[PTBKoo]

Hi! I just recently started to get into the Hi-fi world after purchasing my first real set of iems, the TF-10's. Once I got these IEM's I started to upgrade all my music to flac/m4a and now I am eager to start upgrading my almost non-existant audio equipment.

 
After doing some research I knew I needed to upgrade my computer speakers. After reading counless reviews (mosltly on swan speakers) I decided to settle for the Swan M10 Swan M200MKII or the [size=small]Swan D1080MkII08.[/size]
 
I also knew I needed to get a better soundcard. As I moslty listen to music on my computer, I decided to get the Asus Xonar Essence ST to connect my speakers with but I noticed a small problem here: I also listen to music on my TF10's and I did not want to plug my iem's into the back of my computer everytime I wanted to listen to music on my iem's. I looked into alternatives and found out more about dacs and amps.
 
I liked what I saw as a dac + amp (Fiio E9 + E7) costs only a little more than the Essence ST. I was wondering if this setup would work with my TF10's and M200 or D1080? Would this be the best possible way to get quality sound for both my speakers and iem's from my computer? Would a setup like this work?
 
Computer: Apple Lossless > iTunes > FiiO E7 > FiiO E9 > Remolded (Fisher) UE TF.10/Swan M200MKII
Portable: Apple Lossless > iPod Touch 4G > Fiio L3 LOD Cable > FiiO E7 > Remolded (Fisher) UE TF.10

 

[nyjets28]

you can just connect the m10's to the back of the e9 via 3.5mm and then plug your headphones into the two hp-outs on the front of the e9. i think when you plug in the headphones, music won't play through the speakers. i have a e9 as well, but don't use it for my hp-out; i use it to control my audioengine a2's and use a gilmore lite for my hp-out

 

[PTBKoo]

I noticed on the e9 there are 2 rca out's on the back, would it be possible to connect the speakers (M200) that way? or is that a bad idea and I should use the 3.5mm instead?

 

[nyjets28]

i don't know what connections the swans use, but i don't think it would matter if you used the rca's or the 3.5mm. don't think it will affect the sound at all.

 

[PTBKoo]

Someone told me that the RCA out on the e9 does not amplify so I should connect it using the 3.5mm if I want the speakers to be amplified. Is that needed to make the speakers have the best quality sound or would it be better without the amp?

 

[nyjets28]

oh actually you're right. the RCA is a fixed level. but if you do use the 3.5mm out in the rear, then you're essentially gonna be double-amping your speakers because (if i'm not wrong) the swans have a built-in amplifier in the system

 

[PTBKoo]

Is double amping a good idea with the Swans M200 MKII? or should I just let the swans do the work?
 
I would think the amp in the e7 would be stronger than the built in amps in the M200's but I am not so sure.

 

[JRG1990]

using the 3.5mm out on the back of the E9 is NOT double amping it's a volume controled line-out , the 3.5mm preout is 0 - 2 vrms , the rca out is fixed at 2vrms.

 

[PTBKoo]

Quote:

using the 3.5mm out on the back of the E9 is NOT double amping it's a volume controled line-out , the 3.5mm preout is 0 - 2 vrms , the rca out is fixed at 2vrms.

 
Which one would you recommend to use?
 
Also I finally got the e7 + e9 today . I have it hooked up to my old speakers using the 3.5 until I get the swans. I also noticed that I cannot control the volume though my computer. This makes sense because it is connected directly through the usb and there are no drivers. It kind of sucked at first but I'm starting to like doing it this way .

 

[JRG1990]

Use the 3.5mm pre-out if you want to control the volume of the speakers with the e9 otherwise use the rca out.

 

[PTBKoo]

I just purchased the Swan M200MKIII and WOW do they sound amazing, a huge upgrade from my stock computer speakers. Turned a few of my 3 star songs into 4 star songs in iTunes. 

 
I connected the speakers using the RCA to RCA cable so I could control the volume from the speakers itself and keep the headphone volume seperate.
 
Thanks for all the help.

 

[PTBKoo]

I noticed a small problem with the speakers. I noticed that the right side (active speaker) had a lower sound than the left side (passive), at first I thought it was my imagination but it kept bothering me while listening to music so I decided to do a test so I lowered the volume until I couldn't hear anything in the right side. Problem was I shouldnt have been able to hear anything on the left side either but I could clearly hear music still coming out of it. I knew I wasn't crazy! 

 So switched out the cables from RCA to the 3.5mm and the sound coming out of both sides seem to be balanced.
 
So my question is why was it louder on the right side while I was using the RCA connection connected to the e9+e7 but works perfectly fine using the 3.5mm?
 
On the back of the e9 there is a gain switch, should I leave the switch down or put it up for my swans? I noticed that while it was up it made the sound louder. Otherwise I couldnt really hear any quality differences with the music I was listening to.

 

[nyjets28]

have you tried different RCA cables? make sure everything is plugged in and the connections on both sides, the fiio and the speakers are snug. it shouldn't make sense for rca to be unbalanced and mini to be balanced. it might be the cable or the connections. 
 
gain is just what it says- just makes it louder essentially, so it doesn't really matter. afaik, you only use more gain, when you need more volume and you're already turning up the volume know to close max

 

[juman231]

Quote:

I noticed a small problem with the speakers. I noticed that the right side (active speaker) had a lower sound than the left side (passive), at first I thought it was my imagination but it kept bothering me while listening to music so I decided to do a test so I lowered the volume until I couldn't hear anything in the right side. Problem was I shouldnt have been able to hear anything on the left side either but I could clearly hear music still coming out of it. I knew I wasn't crazy! 

 So switched out the cables from RCA to the 3.5mm and the sound coming out of both sides seem to be balanced.
 
So my question is why was it louder on the right side while I was using the RCA connection connected to the e9+e7 but works perfectly fine using the 3.5mm?
 
On the back of the e9 there is a gain switch, should I leave the switch down or put it up for my swans? I noticed that while it was up it made the sound louder. Otherwise I couldnt really hear any quality differences with the music I was listening to.

Have you tried using the RCA cable you used for right side on the left and vice versa? If the imbalance is reversed, (right is louder) then maybe it's the cables that's causing the problem? If not, it might be the RCA line out of the E9, since your speaker works with E9's preout.