[dubbodeez808]

I'm a new producer & I've been at it for half a year now. I know this website is mostly headphone related but I had a question about my Studio Monitors ( 2 KRK Rokit Powered 8s) & the set-up I'm using two play them. 
 
So i just bought two KRK RP8s & I'm playing my music through them through my laptop --> Fiio E17&E9 Headphone USB/DAC Headphone Amp( i use for my Sennheiser HD 650s) --> and using one simple 3.5mm to RCA cord from the headphone output on my Amp to one Red RCA to one monitor and one White RCA to the other monitor. 
 
I don't have a mixer or other interface. Am I missing out on any sound quality? They sound good to me but just want to know if theirs a better way. I also plan on adding a KRK K10S subwoofer to them & was wondering how I could do that? Do i need to invest in a mixer or interface/cables & if so which ones that are reasonably cheap?? 
 
Please & Thanks for the help? 

 

[paullindqvist]

Well if you use them for mixing there are certainly better DAC's as the KRK series are a bit bass heavy to begin with so a DAC that color the sound even further isn't helping.
 
The Fiio DAC's are not very neutral, closest you will come to that in the same price range is the Audinst HUD-MX1. 
 
But im not sure if your setup is simply for listening or mixing/evaluating tracks ?
 
If it's the former your ears decide if it's good enough, if you want to get more out of your setup you can just get a better DAC.
 
Now for mixing/evaluating music i would get a Apogee Duet 2, it's DAC is neutral and uncolored. 
 
As for connectivity the benefit of getting a higher grade DAC is that you (often) get balanced outputs (XLR or TRS) which minimize the risk of getting interference.
 
Unless your a bass freak i would skip the sub as the KRK 8's are already bass heavy and sports 8" woofers.
 
The KRK Sub is more if your going for say the VXT4 series.

 

[JoelMC]

Monitors generally prefer a balanced input, either TRS or XLR. Some monitors will get some buzz from an unbalanced signal, but I have not tried the KRK 8's so I could not speak to your specific speaker. If you are looking for a compact monitor controller with digital inputs the TC Electronic BMC-2 is pretty nice, though it only has one pair of monitor outputs which makes it an issue if you are running multiple sets of speakers. A nice desktop audio interface that has flexible monitor management worth looking into is the Steinberg UR28M.
 

 

[kid vic]

You'll Want an audio interface with either XLR or TRS outputs and you want to decouple your monitors from your desk. You'll want something marketed as a recoil stabilizer or studio speaker stand. The reason you want to decouple your speakers is so that they don't cause the surface their on "echo" and make you hear something that isn't actually present in your mix (like extra bass).

 

[dubbodeez808]

Thanks guys. All really helpful advice. Appreciate It!
I'll have to do more saving up & a little more research.
 
Hopefully some day all this audio equipment will be a lot cheaper so
people can start enjoying & making music to its full potential without
spending thousands of dollars and years of saving just to get into it.
 
The day when HD800s replace the default white earbuds you get when you buy an ipod...