Can you connect a dac/amp to a Scarlet Solo?
Dec 16, 2022 at 8:17 AM Thread Starter Post #1 of 10
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Vaxin

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So I'm planning to buy an HD6XX in the near future (or maybe if smth else tickles my fancy), and I happened to find the IFI Uno, which made me wonder, can I connect the IFI Uno to a Scarlet Solo? I want to keep the Scarlet Solo as my DAC because I also have a condenser microphone. If it's possible, how do I connect my Scarlet Solo to the IFI Uno?
 
Dec 16, 2022 at 8:56 AM Post #2 of 10
IFI Uno does not have an analog line-input, so can't be connected to the Scarlett Solo.
 
Dec 16, 2022 at 10:36 AM Post #3 of 10
Vaxin said:
So I'm planning to buy an HD6XX in the near future (or maybe if smth else tickles my fancy), and I happened to find the IFI Uno, which made me wonder, can I connect the IFI Uno to a Scarlet Solo? I want to keep the Scarlet Solo as my DAC because I also have a condenser microphone. If it's possible, how do I connect my Scarlet Solo to the IFI Uno?
Click to expand...

DAC means "digital to analogue converter." The Scarlett has that. (It also has an ADC, ie, an "analogue to digital converter.") You can't connect an interface with a DAC that would DAC digital audio to DAC-HPamp that can't DAC the already DAC-ed signal.

What you can do is use them in parallel. Go into Properties on Windows and select the Scarlett Solo as the audio input device, at which point only the mic preamp and ADC will work. Then select the iFi as the output device and audio will go through there. Note: if you have studio monitors hooked up the Solo they also won't work anymore.
 
Dec 17, 2022 at 10:49 AM Post #6 of 10
Vaxin said:
I see, that's unfortunate to hear. I'm not knowledgeable enough yet when it comes to AMP/DACS. Are there any budget amps that can connect to the Scarlet Solo, though?
Click to expand...
For connecting to the Solo, you want a headphone amplifier, not a DAC/headphone amplifier (IFI Uno).
Xduoo MT-602 is a low cost tube headphone amplifier.
Topping L30 II head amp.
What would you budget (max budget)?
 
Dec 17, 2022 at 12:20 PM Post #7 of 10
Do you only want to use the Scarlet Solo for your mic? If so, then I agree with @ProtegeManiac's post above: set your computer so that the Scarlet Solo is set as audio input, and the iFi Uno as the output.

Your Scarlet has both an ADC (analog-digital converter) and a DAC (digital-analog converter). The iFi has only a DAC.

To use with a computer, a microphone's analog output signal needs to be converted to digital with an ADC. A DAC isn't used for this process.
Conversely, to use headphones with a computer, the computer's digital output needs to be converted to analog with a DAC. An ADC isn't used for this process.

So, yes, you could use both the Scarlet Solo and the iFi Uno, but not connected together.
 
Dec 17, 2022 at 11:33 PM Post #9 of 10
megabigeye said:
Do you only want to use the Scarlet Solo for your mic? If so, then I agree with @ProtegeManiac's post above: set your computer so that the Scarlet Solo is set as audio input, and the iFi Uno as the output.

Your Scarlet has both an ADC (analog-digital converter) and a DAC (digital-analog converter). The iFi has only a DAC.

To use with a computer, a microphone's analog output signal needs to be converted to digital with an ADC. A DAC isn't used for this process.
Conversely, to use headphones with a computer, the computer's digital output needs to be converted to analog with a DAC. An ADC isn't used for this process.

So, yes, you could use both the Scarlet Solo and the iFi Uno, but not connected together.
Click to expand...
Yeah I'm considering this too, but it's more of a personal thing that I want to centralize by using the Solo's volume knob to control volume while the AMP volume knob set once and forget. Hopefully I'm making sense.
 
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