How to connect headphone amp to DAC to receiver??

[Freazy]

Hi there,i'm kinda new to the audio world so forgive me if this is a n00b question.
I didnt know where else to post this so i figured i might as well post this in this section.
I'm Frederic from Belgium in Europe and i want to buy a Sennheiser HD 800 headphone but i don't know how to connect a few things.
First of all i want to buy a DAC because all my things (PC,PS3,XBOX 360 and later on BluRay player) are connected through HDMI on a Marantz SR 7005 receiver.(wich i have yet to buy)
Then i want to buy a good headphone amp that matches the HD 800 because he deserves a good amp.
How do i connect my headphone amp to a DAC then the DAC to my receiver so i can hear all my things that are connected through HDMI through my headphone amp (if its possible at all)
I have a solution in mind but dont know if it will work because i have yet to buy my receiver,headphone(amp) and DAC.
solution : from receiver optical OUT to DAC optical IN,from DAC RCA OUT to headphone amp RCA IN.
Will i hear all my stuff that are connected through HDMI through the headphone amp or will i have to connect my stuff (like PC and PS3) separately through the optcial INs from my receiver to hear anything.
I appriciate all the advice from you experts because i really am a newbie on this matter.
I hope you will enlighten me with your knowledge

 

[Freazy]

BUMP!!

 

[sphinxvc]

It defeats the purpose of a DAC to go through your receiver first.  Ideally you'll want to go from your sources to the DAC and then to either the receiver for your speakers or headphone amp for your HPs.  
 
One idea might be to connect the source to your DAC and then output to the receiver and from there send another RCA to the headphone amp.  Probably not the most ideal signal path but it ought to work.

 

[Yoga Flame]

It sounds like the receiver is going to be used as an input selector for your many sources. The optical output on the receiver will only be able to carry signals from your digital sources. And your DAC might have problems when the source is playing surround sound. Or it might still work if the receiver can convert the 5.1 dolby sound down to normal stereo for the DAC.
 
Another idea is to leave out the DAC, and connect the receiver's analog out to your headphone amp's RCA input. This way, you will be using the DAC inside the receiver. Then later on you can still get a separate DAC after you become more familiar with the receiver's abilities.
 

 

[brasewel]

Quote:

It defeats the purpose of a DAC to go through your receiver first.  Ideally you'll want to go from your sources to the DAC and then to either the receiver for your speakers or headphone amp for your HPs.  
 
One idea might be to connect the source to your DAC and then output to the receiver and from there send another RCA to the headphone amp.  Probably not the most ideal signal path but it ought to work.

This will work. You will need to connect your source(PC, laptop etc) to the DAC using a USB or coaxial cable. Depending on your DACs outputs, you can take one output to your receiver and the other to your headphone amp. If your DAC has only one output you would need to split the output using a RCA splitter for each channel. http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=104&cp_id=10429&cs_id=1042904&p_id=7186&seq=1&format=2
As for surround sound, most receivers can convert to 5.1 or 7.1 without any issues.
Hope that helps. 
 

 

[Mochan]

IMO what you are trying to do is pointless, the DAC doesn't belong in that chain because you are expecting to use stuff like your PS3, Xbox, etc. as sources. Routing them through a DAC does nothing; they ARE their own DAC basically.
 
This is a case of being too overzealous with the headfi hobby, my suggestion is to keep your separate sources going into the Marantz receiver. For music, use a PC or Transport or whatever as your source, put that into the DAC as usual, then output the DAC to the Marantz. Then the Marantz to your Headphone amp when you need the headphone.
 
You don't need any DACs for your PS3s or what not. Waste of effort. Your PS3 et al output surround sound out of their DAC. It's pointless to rout that through a music DAC. You're just losing sight of the forest for the trees.
 
I'll also throw another bone in here: why do you need a headphone amp? I haven't tried the Marantz you are talking about, but I have nothing but great experiences with the Headphone Outs of Marantz gear I have tried. I'm pretty sure the SR7005 is better than most dedicated headphone amps you can buy today. A lot of people are going to disagree with me on that one, but my old vintage Marantz 1090 is still better than any dedicated headphone amp I have heard.

