[GGotNoMoney]

What's up headfiers! I recently got a Magni 3 headphone amp that I wanted to incorporate into my desktop set up as I already had the Fiio E10K but felt like it didn't drive the HD6XX's enough. I also have a pair of Micca MB42X's with a SMSL SA-50 amp to power them. I was told that it would be possible to use the E10K as just a dac and the Magni 3 as the amp. The way I connected everything is Magni between E10K and SMSL, so 3.5 mm to RCA cable from the E10K line out to the Magni input, then RCA from Magni out to SMSL input. It seems to be working properly but when I unplug the headphones to use the speakers the volume can be controlled with both the Magni and SMSL. Is this normal? I have to put the volume up on the Magni to get louder sound from the speakers via the SMSL. When using the headphones the SMSL is useless as it does nothing for the volume control on the Magi which is what I assume should happen. Sorry if I rambled on and on but I am new to all of this and don't know much about how these things should be connected. Thanks in advance.

 

[onevstheworld]

Yes, that behaviour is expected. Magni 3's preamp is variable, so the volume knob will affect your speaker volume, unlike the E10K (it's line out is not variable).