[WillDrivers63]

Hey head-fi members, I apologize if this is the incorrect section to post. Here is my question and I also apologize for my ignorance, but hope advice can be given. So I recently was able to resurrect my mother's old receiver, kenwood kr-820 (~1982-84)
and have been enjoying listening to my music with it. I bought a 3.5mm to rca cable so that I could use my headphone out on my computer and listen to cds/mp3s/flac from my pc to the receiver and then my headphones.
 
My questions are if there is an issue with using an external dac, considering a budget friendly choice (fiio e7, e10, d5, udac2, etc or even possibly diy) and doing pc>dac>receiver>headphone. My noobiness comes in that is there an issue with biamping b/c the dacs are also small amps and then running it to the receiver which should have a dac/amping? I also don't know if this will give any better audio quality, I've read that modern receivers have pretty good dac ability generally, but with this being an older receiver the technology may not be as good. Or if it will even matter b/c the headphones are from the headphone out of the receiver so that's what will determine the analog sound production. 
 
Thanks, for the help. The nicest hp I have is the grado sr60i so I realize having a dac/amp is not exactly necessary, but like everyone else I'm always looking to the next step on the ladder and when I have the ability will want to upgrade to a phone that will benefit greater from some extra amplification.
 
Thanks guys.

 

[RexAeterna]

yes you be fine. i have all my vintage amps running through my Behringer UFO202 Audio Interface. also have my wii hooked up to the inputs to it as well. if you need something portable and audio interface for music listening/recording and has RCA jacks i recommend it. might be cheap on the price but it works and straight forward DAC. no upscaling or circuit colorations. lacks features like some other high-end known dacs but it does it's job.

 

[WillDrivers63]

Oh wow I hadn't heard of this product at all, but it looks like it would serve the purpose just about perfectly. The software stuff would be a bonus too. Two questions about the Behringer UFO202. First is it simply plug in and the drivers and what not automatically install and what not? Secondly with connections I obviously do pc> Behringer UFO202 via the usb, but then do I do rca from the audio interface to rca of the receiver and then the headphone out of the receiver, or is it do rca from receiver in to rca of the audio interface and then the headphones plug into the audio interface. or headphone out of the audio interface to rca of the receiver then headphone out of the receiver? Sorry confused. Also if these would depend on what controls volume.

 

[WillDrivers63]

and thanks too.

 

[RexAeterna]

it's plug and play. the software it comes with is for using the phono pre-amp it has built-in to rip vinyls and for production software with VST's. i never bothered with the cds. way i have it is you hook aux/cd/tape input from your receiver into the audio interface outputs and done. you can use either the receivers headphone jack or audio interface's jack. the audio interface is only good up to 55ohms tho while your receiver will have much higher output impedance. the volume control on the interface is only for headphone use. every other volume control either comes from your computer or whatever you plug into the audio interface. it will bypass the pc's soundcard completely.

 

[WillDrivers63]

Alright thanks rex appreciate the help. I kinda am displeased with you though cuz now I'm gonna order one of these lol. Should be a welcome addition.
 
 

 

[RexAeterna]

lol. glad to help. you can read all the other reviews over at amazon if you want before making final decision.also cheaper over there as well.

 

[WillDrivers63]

Cool gonna give it a shot. Read the reviews seems good except the included software must be a little hard to work with. I don't intend to use it anyway.

 

[RexAeterna]

yea but don't sweat it cause the software it comes with is basically already free off the internet if you do need it and it's updated versions(like audacity).

 

[WillDrivers63]

Ya I agree. I was also pointing that the reviews give a solid opinion of the hardware component. Ordered and should get here by early next week 

 

[RexAeterna]

nice. you should like it. i use it with all my gear and not disappointed with it. also good score on the amp. i like vintage kenwood amps a lot.

 

[WillDrivers63]

Sorry for not posting for a while on this thread and bringing it back but I wanted to post my impressions of the behringer UFO202 audio interface, (used for external dac). First I would like to give a shout out of thanks to RexAeterna as he was the one who recommended that I try this piece of hardware and glad he did.
 
So I've had the audio interface for around a week and am using it as an external dac in order to listen to my music from my pc and to my headphones through my kenwood receiver and bypassing the internal stock dac chip in my computer. I can say that while I am not an audiophile I can hear a nice improvement using the behringer rather than my pc dac. I noticed right away it was much more balanced than my pc dac chip because I had to adjust the treble down from being sibilant. I didn't realize how my pc dac chip was much more low end heavy until I had the behringer connected. Another thing that is noticeable is there is less static noise coming out when listening which can be appreciated more during quieter parts of a song. Lastly it seems that the vocals have more clarity to them when listening to the behringer.
 
Overall for $30 I am very pleased with the purchase. It will satisfy my audio enjoyment for now as a nice starter external dac, (at least until I get that upgrade itch).