[Prince88]

Hey guys. I need your help, so let me explain. So I just bought the Modi 2 uber/magni 2 uber along with Monolith M1060 Planar Headphones. I have a Samsung KS8000 TV that is connected to a Samsung soundbar via the Arc (HDMI) output. Just an FYI, my soundbar does have Aux and optical as well.

My Pc is connected to the Samsung tv as well. As of right now I have my sound coming out of the soundbar. Now my questions are, how do I incorporate the Modi 2 uber/magni 2 uber with my PC and soundbar? Is there anything else I need to buy to accomplish this task?

And I wanna make sure there won't be any sound interference. For example, lets say if I'm playing something from my pc, and then I plug in the headphone. Or do I need some sort of switch? If I do, which one and how would I use it?

My goal is to have the Amp help out the headphone and soundbar.


Sorry for the long post, I have a lot of questions. Also, I am very new to all of this dac/amp thing, so please be detailed in your explanation. A list would help.



Thank you for all your help.

 

[Monsterzero]

OK,so the soundbar has a built in amp,I presume?If it is powered you can run RCA out to soundbar RCA AUX IN(if it has one)

In theory the chain should go:

PC>Schiit stack>soundbar

If your TV has an analogue audio out(thats not HDMI) you might be able to work that into the equation too,

PC>TV>Schiit stack>soundbar

Im not really sure why the need/desire to have the Magni "help" the soundbar.the Magni isnt super powerful...If you can do without that aspect,and your sound bar has an AUX out then you could,in theory put the amp in there,but to utilize the DAC,that needs to go directly from PC,then amp later on in chain...kinda confusing w/o seeing the back of your soundbar and knowing what kind of output your PC is running to your DAC.

 

[squee116]

OK,so the soundbar has a built in amp,I presume?If it is powered you can run RCA out to soundbar RCA AUX IN(if it has one)

In theory the chain should go:

PC>Schiit stack>soundbar

If your TV has an analogue audio out(thats not HDMI) you might be able to work that into the equation too,

PC>TV>Schiit stack>soundbar

Im not really sure why the need/desire to have the Magni "help" the soundbar.the Magni isnt super powerful...If you can do without that aspect,and your sound bar has an AUX out then you could,in theory put the amp in there,but to utilize the DAC,that needs to go directly from PC,then amp later on in chain...kinda confusing w/o seeing the back of your soundbar and knowing what kind of output your PC is running to your DAC.

I might be off on this, but you don't typically send an amplified signal to another stage of amplification, do you? (assuming the soundbar has its own amp)

I would think you would use a splitter from Modi...
Question to OP...
Do you want sound out of the headphones and soundbar simultaneously? You're a bit vague on the setup. Do you want sound out of one at a time? Theoretically, you could run multiple outs from your PC, and change which audio device you're using in your OS. There's no need for complex setups.

 

[Monsterzero]

I might be off on this, but you don't typically send an amplified signal to another stage of amplification, do you? (assuming the soundbar has its own amp)

Yes,you can do that,its called bi-amping.Used to send my gaming amp out to my tube amp so i could game with a pair of 600 ohm headphones....its not difficult,plus the Magni Uber has the RCA outs to attach powered monitors,so if the soundbar is powered,I assume it would work,but Ive never owned a soundbar so im just guessing here.

 

[Prince88]

Sorry for the confusion. In regards to sound, I want sound to be able to come out one at a time. Meaning I can switch between headphones or soundbar if I wanted to. Below I have added pics of my soundbar and the options in the back. I have also added links to my pictures below of with the samsung hub looks like. Hopefully that helps a little.

I have a Samsung HW‑K550 soundbar, and yes, according to samsungs website it has a built in amp.

https://ibb.co/dTQCNv
https://ibb.co/igj6hv
https://ibb.co/cbraaF
https://ibb.co/mrdcpa

 

[Prince88]

And I haven't received the Schiit Uber stack yet, I am still waiting on the shipment. I'm just preparing. On the back of my motherboard, I have usb 2.0 , 3.0 and spdif out port just if you were wondering.


Im just trying to see what the best optimal way to connects everything together was.

 

[squee116]

Yes,you can do that,its called bi-amping.Used to send my gaming amp out to my tube amp so i could game with a pair of 600 ohm headphones....its not difficult,plus the Magni Uber has the RCA outs to attach powered monitors,so if the soundbar is powered,I assume it would work,but Ive never owned a soundbar so im just guessing here.

I think that's incorrect as well? Bi-amping is using a separate amp to power separate sections for a speaker... like one amp being used to power the mids and highs, while one amp powers the bass section.

And as far as I'm aware, a gaming amp has much less power to it compared to a proper amp, though I guess the same could be said of a headphone amp.
If you hook them up with the all the volume knobs turned down, and slowly adjust the Magni amp, then use the soundbar volume control to fine tune, it might work. Just be aware you're going to introduce more distortion by doing it this way. You're better off by running separate outputs from your PC to the TV and headphone amp/dac.

 

[squee116]

And I haven't received the Schiit Uber stack yet, I am still waiting on the shipment. I'm just preparing. On the back of my motherboard, I have usb 2.0 , 3.0 and spdif out port just if you were wondering.


Im just trying to see what the best optimal way to connects everything together was.

Ah, okay. That makes sense. That input bar is actually kind of handy.
You're best bet would to be leave the HDMI out to the TV, and use SPDIF or USB to the Modi. You can switch between the inputs by switching the playback devices in your sound manager.

 

[Monsterzero]

I think that's incorrect as well? Bi-amping is using a separate amp to power separate sections for a speaker... like one amp being used to power the mids and highs, while one amp powers the bass section.

