[TheWuss]

Guys,
I’ve nearly completed my home listening setup, but have encountered a few obstacles along the way.
The main obstacle is this –
I purchased a Keces DA151 mkII, and have a Woo Audio WA6 on order.
I also have powered desktop monitors.

The Keces only has one RCA output, but I really would like to supply both my desktop speakers and headphone amp.
Today at Radioshack I purchased two of the “Phono y splitter” pieces, for about 7 bucks each. And, they look pretty solid, are gold plated, and the approach seems fairly simple.
Each of these would plug into the back of the DAC, allowing me to run RCA interconnects to both the headphone amp and speakers.
However, I’m worried about degradation in SQ, as well as any other problems I might not be considering.
For instance, if I’m listening to the speakers, and the headphone amp is switched off, there is still some sort of signal being fed to that device, right? Could that be harmful?

Any advice that some of you more expert guys can offer would be greatly appreciated…

Thanks!

 

[Omega17TheTrue]

How about changing your wa6 with a wa2 ? It has pre-amp abilitie so you can control the volume of the speakers with the knob and get better sound.

---> Woo Audio 2 High End Headphone / Pre Amplifier

 

[TheWuss]

i'm sure an amp upgrade would be great. i mean, who doesn't want a thousand dollar amp?
but, unfortunately, that's not in the cards for me.

maybe i should have phrased my inquiry a bit differently.
what i'm most curious about is the effect of using a y splitter at the DAC's RCA outputs?
anyone have this setup?

 

[Brian_the_King]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheWuss /img/forum/go_quote.gif ...I’m worried about degradation in SQ...

I'll let other members take this question, but there is a chance that your splitters are negatively effecting the sound.

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheWuss /img/forum/go_quote.gif ...if I’m listening to the speakers, and the headphone amp is switched off, there is still some sort of signal being fed to that device, right? Could that be harmful?...

Absolutely not.

Good luck coming to a conclusion.

 

[Brighten]

Ask Jack to add a pair of pre-amp outputs on the back of the amplifier. You could run the speakers off of the WA6.

 

[wavoman]

I use parallel connections all the time to route line level outputs to multiple amps. I had my "Y" circuits custom built by various modders to use audiophile grade wire and solder, but I bet I couldn't hear the difference between these and your Radio Shack stuff. And of course you change the impedance seen by the DAC output stage, but this is unlikely to matter with typical impedance loading.

Here's the thing -- it costs you only $14 to try. So try it. If you don't hear any SQ loss, then there isn't any.

 

[Uncle Erik]

You can also pick up a preamp that has a tape loop/record out switch.

I have a Conrad-Johnson PV-2 that has two tape loop out switches. I can connect two headphone amps to the tape loops and switch between either or run the output to speakers.

 

[musicman59]

Using the 'Y" splitter should not be a problem and will not cause any sound degradation that you will hear. The only thing I would do is to use a better one other than RadioShack.

Something like this from Vampire Wire that are even cryo treated
Take Five Audio - Canada's Online Source For High-End Audio, Parts and Accessories - Vampire Y Adapter Cryo Treated

Or this Audioquest
MUSICDIRECT - AUDIOQUEST - HARD Y-ADAPTER RCA SPLITTER (1x Male to 2x Female)

Here is another one:
http://www.thecableco.com/product.php?id=5242

I would go with either one of these.

 

[MayorSimpleton]

I built my own switch box pretty cheaply. It'll accept two inputs and can output to two different amps - although yours needn't do all that. Cheap, fun to do and the good thing is you get to choose the quality of the components / hook-up wire etc.

See here.

 

[TheWuss]

musicman59 - thanks for the product info.
i'm already using audioquest interconnects, and really like/trust their products.
so, i'm going to order their y-splitters and give them a try.
thanks, guys, for all the info.