mriguy2
New Head-Fier
- Joined
- Nov 16, 2006
- Posts
- 22
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- 0
Hi Everyone... Well, it's time to give back to the Head-Fi community. So, here is what I've learned about the Apogee Mini-Dac and how to make it really sing.
The most important thing to know about the Mini-Dac is that the sound quality of its XLR balanced outputs are far (way, way far) superior to its mini-jack 3.5mm outputs (both front & rear). If that's all you have been listening to, then the boat has sailed without you... but you can still get back onboard and here's how...
So, if all you have is RCA inputs, here is option one...
1 - You need to get yourself an XLR (female) to RCA (female) cable adapter so that you can take the output of the Mini-Dac's XLR output and adapt it to either the RCA input of your preamp/amplifier. Most of these adapters short the (-) line to ground. The Apogee is actually OK with this (I have talked to their TS staff), though I still find it kind of cruel. So, I took my adapters apart and cut the shorting jumper. It was easy to do. Either way, you can use a standard set of RCA cables to bring the audio to your preamp or power amp. Be sure to keep the Mini-Dac's volume control low (at first) as the drive level on even just half of the XLR will be considerably higher then the standard RCA drive levels. More good news for headphone listeners... the Mini-Dac XLR output has some real muscle behind it... in fact, you can then use another adapter to directly covert the RCA drive to a 3.5mm stereo female jack and then drive headphones! I had excellent results driving my Westone UM2s in this way. Optionally, you can also use the RCA cables to drive a high-quality headphone amplifier and then use it to drive your headphones. I have done this with incredible results using a RSA Tomahawk. Ok... but what then is option 2 you ask?
2 - Here's what I am doing right now... it is even better. Get yourself a Jensen PC-X2R Iso-Max. This is a small box that contains two very high quality impedance matching transformers. And don't start thinking transformers are evil, because they are not. This device accepts XLR inputs and delivers RCA outputs. The transformers are of a 4 to 1 step-down design, which means that the XLR outputs are converted-down to standard RCA drive levels. Using the Iso-Max, both sides of the XLR output are now used. In addition, there is no longer a hard ground between the components. It sounds fantastic... music emerges from utter and total silence. I purchased my Iso-Max for a little over $100 through the internet (do a Google search). I'd do it again in a heartbeat. The output of the Iso-Max can either go to your preamp/power amp or to your headphone amplifier. But it cannot drive earphones directly.
So... if you are using the Mini-Dac's front or rear mini-jack ouputs, you have no idea of how good the Mini-Dac really is. Trust me.
Best Regards & Happy Listening,
The most important thing to know about the Mini-Dac is that the sound quality of its XLR balanced outputs are far (way, way far) superior to its mini-jack 3.5mm outputs (both front & rear). If that's all you have been listening to, then the boat has sailed without you... but you can still get back onboard and here's how...
So, if all you have is RCA inputs, here is option one...
1 - You need to get yourself an XLR (female) to RCA (female) cable adapter so that you can take the output of the Mini-Dac's XLR output and adapt it to either the RCA input of your preamp/amplifier. Most of these adapters short the (-) line to ground. The Apogee is actually OK with this (I have talked to their TS staff), though I still find it kind of cruel. So, I took my adapters apart and cut the shorting jumper. It was easy to do. Either way, you can use a standard set of RCA cables to bring the audio to your preamp or power amp. Be sure to keep the Mini-Dac's volume control low (at first) as the drive level on even just half of the XLR will be considerably higher then the standard RCA drive levels. More good news for headphone listeners... the Mini-Dac XLR output has some real muscle behind it... in fact, you can then use another adapter to directly covert the RCA drive to a 3.5mm stereo female jack and then drive headphones! I had excellent results driving my Westone UM2s in this way. Optionally, you can also use the RCA cables to drive a high-quality headphone amplifier and then use it to drive your headphones. I have done this with incredible results using a RSA Tomahawk. Ok... but what then is option 2 you ask?
2 - Here's what I am doing right now... it is even better. Get yourself a Jensen PC-X2R Iso-Max. This is a small box that contains two very high quality impedance matching transformers. And don't start thinking transformers are evil, because they are not. This device accepts XLR inputs and delivers RCA outputs. The transformers are of a 4 to 1 step-down design, which means that the XLR outputs are converted-down to standard RCA drive levels. Using the Iso-Max, both sides of the XLR output are now used. In addition, there is no longer a hard ground between the components. It sounds fantastic... music emerges from utter and total silence. I purchased my Iso-Max for a little over $100 through the internet (do a Google search). I'd do it again in a heartbeat. The output of the Iso-Max can either go to your preamp/power amp or to your headphone amplifier. But it cannot drive earphones directly.
So... if you are using the Mini-Dac's front or rear mini-jack ouputs, you have no idea of how good the Mini-Dac really is. Trust me.
Best Regards & Happy Listening,