[cel4145]

Great! Definitely come back and post once you start getting components in and testing them out. Always helpful for other people looking for information on different setups.

 

[AllTernative]

Little update:

I got the HD598 and the Xonar DG now.
They do sound nice, but I can only use my headphones with a volumelevel of 6-12 / 100 in Windows.
This may be caused since the DG has a output impedance of 10 ohm, so it's pretty much too loud for me.
 
Ryan didn't give me the exact output impedance for the TubeMagic D1, but he said it's dynamically adjusted.
Therefore, if it has 10 ohm or higher, it might be not worth buying for me.
 
Now I am looking into ebay DACs, but I have a hard time understanding the specifications.
E.g. I found this one, while I was looking at the fire phoenix, you suggested 2 pages ago.
 
http://www.ebay.de/itm/SD-793II-SMSL-DAC-DIR9001-PCM1793-OPA2134-Coax-Optical-Input-Headphone-Amp-/271201541858?pt=US_Home_Audio_Amplifiers_Preamps&hash=item3f24df1ee2
 
I really love the design on this one and it features all the connections I need.
 
What I don't understand is this:
[size=x-small][size=small]Earphone output power: 65mW @ 16Ω; 130mW @ 32Ω[/size][/size]
Does this mean the output impedance is at least 16 ohm?
 
As you are pretty good with DACs (from ebay), do you know if this works for me, or do you know of any other products?
Since I have the soundcard with 10 ohm output, I would love to get a DAC with less (way too loud for me).

 

[cel4145]

Did you turn off that Smart Volume setting on the DG? Also, see the first post in this thread on the STX (scroll a good ways down the post). There is some information about configuring the STX, and the settings are similar: http://www.head-fi.org/t/421890/the-xonar-essence-stx-q-a-tweaking-impressions-thread

Hard to guess from reading specs which DACs are good since they may or may not have been implemented well. Same with the headphone amp. Best bet is to find a DAC/amp that many others on Head-Fi have found to be a good buy or one that has been measured in pro reviews. Try the dedicated headphone amps and dedicated source components forums:

http://www.head-fi.org/f/5/headphone-amps-full-size
http://www.head-fi.org/f/7/dedicated-source-components

That being said, if you want less expensive DAC/headphone amp, the FiiO E17 is a good one. Check Amazon UK for stock. Of course, there are better for more money. For the FiiO, you also need the E7 line out dock to connect your speaker amp.

 

[AllTernative]

I did turn it off. It's probably caused by the fact that it's 10 ohm output and 50 ohm headphones.
But I must admit, I tend to listen to anything with a considerable low volume, so..
 
The specs were not meant to determine if they are good, only which impedance they output.
 
Thanks for the advice, I will read those forums and probably open a thread.
 
I already thought about the combination with the E17, but it does not have a volume wheel, which I want, and it would be nice to have a 1/4" input for the headphones.

 

[cel4145]

It's definitely not caused by the 10 ohm output. Check and see if there is a headphone gain setting. I know that there is one on the Xonar STX. If there is, set it to low.

 

[AllTernative]

The only gain setting is the choice of the impedance, and I chose the lowest setting there (<32ohm headphones). As for other settings, only the volume setting is affecting the loudness, and this adjusts together with the windows volume.

 

[cel4145]

The Volume knob is supposed to change with the Windows volume.

Sorry. I don't know. You might google Xonar DG settings help and see what you can find.

 

[barid]

Going to jump in and threadjack here for a second (as I was having a similar setup problem as you).  Limited desktop space and a need to now power passive speakers (wharfedale 10.1)  as well as my normal headphone setup.
 
You could always look at the centrance dacmini PX (http://centrance.com/products/dacmini/px/) for a 1 box solution, though its way out of the budget discussed earlier in the thread. Or a peachtree decco65, which again is like $1k.
 
Basically I've been looking for a small power desktop power amp that doesn't look built like a cheap toy.  Probably will end up opting for that emotiva mini-x a-100 even even though its kind of big.
 
Other options for a smaller power amp for passive bookshelfs that looked ok were the nuforce icon (under 200).  Its late, I'm rambling.

 

[AllTernative]

Hey,
 
as you said, the DAC mini PX and the peachtree decco65 are way out of my budget.
I didn't read a lot of good stuff about the NuForce products - and they tend to have higher headphone output impedances of >10 ohm, so that's a no go.
 
I sadly have no idea what to get...
Even opened up a thread on the Dedicated Source Components forum, but aside from one person, no one replied...
(http://www.head-fi.org/t/666533/looking-for-usb-dac-with-hp-amp)

 

[trog]

Quote:

Going to jump in and threadjack here for a second (as I was having a similar setup problem as you).  Limited desktop space and a need to now power passive speakers (wharfedale 10.1)  as well as my normal headphone setup.

 
If u have a $200ish budget and needed somewhat small i'd hit that Emotiva over NuForce but cheaper/even smaller why not consider T-Amps?
A Diamond 10.2 user's take on it
http://www.avforums.com/forums/speakers/1663620-diamond-10-2-lepai-ta2020-amp-impressive.html

 

[barid]

Quote:

 
If u have a $200ish budget and needed somewhat small i'd hit that Emotiva over NuForce but cheaper/even smaller why not consider T-Amps?
A Diamond 10.2 user's take on it
http://www.avforums.com/forums/speakers/1663620-diamond-10-2-lepai-ta2020-amp-impressive.html

 
Yeah it's still up in the air.  Kind of leaning toward the Dacmini PX at the moment, but that would mean selling the DA160/Soloist.  probably break even on that. 
 
Choices, choices, choices.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

Quote:

What I don't understand is this:
[size=x-small][size=small]Earphone output power: 65mW @ 16Ω; 130mW @ 32Ω[/size][/size]
Does this mean the output impedance is at least 16 ohm?

 
No, that doesn't tell you the actual output impedance. All it tells you is that, when you connect a 16-ohm load, it outputs 65mW.
 
Quote:

Since I have the soundcard with 10 ohm output, I would love to get a DAC with less (way too loud for me).

 
Not that it will always be the case, but chances are lower impedance output might actually have a higher output. This isn't always true given specs and calculations, since there are different designs out there, like a voltage-driven amp that makes more power at 300ohm than at 32ohm, or a current-driven amp that does the opposite, but chances are if an amplifier even if built into a DAC was designed with a low output impedance, the designer might be taking into account a wide variety of headphones and thus, more power or gain (maybe variable gain settings).
 
Basically, get one with a variable gain setting to be sure.

 

[AllTernative]

Thanks for the clarification.
 
I was just about to pull the trigger on the TubeMagic D1, but then I calculated the shipping + tax + customs, and the 200$ TubeMagic would be a 300$ (230€) thing..
So, I don't really want to pay that much, and I'm looking into cheap china amps right now...

 

[AllTernative]

Well, I did a lot of research the last few days, and today I stumbled across the Xonar U7.
This seems a pretty good compromise, and since it's available in my country and I don't have to pay tax (additionally) or customs, I will probably order it later.
 
I still need an amp for the speakers, but I guess have a look at amazon again, or just order the Indeed T2021 from ebay (china).

 

[cel4145]

I don't think there has been a lot of discussion about it on AVS, but here is one thread: http://www.head-fi.org/t/660431/asus-xonar-u7 .