[flohmann]

Can you connect a non-computer USB source, such as a ProJect Debut III USB turntable or a Phono Box USB directly to a USB DAC, such as the Belcanto DAC3 or Benchmark DAC-1 USB? Or does it have to run through a computer?

 

[gz76]

Why would you want to do this?

You'd be going through an analogue to digital conversion on the turntable, and then through a digital to analogue conversion on the DAC, which doesn't make sense.

Just use the line out on the TT to go straight to your amp, since it has a line-level output. This would presumably give you a nice analogue source.

 

[flohmann]

Well, it's complicated. I have a Headroom Blockhead, which has just one balanced input. I also have an integrated amp, but that has no balanced outputs that I can use.

So when I'm listening to the headphones, I currently have no way of getting phono into them. Now I could buy a preamp with multiple balanced outputs, but that's going to be expensive at the level of performance I'm interested in. So I was thinking about just letting a DAC take care of the "preamp" functions for my headphones (my TT isn't terribly fancy, so I can live with the extra AD conversion for headphone listening).

In other words, I'd rather sell my CD player and buy a Belcanto DAC3 and Phono Box USB, rather than spend $2k on a fancy balanced preamp.