response from the DACmini? Would it be considered more "Midcentric" and  "Bass Light"? 

Alright. I'm listening to one of them now. Dammit. I don't think it's going to be enough power for my headphones. It gets fairly loud, but not loud enough. Sure sounds sweet though. I would say the Bass is pretty neutral. Not boosted, but not cut. I just wish it got a little louder. I know I can have the gain increased, but I hate to have to do that. Especially if it's going to cost me another hundred bucks. They really should add a Gain Switch to these...  

Man it sounds good at low volumes though... Really good. Voices are very real.  I'm trying really hard to convince myself it's going to be powerful enough... It's not like I always rock out... Just want to have the option. I'm getting rid of my current amp (Icon Ido)  because it's too weak so I want to make sure I don't make the same mistake again.

I just read your impressions over in the HE-500 thread. Does your DACmini have the 1-ohm mod applied?

Quote:

Originally Posted by zeinharis 


And the treble it's just sweet on the Dacmini

Quote:

Originally Posted by bareyb 

Alright. I'm listening to one of them now. Dammit. I don't think it's going to be enough power for my headphones. It gets fairly loud, but not loud enough. Sure sounds sweet though. I would say the Bass is pretty neutral. Not boosted, but not cut. I just wish it got a little louder. I know I can have the gain increased, but I hate to have to do that. Especially if it's going to cost me another hundred bucks. They really should add a Gain Switch to these...  

 

Man it sounds good at low volumes though... Really good. Voices are very real.  I'm trying really hard to convince myself it's going to be powerful enough... It's not like I always rock out... Just want to have the option. I'm getting rid of my current amp (Icon Ido)  because it's too weak so I want to make sure I don't make the same mistake again.

That strange because I can't go far beyond 2 or 3 o'clock on the Dacmini volume control, beyond that it's way to loud for me to hear

Quote:

Originally Posted by pekingduck 

I just read your impressions over in the HE-500 thread. Does your DACmini have the 1-ohm mod applied?

 

No I don't apply the mod, nevertheless the volume it's loud enough for the HE-500 on the non-mod Dacmini
 

Okay.... It might work out... You can up the GAIN from within iTunes (EQ) and it doesn't seem to be causing any distortion and it gets plenty loud now. I upped the GAIN by about 4 dB and it helps... This may work after all. I'll just have to use my laptop for my source instead of the iPod.... 

Quote:

Originally Posted by bareyb 

Okay.... It might work out... You can up the GAIN from within iTunes (EQ) and it doesn't seem to be causing any distortion and it gets plenty loud now. I upped the GAIN by about 4 dB and it helps... This may work after all. I'll just have to use my laptop for my source instead of the iPod.... 

Ooo i see now, CMIIW.. you are using your ipod as your transport when you don't have enough volume on the Dacmini. I'm using my laptop as my transport and using the foobar2k as my player

Quote:

Originally Posted by zeinharis 

 

 

Ooo i see now, CMIIW.. you are using your ipod as your transport when you don't have enough volume on the Dacmini. I'm using my laptop as my transport and using the foobar2k as my player

I decided to dump the iPod idea. Makes it too difficult to get a digital connection between the two (you need an iDo) so I am going to use my Macbook Pro 13" for my source. It's got a nice EQ in it and a Preamp Gain controller. So far so good. The sound quality is amazing on the Mini. Simply. Amazing... Found myself smiling and even occasionally laughing at how dynamic it sounds. There's no question about the quality of the DAC or the AMP in this one.  

Quote:

Originally Posted by bareyb 

I decided to dump the iPod idea. Makes it too difficult to get a digital connection between the two (you need an iDo) so I am going to use my Macbook Pro 13" for my source. It's got a nice EQ in it and a Preamp Gain controller. So far so good. The sound quality is amazing on the Mini. Simply. Amazing... Found myself smiling and even occasionally laughing at how dynamic it sounds. There's no question about the quality of the DAC or the AMP in this one.  

Glad you like the combo 

Quote:

Originally Posted by zeinharis 

 

Glad you like the combo 

Well... I just upgraded my Heaphones to HE500s and while it can push them just fine, it's clear to me I'm going to need a more powerful Amp to drive them. So while I love the DACmini, it just doesn't have quite enough power for the volume levels I want. Nothing against the Mini though. It's a fantastic piece of equipment.