InEars connected to RCA out of my DAC, damage?

[wineaholic]

Have I possibly damaged my DAC?
I used an RCA to jack adapter to connect my in Ears Sennheiser CX300 to the RCA output of my SMSL SU1 DAC.
This worked fine for about 20 minutes and then I heard clicking noises.

I didn't think about it at all, was this a mistake?
I only did this because I had a cable break and no other sound source was available

When I now connect the DAC via USB, the PC restarts but then it seems to work normally.
even if it still works, could this have somehow ruined the sound?

 

[staticV3]

Plugging an IEM directly into a DAC's RCA Line output will result in increased current and heat in the DAC's output stage, which it is not designed for.

In extreme cases, this can lead to permanent damage.

However, with just 20min of driving a sensitive IEM, I would not expect permanent damage to the DAC.

Still, the only way to make sure would be via measurements.

Though the clicking noises and your PC restarting are definitely worrisome. It's not supposed to do that.

 

[Beershaun]

I can't speak to the technical details about what may or.may not happen plugging in an 18ohm headphones directly into this DAC. I can say that yes it's a mistake to plug headphones directly into a DAC. You should be plugging them into a headphone amp that is designed to handle the power requirements and impedance curve of a set of headphones. I don't believe dacs are designed to handle that sort of load.

 

[ZolaIII]

Huh... Plug something else in which needs line out and check the DAC. Either you gave too much to the IEM's and coils burned or you gave too much to the DAC in A as those are 16 Ohms but you are about to find out.
In generally it's not a mistake but some combinations can be bad as you are about to find out.

 

[gvl]

When I now connect the DAC via USB, the PC restarts but then it seems to work normally.
even if it still works, could this have somehow ruined the sound?

It’s unlikely that directly connecting IEMs to the DAC caused the restart issue, especially if there’s still sound. If the sound is not distorted chances are no damage was done.

 

[DVDdoug]

Damage is possible but unlikely. It's highly-unlikely that you "partially damaged" it. If it was damaged it would probably be silent or MAYBE you'd get super-bad distortion or noise, or something like that.

...Don't TRY to hear a defect!!! If you try hard you'll probably start imagining that you're hearing something wrong. THATS more-likely than an actual subtle defect.