 

[brasewel]

Quote:

IMO what you are trying to do is pointless, the DAC doesn't belong in that chain because you are expecting to use stuff like your PS3, Xbox, etc. as sources. Routing them through a DAC does nothing; they ARE their own DAC basically.
 
This is a case of being too overzealous with the headfi hobby, my suggestion is to keep your separate sources going into the Marantz receiver. For music, use a PC or Transport or whatever as your source, put that into the DAC as usual, then output the DAC to the Marantz. Then the Marantz to your Headphone amp when you need the headphone.
 
You don't need any DACs for your PS3s or what not. Waste of effort. Your PS3 et al output surround sound out of their DAC. It's pointless to rout that through a music DAC. You're just losing sight of the forest for the trees.
 
I'll also throw another bone in here: why do you need a headphone amp? I haven't tried the Marantz you are talking about, but I have nothing but great experiences with the Headphone Outs of Marantz gear I have tried. I'm pretty sure the SR7005 is better than most dedicated headphone amps you can buy today. A lot of people are going to disagree with me on that one, but my old vintage Marantz 1090 is still better than any dedicated headphone amp I have heard.

 
The headphone amp has to be connected directly to the dac not via the receiver.
I agree on the PS3 etc you don't need a dac.
 
My suggestion is to get a good integrated that has a good built-in dac or get a good receiver that has a good dac.
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[sphinxvc]

Quote:

This will work. You will need to connect your source(PC, laptop etc) to the DAC using a USB or coaxial cable. Depending on your DACs outputs, you can take one output to your receiver and the other to your headphone amp. If your DAC has only one output you would need to split the output using a RCA splitter for each channel. http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=104&cp_id=10429&cs_id=1042904&p_id=7186&seq=1&format=2
As for surround sound, most receivers can convert to 5.1 or 7.1 without any issues.
Hope that helps. 
 

I thought of that too but decided against that idea, it just seems like a bad idea to a use a splitter.  Doesn't that fudge with voltage and what not?  
 
All in all, this seems like an exercise in futility.  Considering that the DAC won't process more than 2 channels.

 

[alv4426]

Just do what I did, optical out from computer to receiver. then use the analog out or a zone 2 out like i use to the head amp. that marantz already has a good dac built in, it may even have a good headphone jack, it is one of the top of the line receivers from one of the better companies out there.

 

[brasewel]

Quote:

Quote:

I thought of that too but decided against that idea, it just seems like a bad idea to a use a splitter.  Doesn't that fudge with voltage and what not?  
 
All in all, this seems like an exercise in futility.  Considering that the DAC won't process more than 2 channels.

I don't think it should. This whole idea of connecting the PS3, bluray player etc to a dac is a wrong thought process.
 

 

[Freazy]

Ok thx for the reply guys,really helpfull.
I think i will buy me an Wyred for sound DAC-1 (or2) with a Woo Audio 22.
The Dac offers me 2 optical inputs with a usb input,what more can i ask for .
So i will connect my PC and my future BluRay player (wich i will use for cd's and SACD) through the opticals without the use of my receiver (it was a pointless thought but hey i'm new  to all this)
It seems this dac with the WA22 is a good combo with the Sennheiser HD800 and if i want another kinda sound i can still change the tubes to alter the sound a bit right?
My Marantz SR7005 receiver will drive my Focal Chorus 826V with center and Q-acoustics for rears.

 

[Ultrainferno]

I'm from Belgium as well, PM me

 

[blacknile]

Quote:

I'll also throw another bone in here: why do you need a headphone amp? I haven't tried the Marantz you are talking about, but I have nothing but great experiences with the Headphone Outs of Marantz gear I have tried. I'm pretty sure the SR7005 is better than most dedicated headphone amps you can buy today. A lot of people are going to disagree with me on that one, but my old vintage Marantz 1090 is still better than any dedicated headphone amp I have heard.

I agree 100%. 
 

 

[Freazy]

The SR7005 uses an AKM 4358 DAC: http://www.akm.com/prodfolder-dac.asp?p=AK4358
I dont know if its good or bad,anyone knows??

 

[sphinxvc]

That's just the chip and the chip alone doesn't signify how good or bad the DAC is entirely.