[Napalmhardcore]

Hi
 
I have two unrelated questions but as both of them are in the general help section, I saw little point in creating two separate threads.
 
Firstly: I have ordered a Little Dot Mkiii and a pair of HD600s. The Little Dot may also be used as a preamp. I read the user guide PDF and it instructed that when using as a preamp, it should NOT be connected to a direct coupled amp as it may damage my equipment. I Googled direct coupled amps and get the vague gist of what one is, but I am not sure how to tell if my amp is DC or what products are likely to use DC amps. I currently have a Yamaha RX-V375 AV receiver. Does anyone know if this is or is likely to be a DC amp?
 
Secondly: I have a Sound Blaster Omni sound card. I plan to upgrade my DAC at a later date, but for the time being I will be using the Omni. In the Windows audio playback device menu, on the supported format tab it asks which formats my receiver supports. For sample rate there is 48KHz and 96KHz available for me to select (going out via optical). On the advanced tab, I am asked what sample rate and bit depth I would like to use as default in shared mode.
 
I understand that certain programs will ask for exclusive control over the card. I also understand that it is recommended to output the original bit depth and sample rate of the material to a DAC. However my current soundcard only appears to output 48KHz and 96KHz over optical, sometimes I will be using a program that doesn't use exclusive mode (like Spotify) and even if it did, for non-critical listening I would probably have it off for if I am browsing the web and quickly want to pause the track playing in Spotify to watch a video.
 
With the above taken into consideration I am left with the question, what settings are best to use in this scenario? If I were to play something of CD quality for example, it is going to be up/oversampled (not sure of the correct term) somewhere along the line anyway. Is it a case of 48KHz being closer to 44.1KHz requires less scaling so is therefore better or with using 96KHz is there greater scope to refine the up/oversampling process? Is it best to change the shared mode default dependant on the file being played (to me that sounds incredibly inconvenient and tedious)? Is it always best to use 24 bit in shared mode preferences? Lastly, is there any advantage to matching the shared mode preference to the output sample rate?
 
Any help would be greatly appreciated

 

[Stillhart]

I can't help with the Direct Coupled thing sorry.
 
Regarding the second question, I think you're overthinking it.  Just stick it on 24/96 or 16/44 and call it a day.  You won't hear the difference with normal listening and for critical listening you should be using exclusive mode, as you mentioned.
 
BTW, I have an Omni too.  It was my first source chain upgrade and I still keep it around as a surround DSP.  You can use the optical out to a DAC or just the line out to an amp.  (Tho you should be using the headphone out in that case because the line out doesn't process the SBX surround the same way as the headphone out.)

 

[Napalmhardcore]

  I can't help with the Direct Coupled thing sorry.
 
Regarding the second question, I think you're overthinking it.  Just stick it on 24/96 or 16/44 and call it a day.  You won't hear the difference with normal listening and for critical listening you should be using exclusive mode, as you mentioned.
 
BTW, I have an Omni too.  It was my first source chain upgrade and I still keep it around as a surround DSP.  You can use the optical out to a DAC or just the line out to an amp.  (Tho you should be using the headphone out in that case because the line out doesn't process the SBX surround the same way as the headphone out.)

Thanks for the reply. I've been told I overthink stuff before lol. I've also been told I have an obsessive personality. Currently running with both 48KHz and 96KHz boxes checked in the supported format tab and 24 bit 96KHz in the advanced tab.
 
I originally bought the Omni for its virtual surround DSP and ability to output Dolby Digital (I also own a Mixamp Pro and was going to use it for both console and PC if I didn't like SBX, but I do like it). Are you sure the line out doesn't work in the same way as the headphone out? I can confirm that with the surround DSP engaged, when going out via optical to the receiver it definitely applies DSP. Are you saying that the headphone and line out processing is tailored to the specific output (i.e: different processing for speakers vs headphones)? Just for the sake of experimentation I was going to use the line out of the Omni into my Little Dot (when it arrives) and apply SBX to use with the HD600s. Now I'm left wondering if this will have the desired effect.