And as far as I'm aware, a gaming amp has much less power to it compared to a proper amp, though I guess the same could be said of a headphone amp.

Negative.

The amp im talking about is a MixAmp Pro,which drove my HD600s about as well as my old Magni Uber did.They were not far apart in power,whereas neither had the horses to drive a Beyer T1,so I would send the processed signal out of the MixAmp into the back of a Woo Audio WA2,into my old T1s=an amazing gaming setup that cost me over 2000.00 usd.I was still getting the 7.1 effect of the Mixamp and the horses to drive the T1.

My point of all this is to comment on the OPs desire to have MU2 help drive his soundbar,and I dont think it will be much of an improvement in power.He might be able to get the audio out of the MU2 into the soundbar,it just depends on how complicated he wants to try and get with incorporating all his equipment into one set-up.

After a certain point an AVR almost becomes necessary if you want to tie it all together neatly and smoothly.

 

[Monsterzero]

Sorry for the confusion. In regards to sound, I want sound to be able to come out one at a time. Meaning I can switch between headphones or soundbar if I wanted to. Below I have added pics of my soundbar and the options in the back. I have also added links to my pictures below of with the samsung hub looks like. Hopefully that helps a little.

I have a Samsung HW‑K550 soundbar, and yes, according to samsungs website it has a built in amp.

https://ibb.co/dTQCNv
https://ibb.co/igj6hv
https://ibb.co/cbraaF
https://ibb.co/mrdcpa

I am not familiar with the Samsung Hub,i think it was a last minute add-on to work with 4K content,but dont quote me on that.

So just so we understand youre using your computer as your source for all media? Gaming/music/films?
If so you want the DAC/AMP right after the computer and then run out of the MU2 into soundbar...that in theory,should work.
That config wont help with content originating on your TV though.

When headphones are plugged into the Magni Uber the speaker outputs shut off automatically,at least they did on powered monitors when I had them.

 

[squee116]

Negative.

The amp im talking about is a MixAmp Pro,which drove my HD600s about as well as my old Magni Uber did.They were not far apart in power,whereas neither had the horses to drive a Beyer T1,so I would send the processed signal out of the MixAmp into the back of a Woo Audio WA2,into my old T1s=an amazing gaming setup that cost me over 2000.00 usd.I was still getting the 7.1 effect of the Mixamp and the horses to drive the T1.

My point of all this is to comment on the OPs desire to have MU2 help drive his soundbar,and I dont think it will be much of an improvement in power.He might be able to get the audio out of the MU2 into the soundbar,it just depends on how complicated he wants to try and get with incorporating all his equipment into one set-up.

After a certain point an AVR almost becomes necessary if you want to tie it all together neatly and smoothly.

I was more referring to the term "bi-amping" being used where you used it. Also, I'd like to remind those involved that 7.1 isn't something you can get with 2 speakers. There are hardware and software facsimiles, and those add unnecessary distortion and reverb to the sound.

As for the MixAmp being as powerful as the Magni...
According Astro's website:
70mW 32ohm per channel
According to Schiit about Magni 2:
32 ohms: 1.2W RMS per channel

That's not a small difference.

OP, it's really up to you. The hub might simplify things a bit, though it depends on your use-case. Do you need audio only out to the sound bar, or audio and video? If audio only, you've got several options. You could send a signal directly out of your PC, using the motherboard's DAC, to your soundbar, and use separate connection method to your Modi. You could add a splitter to your Modi, and split an analog signal out between your magni and soundbar (assuming that aux input is a pair of RCA jacks). This way, the signal is technically always "going out" but you can turn off the individual devices you aren't using without worrying about switching sources (or playback devices in PC).

From what I was discussing with an audio engineer about this, amped source->amped speaker is doable but not ideal. You'd be amping a signal, attenuating it with volume control, and amping that attenuated signal, resulting in increased distortion. You just have to be careful about the volume controls on both units.

 

[Prince88]

Yes my computer is the source of all media.

And thank you MonsterZero. I will try that when the Schiit stack comes in.


How would i connect the Magni 2 uber and modi 2 uber together? I bough a pair of RCA cables.

1) Does connection go from Modi 2 to the "In" of Magni 2 ?

2) Then Usb to PC?

3) Then optical from Modi 2 to soundbar?

 

[Prince88]

And I dont mind switching sources on my PC.

 

[Prince88]

But just out of curiosity, how would I incorporate a splitter? and which one do i get?

 

[Monsterzero]

Yes my computer is the source of all media.

And thank you MonsterZero. I will try that when the Schiit stack comes in.


How would i connect the Magni 2 uber and modi 2 uber together? I bough a pair of RCA cables.

1) Does connection go from Modi 2 to the "In" of Magni 2 ?

2) Then Usb to PC?

3) Then optical from Modi 2 to soundbar?

No,

I would run optical out from PC>optical in Modi>Magni>Magni out RCA(in rear)into analog input of soundbar.

If youre wanting to run it from USB to free up the optical for the TV,you might run into a degraded audio,depending upon your computer...Best way to set it up is try it both ways,and if your ears hear no difference go with best suits your needs.

Yes,The Modi/Magni connect via RCA cables.

As for the MixAmp being as powerful as the Magni...
According Astro's website:
70mW 32ohm per channel
According to Schiit about Magni 2:
32 ohms: 1.2W RMS per channel

That's not a small difference.

What does this have to do with anything? I merely mentioned the power(or lack thereof) of the MU2 to dramatically boost (bi-amp)the sound bar,when in fact the OP isnt looking for that,rather a way to get audio throughout his system.