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Sennheiser RS 220 connectivity question

post #1 of 4
5/14/12 at 10:13am
Thread Starter 

Hi,

 

Sorry if this has been asked somewhere before, I spent some time searching through the threads but couldn't find the answer to the specific question I have (the online manual and other online reviews didn't help either). I would be grateful for any info if anyone has it.

 

I am planning on getting the RS 220s in a few days to upgrade my RS 180s. One of the reasons is the extensive connectivity it has, I want to connect my TV and Xonar STX to it through TOSlink and Coax cables respectively so I can switch between them easily for outputting to the headphones. The loop-throughs would also allow me to feed the digital signals to something else (e.g. FiiO E17) if I like. However, I also want to be able to output either of these inputs to a set of speakers via the analogue output - in particular, the TV since the in-built speakers are awful. Now the phones themselves will have DACs in them and the base unit should have an ADC for the RCA in->DSSS signal, but what I cannot gauge from the searches I have done is:

 

(1) whether the digital inputs are fed to a DAC (assuming there is one in the base unit) and re-routed to the analogue RCA outputs automatically; and

(2) if so, is this also done in loop-through mode or is it simply coax in -> coax out, optical in -> optical out, RCA in -> RCA out?

 

If (1) is not the case, then I will have to feed the TV input into a separate DAC before feeding it to the RCA in on the base unit, which I'd rather avoid if possible.

 

Very grateful for any advice!

 

Krisposs

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post #2 of 4
5/14/12 at 9:56pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Krisposs12 View Post
Sorry if this has been asked somewhere before, I spent some time searching through the threads but couldn't find the answer to the specific question I have (the online manual and other online reviews didn't help either). I would be grateful for any info if anyone has it.

I am planning on getting the RS 220s in a few days to upgrade my RS 180s. One of the reasons is the extensive connectivity it has, I want to connect my TV and Xonar STX to it through TOSlink and Coax cables respectively so I can switch between them easily for outputting to the headphones. The loop-throughs would also allow me to feed the digital signals to something else (e.g. FiiO E17) if I like. However, I also want to be able to output either of these inputs to a set of speakers via the analogue output - in particular, the TV since the in-built speakers are awful. Now the phones themselves will have DACs in them and the base unit should have an ADC for the RCA in->DSSS signal, but what I cannot gauge from the searches I have done is:

(1) whether the digital inputs are fed to a DAC (assuming there is one in the base unit) and re-routed to the analogue RCA outputs automatically; and

(2) if so, is this also done in loop-through mode or is it simply coax in -> coax out, optical in -> optical out, RCA in -> RCA out?

If (1) is not the case, then I will have to feed the TV input into a separate DAC before feeding it to the RCA in on the base unit, which I'd rather avoid if possible.

I would think for the price you pay for the RS220, no matter which input you are using, it should output that signal to all three types of the outputs at the same time.

Email Sennheiser and ask then the question(s).

 

Now you could get something like the Fiio D3 DAC ($30), run an optical cable from the TV, to the D3, and then run RCAs from the D3s RCA output to the speakers RCA inputs.

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post #3 of 4
5/15/12 at 2:36am
Thread Starter 

Thanks PurpleAngel,

 

You would think that they should output to all three, but if you have multiple inputs (which I do) then it's not clear what happens in loop-through mode (i.e. which one gets routed to the outputs). I've already emailed Sennheiser and am awaiting a response, but I thought some RS 220 users on here might be able to provide more info.

 

As for using a DAC to feed the RCA inputs, I'm already using one to output my TV to external speakers (and feed my RS 180s), but I'd rather not use one to feed the RS 220 so as to use the Senn DACs when listening to the TV through the headphones and avoid more conversion steps, hence the question. But if it comes to it and I have no choice, I may just upgrade the DAC I'm using to something better (E3 as you suggested).

 

Thanks

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post #4 of 4
5/15/12 at 11:05am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Krisposs12 View Post
Thanks PurpleAngel,

You would think that they should output to all three, but if you have multiple inputs (which I do) then it's not clear what happens in loop-through mode (i.e. which one gets routed to the outputs). I've already emailed Sennheiser and am awaiting a response, but I thought some RS 220 users on here might be able to provide more info.

As for using a DAC to feed the RCA inputs, I'm already using one to output my TV to external speakers (and feed my RS 180s), but I'd rather not use one to feed the RS 220 so as to use the Senn DACs when listening to the TV through the headphones and avoid more conversion steps, hence the question. But if it comes to it and I have no choice, I may just upgrade the DAC I'm using to something better (E3 as you suggested).

Try sending another email to Sennheiser, say to them your going to hold off buying the RS220 until you get an answer back from them, but you really need to buy new wireless headphone soon, so if they do not answer soon, you will have to go with another brand of wireless headphones.

Send the email to both Sennheiser tech support and sales.


Edited by PurpleAngel - 5/15/12 at 11:06am
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