Question about hooking up headphone amp

[joelpearce]

Most manufacturers disable analog switching from digital sources to protect from illegal copying.  I guess they don't want us making audio cassette recordings of our Blu-Ray movies.
 
As far as the digital/analog thing goes, our ears exist in real world space, and we can only hear analog noise.  Digital signals are, well, digital.  Somewhere along the chain, the digital signal needs to be turned into an analog signal that can be amplified for you to hear.  That can be done at a variety of places in the chain, whether it's in the player itself, the amplifier, or a separate headphone amp.

 

[Alrod]

Thanks for the photo.  You should be able to hook up your amp to the RCA prog out.  However, you will not be able to take advantage of the higher quality audio.  You are left at the mercy of your TV's converters. 
 
With the analog connections, the TV audio outs must decode the Dolby Digital bitstream and convert it from digital to analog. This will then be passed to your amp for amplification. The quality of the resulting sound will vary depending on whether the Digital-to-Analog  components in the TV are as good as those in the receiver. A digital connection (either SPDIF, Optical or HDMI) is almost always referred.

 

[TitiKaka]

So, this is what I found...     http://www.amazon.com/Gefen-Digital-to-Analog-Decoder/dp/B0021QBIBQ/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top
 
Do you believe running an optical out to the converter then to the headphone amp will be preferred over the RCA outs directly to the amp? 
 
By the way, I chose this converter as opposed to the one recommended to me earlier because I cannot choose to output 2ch audio only, so some may be surround, which wouldnt work in the earlier model. 

 

[hodgjy]

I suggest you try the RCA outs on the back of your tv first.  If it sounds good enough to you, then stay with it.  If it sounds bad, such as static and other interference or degradation, then try the external dac.  I like to keep things as simple as possible first, and make changes only when necessary.

 

[TitiKaka]

Guess I'll get my Schiit and give it a go. regardless, it should sound better than my headphone jack on the HTIB. I have it maxed out and not nearly loud enough. I hope the amp fixes that! 

 

[hodgjy]

"True" headphone amps will drive headphones much better than "afterthought" headphone jacks on HTIB.  Basically, on a lot of modern headphone jacks that are afterthoughts, they simple re-route the speaker signal through a resister to lower the voltage and current.  It technically works, but isn't always the best.  Headphone amps, if designed well, will supply "full" power to the headphones.  Result--better sound.

 

[TitiKaka]

After re-reading Alrod's post, I believe he is disagreeing about which output to use. He says digital and hodgjy says analog. Is there any certainty about which one would be better? Not really wanting to spend the 100 bucks on a converter if the analog will be just as good. 

 

[hodgjy]

I was confused earlier when reading through the posts.  I first suggested the DAC because I thought the RCA jacks on your tv were input only.  Your tv does have a built-in dac.  How good it is can only be known if you try it.  I say try it.  You can try it for free with nothing to lose.  It might sound great.  It might sound terrible.  If it sounds good enough to your ears, save yourself the $100 and use it towards cds or blu-rays.  Unless it sounds absolutely terrible, in my opinion, differences between DACs are subtle.  You need to get a separate DAC when it sounds terrible, like many computer sound cards.  They have too much interference from the computer itself, and they often aren't the best to begin with.  If your tv signal is clean, such as no static, humming, or other disturbances, then you can probably get away without the separate DAC.  Differences are subtle.

 

[TitiKaka]

This is great news my friend, finally got this crap figured out. I thought an amp was an impossibility for a while there. I am now listening to my d5000 for the first time. Pretty nice and def comfortable. I've read a lot about the burn in and how they will improve... which some people argue about..... but if it is true, it an only improve on a great sound already. 

 

[hodgjy]

I believe in burn in for vacuum tubes.  But, I don't believe in burn in for speakers or headphones.  I think it's your ears adjusting.  But, the good news is, the more you use your headphones, the better they will sound (one way or another)!!!  Those d5000s are great cans.  Enjoy the heck out of them.

 

[Alrod]

Quote:

I suggest you try the RCA outs on the back of your tv first.  If it sounds good enough to you, then stay with it. 

I agree and actually promote these types of suggestions.  Getting caught up in the "This brand is best", or "More expensive equals better quality", quagmire is pure rubbish.  Let your own ears decide what's best.

 

[FallenAngel]

Actually, burn-in has been proven for speakers/headphones (via frequency response graphing), but not at all for cables/transistors/etc.  Not sure about any results of tubes.

 

[TitiKaka]

Quote:

I agree and actually promote these types of suggestions.  Getting caught up in the "This brand is best", or "More expensive equals better quality", quagmire is pure rubbish.  Let your own ears decide what's best.

I just wasn't sure if the conversion of a gefen converter from the digital out would have a much better sound than the RCAs. Apparently it doesn't matter too much. That sounds great to me because this stuff is really starting to add up price wise. My birthday is Sept 9th and the girlfriend already promised me the Schiit asgard... very freaking excited. The headphone out of my receiver is so low on volume... and that's what I do most is watch TV and movies with the Denons.    
 
By the way, I've had about 20 hours of burn and the Denon's sound is getting better. Could be my ears, could be the burn, but I'm liking it. 
 
 
OHHH, I forgot to ask... how do you control bass and that type of equalization stuff when using an amp? is it just pretty much take it as it is? the output is uncontrolled (equalization that is)  from the RCAs I imagine. 
 
 
Rich

 

[Alrod]

EQ would come from whatever you have in front of your amp (Reciever, preamp, stand alone EQ unit, etc.).  Personally, I am happy going from my source Tascam CD RW700 into my Burson HA-160 which feeds my HD650's.  I thought about eq, but decided I really don't need any.  It all boils down to personal preference.

 

[hodgjy]

It all depends on your tv.  Some tvs have equalizers, but they only affect their own built in speakers.  Others affect sound through the RCA jacks.  Others don't have equalizers at all.  One thing to check, though, is to see if your tv's sound out settings let you select "variable" or "fixed."  If it lets you choose, select "fixed" when hooking up the Asgard.  Variable allows the tv's volume button to change the volume through the RCA jacks (and speakers, too).  But, if you're using your own external amp, set it at fixed, so the sound is constant through RCA jacks (still variable through speakers), which allows you to have master headphone volume at your Asgard.
 
Quote:

OHHH, I forgot to ask... how do you control bass and that type of equalization stuff when using an amp? is it just pretty much take it as it is? the output is uncontrolled (equalization that is)  from the RCAs I imagine.