[OCD,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,]

Hey, thanks a lot guys/gals.

I initially came in here with a simple and inexpensive goal in mind. But... after doing much reading over the past few days and drooling over some of the setups that you guys have, I am now wanting something much better than initially planned, which means probably an amp with a single headphone out and seperate dac. If using a splitter messes up the sound quality then wife will just have to find something else to do (I hope she doesn't read this).

So, I'll close this thread.

 

[Uncle Erik]

Don't close the thread quite yet.

Have you looked at the PreSonus Central Station? It has everything you asked for and can be found for $500. It has two discrete headphone amps with separate volume controls and a very nice DAC. The relay-based attenuator (when using it as a preamp) is an especially fine addition.

I had one for awhile when I was running computer-as-source and thought highly of it. I was seduced by vinyl and SACD and moved away from the computer, so I sold it.

Browse around and pull up old threads on the Central Station - it got high marks from everyone for its headphone amps and DAC. It might be exactly what you're looking for.

 

[OCD,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,]

Thanks, I have lots of questions.
I read that the central station sounds better than the hp4. Do you know if it is a big improvement in SQ over the hp4(or only marginal)? Will it work well with low impedance headphones? The hp4 is almost too powerful; I just barely turn the volume knob and it is loud. Finally, will the dac in the central station sound better than the dac in my soundcard (emu 1212m)? I have read that some people think that the 1212m has an excellent dac but not so excellent supporting circuitry for the dac. I also have a turntable (technics SL-D3). So could I use the central station's preamp for the turntable? Does it have RIAA equalization?

 

[OCD,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,]

For clarity's sake:
The 1212m uses the cs4398 dac. I can't find exactly what dac the central station uses, but it seems to get good reviews. So, if the central station's dac will best the 1212m then this just might be the ticket.

 

[Uncle Erik]

Quote:

Originally Posted by OCD,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thanks, I have lots of questions. I read that the central station sounds better than the hp4. Do you know if it is a big improvement in SQ over the hp4(or only marginal)? Will it work well with low impedance headphones? The hp4 is almost too powerful; I just barely turn the volume knob and it is loud. Finally, will the dac in the central station sound better than the dac in my soundcard (emu 1212m)? I have read that some people think that the 1212m has an excellent dac but not so excellent supporting circuitry for the dac. I also have a turntable (technics SL-D3). So could I use the central station's preamp for the turntable? Does it have RIAA equalization?

I haven't compared the Central Station to the HP4, the Central Station works great with low impedance headphones (it is solid state, after all), and I'm not familiar with the emu 1212m.

I can tell you that the Central Station does not have a phono stage, so you would need to pick one up to use your turntable. The Central Station has inputs for other sources, so you could jack in the turntable and switch between it and your computer.

 

[haroT3k]

I'm planning on selling my Musical Fidelity X-Can V8 if you are interested. Its a hybrid tube amp which has two headphone outputs, a usb dac with the option to RCA line in allowing for an external dac upgrade later on. check it out here:

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f42/ic...can-v8-448559/

 

[fault151]

The jaycar amp is a great amp for the price, it can be tweaked like mad to sound amazing! it also accepts two heapdones.

 

[OCD,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,]

I'll give the central station a try, since it got such high remarks in here a couple of years ago for having both a great headphone amp and a great dac. Also, guitar center has a 30 day refund policy, so I can't lose.

Uncle Erik:
I read that when the central station is used with a power conditioner and fed a 24bit/192khz signal through s/pdif coax that the sound quality from the dac is comparative to much higher priced dac's. My 1212m outputs a max of 24bit/96khz through s/pdif coax. Do you think this will cause much of a degrade in sound quality? How did you have your central station setup (optical, coax, etc)? I have never dealt with dac's before, so I'm really clueless when it comes to this stuff.

 

[jeremyzone]

hey OCD, here's another vote for the central station. i picked one up used a couple months ago and i love it. i don't have any power conditioning so i don't know how much it would help... i have plugged it in to "polluted" and relatively non-polluted power and i haven't noticed much of a difference, but it wasn't an extensive A/B, plus i read the same thread that you did about how much power conditioning can help.

perhaps i dont understand your emu card, but it looks like you can also try the digital optical if you want 192khz. i have mine set up as optical from my computer and it sounds great, but i dont have anything else to compare it with

i have the 80 ohm dt770s and 300 ohm hd650s and the central station runs both of them fine. i really love my hd650s out of it. when i tried my etymotic er6i's (32 ohms) it barely took any juice, but they are meant to run off of an ipod anyway...

 

[OCD,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jeremyzone /img/forum/go_quote.gif .....perhaps i dont understand your emu card, but it looks like you can also try the digital optical if you want 192khz. i have mine set up as optical from my computer and it sounds great, but i dont have anything else to compare it with.....

The 1212m owners manual is very confusing, it states that at 192 khz: all s/pdif inputs and outputs are disabled, however ADAT (s/mux standard) is available. I'm really not clear on this digital stuff.

 

[Uncle Erik]

You only have to worry about your output rate if you're playing 24/192 files from your computer. Ordinary CDs are 16/44.1, you'll need to be playing 192 DVD-A files or other hi-rez to get the full benefit of 192. Even then, I've read that anythin much past 96 pushes the boundaries of human hearing. I have a few DVD-A discs with 192 files and while they sound superb, I don't notice much difference from the 96 files or SACD at 96.

So, even if you're limited to 96, I don't think you're going to notice all that much difference. Also, you could always pick up a 192 soundcard if you really wanted that last measure.

I ran my Central Station off optical from an Intel Mac Mini as well as via coax off a Rega Planet. I only used Red Book files (16/44.1) that the Central Station upsampled to 24/192. Everything sounded terrific.

I don't believe in much power conditioning, either. Most power supplies do an excellent job of filtering AC - that is the entire point of a power supply aside from providing the correct voltage. If you want to use something, get an isolation transformer. You can fimd them from about $30 to a few hundred for a really big one. They take care of ground loops and remove DC from the line. Yes, there's often a little DC on an AC line. It doesn't really affect the sound, but it will make power transformers run warmer than they should. An isolation transformer will take care of that.

 

[OCD,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,]

Thanks for recommending the central station. I've only listened to it for a few hours, but I can easily say that the headphone amp section sounds way better than the HP4 (even though I've read that the HP4 and CS use about the same headphone amp circuitry). The central station's DAC also sounds better than the 1212m's DAC (instruments sound more realistic and overall the music is smoother).

I found an old M-Audio Revolution 7.1 that I had in my closet from a few years ago and I am using it to output a 24 bit/192 Khz signal through coax into the CS. I compared the 24/96 signal from the 1212m and the 24/192 signal from the M-Audio and found that the CS sounds better with the 24/192 signal, which agrees with what other people were saying in here a couple of years ago.

Thanks For The Help