[phishneslo]

long time lurker's first post:
 
hi head-fi!
 
the title is the question.  i am somewhat new to the headphone world, and it came as the result of getting married and having to share my space with someone who doesn't like loud noise.
 
most of my music now-a-days is digital; i use itunes and am in the process of re-ripping my cd music to flac and coping/converting to alac (if i ever move away from itunes, i don't want to go through the hassle again).
 
i use a macbook and a couple PCs which have nothing special in the sound-card department.
 
i have a couple pairs of decent iems - an old set of sure E3c phones and a newer set of ety HF5 phones (to be honest, i can hardly tell the difference between them, even though one is dynamic and the other is ba).  i would like to allow for harder-to-drive over-ear phones and running a pair of desktop monitors in the future.
 
i want to acquire components over time, and get ones that provide for a logical upgrade path, so I was thinking about first getting the HDP to power headphones and use as a DAC, then getting some active speakers to hook to it, figuring i could get the Icon Amp if i decide i want to drive passive speakers.
 
then i was thinking about the Icon-2...  i'm sure the DAC isn't as good, and there is not a pre-amp, and a limited line out, but it can drive passive speakers...  but not big ones...  i have a pair of dynaudio BM5 monitors, but i don't think the Icon-2 or the Icon Amp would make them sing...
 
i guess i am just asking for opinions...
 
1. has anyone used the HDP and the Icon Amp together?  the HDP has a pre-amp out - does it play nicely with the Icon Amp, or should i look for a different amp with a fixed gain to power more reasonable passive speakers?
 
2. how does the HDP's pre-amp work with active speakers?  if I were to get a good set, should I get a DAC with just a line out?  with good active speakers, would the Icon-2 be better?
 
3. as far as powering headphones, should i just get a DAC with a line out and a seprate headphone amp?  and then get a pre-amp and amp for passive speakers?  or a DAC with a integrated headphone amp and a line-out for active speakers?
 
4. to provide for the future of digital music, is it important to get a 24/192 capable DAC?  USB is limited, but my macbook has an optical out, and i could get a sound-card with an optical out for a PC...
 
5. in the end, i want digital lossless audio files on my hard drive in my ears via headphones and small monitors on my desk, with as few components as possible, for under $600 (not including headphones or speakers).
 
Thanks in advance,
 
Phil

 

[slowpoke]

My setup at home consists of active speakers headphones and multi source. If yours match, and you want nuforce product, all you need is the HDP. The RCA out to your active speakers are controlled by the volume pot and it has a headphone amp/dac. It is also a pre amp too. Minimum setup and cost. I won't get into other combos because doing so would strickly be for attempting to get a different sound (if u don't like the way HDP sounds).

One thing I have noticed is that the RCA out to speaker picks up noise for me. I have tried various cables where some are quieter than others but all have noise. If I unplug cable, of course it is silent. The noise is only at the active monitors. The headphone out is not effected at least I don't think it is since I have open phones - I am not sure I am hearing noise from speaker or the phones.

Anyways, this is my experience hope this helps you. Btw if you don't want pre amp udac2 functionally will do the same (USB only as input no coax nor optical) and it is way cheaper too.

Hth