"Clipping Yes" means that if the player decodes and sends the data to the DAC without reducing the volume first, there will be digital clipping in the signal. But if the player decodes the data to floating point and adjusts the volume before converting to fixed point data needed for the DAC, it...

Try analyzing the file with MP3Gain or replaygain to see what the peak level is. Due to the way MP3s are encoded, it's possible for the decoded data to exceed the full scale level which may cause clipping depending on how the decoding and playback is handled. You can use MP3Gain to reduce the...

3.4 Vrms is not a measure of power. You can use the equation of Ohm's law to convert between voltage, power, resistance, and current, but you need to have at least two of those numbers and the spec sheet I saw didn't have that. So you can't directly compare the two with just the info they put in...

I would make it an L which is just a simple voltage divider. You don't really need to worry about transmission line effects or impedance matching in audio signals which are relatively low frequency. Just make sure the value of the resistor network is greater than the source and less than the...

It looks like you may be causing clipping in the digital signal with your volume and EQ settings. You have some EQ bands which are set at maximum, it is likely that this could cause clipping. Rather than boosting certain EQ bands it is generally better to reduce the other bands instead. You have...

There's nothing wrong with the amp. Turn the volume up and/or switch to high gain if you need it to be louder.

This is nothing unusual. The Magni 3 in the low gain setting has a gain of 3dB. That means at max volume it amplifies the input signal by 3dB, which won't sound much louder. Just use high gain if low gain doesn't get loud enough. The high gain setting has 17dB of gain.

I think it's not meant to show differences between each unit, it's just showing you that they tested it. If they tested it and the FR was different than expected, they wouldn't have shipped that unit. They include the chart to show they have verified that it met their QC criteria.

Given its proximity to U2 and U22 (a microcontroller and a CMOS logic chip), I'd say it's probably a serial port for programming, testing, or debugging during design or assembly. Put an oscilloscope on it if you want to see what it does.

There's no drop in volume when using y-splitters from a DAC to multiple amps. You can verify this by listening to one amp while disconnecting another from the splitter.

You'd need two sets, so 4 mono Y-splitters if your source is stereo RCA. There's nothing to be afraid of as far as audio quality, but if it gives you peace of mind or you prefer the functionality then a fancy switch box would work too. But it would make so little difference to the audio quality...

All you need is 2 y-splitters. No need for a switch box, just turn on only the amp you're going to use.

From the AMB website regarding the Gamma2: I'd guess low output impedance means a few Ohms to tens of Ohms at most. It should have no trouble driving 25K.

You'll probably have to spend more to get better noise canceling unfortunately. I expect construction noise is tough for ANC headphones to deal with, they're better at canceling consistent noises like rumble and white noise. Personally I've compared the QC35 II vs the Sony WH1000XM3 and bought...

If you plug into most of the other ports, windows will switch the payback device from your SBZ to that other device. It works with the SBZ because it has the "send stereo mix to S/PDIF" option, so when it is the payback device for the headphones, it can also output to the optical. If you connect...

The Soundblaster Z is able to send the same digital signal to both the internal DAC and the optical transmitter. From that point on, the signal paths are totally independent. The amp/DAC which you connect to the optical output doesn't know anything about what's connected to the headphone jack...

Why do you want to connect these things? What are you trying to achieve? An amp/DAC doesn't do anything for you if you're using the headphones via Bluetooth. Are you trying to get greater range?

It wouldn't work if you're using ASIO or WASAPI for sound output which bypass the windows sound mixer. There may also be a setting to disable sound enhancements in the sound options, which would make it not work. Otherwise no, not that I can think of. From my understanding, Equalizer APO applies...

You should be able to use equalizer APO with the Modi, you probably just have some settings configured incorrectly. Is the SPDIF output to the Modi configured as the default playback device in the windows sound settings?

1. No. 2. No. 3. It depends. 4. No. Now for some explanation. A regulated power supply can regulate it's output, meaning it can sense the voltage of the output and will adjust itself to try to keep the output at the desired level. If the load tries to draw more power, causing the output...

Sounds like it's not just a set of relays. It's meant to be used with preamp signals which don't need to transmit any power, not for headphone or speaker signals which do transmit power. It must still have some series resistance when the volume is bypassed. That wouldn't affect a preamp signal...

It will depend heavily on the type of content you're listening to. Movies and certain types of music will have a lot of headroom built into the recording which means you may need more gain to get to high volumes. Modern recorded music is often maxed out with little to no headroom, it may be loud...

Yes. A DAC can't work with an analog input, and the connectors won't be compatible. So if you are able to connect your DAC+amp to it, that must mean it is bypassing the DAC (or potentially the DAC also has an ADC in it, probably not though). Potentially, it depends on the specific...

A PCIe 1x card can be used in a 16x slot, you don't have to use the 1x slot. If you aren't doing this already, set your software, OS, and DAC volume all at 100%, adjust the volume from your amp. This will minimize the impact of the noise in your current setup.

The speakers and/or the amps might not be perfectly matched. The room will also affect the loudness from each channel. It's best just to measure it. Use a SPL meter, a free app for your phone should be good enough. It doesn't need to be absolutely accurate, it just needs to be precise enough to...