professorwiki
New Head-Fier
- Joined
- Dec 19, 2013
- Posts
- 28
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- 11
Hello all,
It's been a while since I have posted or visited here. Life has been busy with work, moving, and starting graduate school. I've been working on upgrading/expanding my home entertainment system. I've got a sweet new 49" TV, and just ordered the Little Dot MKII amplifier.
I am going to be feeding at least 2, and probably 3 eventually, audio inputs into the MKII. The MKII will be replacing the Bravo V3 as my headphone amp, and also acting as a buffer/amplifier between my turntable and sound receiver. The Bravo V3 has pretty bad stereo channel separation, so I am excited to get an upgrade. The V3 was a "dipping a toe in the water" for tube amps, and I've decided I like the overall sound they give. I chose the MKII after looking over several options. I have a limited budget, and despite it being a bit over the budget, it seemed like the best pure tube amp that has both RCA and headphones out that I could possibly afford.
So, here's the thing. With audio from a turntable and audio from CDs, I'd like to plug both in and not have to fool around unplugging and re-plugging cables. I have an old Gamestop brand AV switch, pictured below. It is not powered.
Does the fact that it is not powered mean the audio quality will degrade? I have never really used it in a serious set up, just to switch between DVD player, PS2, N64, NES, etc. Hence, I've never really put content through it that would noticeably be affected by any degradation. Now, however, I want to use it in a budget semi-audiophile set up. Has anyone used this, or a similar non-powered AV switch for switching between audio sources? If so, would you recommend I invest in a powered AV switch (and if so, any budget as in sub-50$ suggestions) ?
Lastly, a third input in addition to a vinyl and CD source I'd like to add is using my android TV box to play digital music files. I am running out of extra space for CDs and vinyl, so I plan to not purchase CDs at all if possible anymore (only if no lossless FLAC or vinyl copy is easily available would I want to purchase a CD), and only vinyl if it's an album I really want. The android box I have is the MXIII 4K TV box. It has an optical output. It also has an AV output using a special cable that plugs into a 3.5 mm jack, but I really don't think the on-board DAC on this would sound remotely listenable. So, I'd need a DAC. Would the FiiO D3 be suitable for this? I've seen on here and in most reviews that it has good sound quality, and I like that it is small and USB powered (I can just plug it into the android box's USB port for power). Would it do justice for 24 bit 96, 88.1, or 192 Khz files? I mean, I am not expecting miracles from such a small cheap device, but is this thing really as good as some seem to rave? I also like that it is not an amp, just a DAC, because between the MKII and receiver I'd not need a 3rd amplification source.
Below is a schematic of the set up. Keep in mind I have a modest budget, so I can't afford some 500 or 1000+ dollar DAC, etc.
It's been a while since I have posted or visited here. Life has been busy with work, moving, and starting graduate school. I've been working on upgrading/expanding my home entertainment system. I've got a sweet new 49" TV, and just ordered the Little Dot MKII amplifier.
I am going to be feeding at least 2, and probably 3 eventually, audio inputs into the MKII. The MKII will be replacing the Bravo V3 as my headphone amp, and also acting as a buffer/amplifier between my turntable and sound receiver. The Bravo V3 has pretty bad stereo channel separation, so I am excited to get an upgrade. The V3 was a "dipping a toe in the water" for tube amps, and I've decided I like the overall sound they give. I chose the MKII after looking over several options. I have a limited budget, and despite it being a bit over the budget, it seemed like the best pure tube amp that has both RCA and headphones out that I could possibly afford.
So, here's the thing. With audio from a turntable and audio from CDs, I'd like to plug both in and not have to fool around unplugging and re-plugging cables. I have an old Gamestop brand AV switch, pictured below. It is not powered.
Does the fact that it is not powered mean the audio quality will degrade? I have never really used it in a serious set up, just to switch between DVD player, PS2, N64, NES, etc. Hence, I've never really put content through it that would noticeably be affected by any degradation. Now, however, I want to use it in a budget semi-audiophile set up. Has anyone used this, or a similar non-powered AV switch for switching between audio sources? If so, would you recommend I invest in a powered AV switch (and if so, any budget as in sub-50$ suggestions) ?
Lastly, a third input in addition to a vinyl and CD source I'd like to add is using my android TV box to play digital music files. I am running out of extra space for CDs and vinyl, so I plan to not purchase CDs at all if possible anymore (only if no lossless FLAC or vinyl copy is easily available would I want to purchase a CD), and only vinyl if it's an album I really want. The android box I have is the MXIII 4K TV box. It has an optical output. It also has an AV output using a special cable that plugs into a 3.5 mm jack, but I really don't think the on-board DAC on this would sound remotely listenable. So, I'd need a DAC. Would the FiiO D3 be suitable for this? I've seen on here and in most reviews that it has good sound quality, and I like that it is small and USB powered (I can just plug it into the android box's USB port for power). Would it do justice for 24 bit 96, 88.1, or 192 Khz files? I mean, I am not expecting miracles from such a small cheap device, but is this thing really as good as some seem to rave? I also like that it is not an amp, just a DAC, because between the MKII and receiver I'd not need a 3rd amplification source.
Below is a schematic of the set up. Keep in mind I have a modest budget, so I can't afford some 500 or 1000+ dollar DAC, etc.
