Mackie Audio Interface to Topping DX3 Pro+ ?

[hellraiser98]

I have a Mackie Onyx 2x2 Producer Audio interface.

The headphone jack on it isn't the cleanest, and has a lot less power which I didn't anticipate before planning the purchase. Although, the instrument inputs are pretty decent, and they serve me well. I have been travelling for a bit, and I wanted to mix some of my band's music on my Windows Machine, although using Headphones: Yeah I know, mixing on headphones isn't really advised, but I have got no choice. I have a pair of Sennheiser HD560S for this purpose, as the pair is really flat, and I like to listen to music on them. I recently got the Topping DX3 Pro+, and I have been wondering, is there a way connecting the Topping DX3 Pro+ to outputs on the back of the Mackie Onyx?

Any DX3 Pro+ users with a similar setup: using an audio interface with the DX3 Pro+? I ordered a set of RCA to jack cables. Do I simply insert the jack in the line output of the Mackie interface, and the RCAs into the back of the DX3 pro+? Or is there some other way which I have got to utilize in order to make these connections, so that I can utilize the topping while tracking / recording / monitoring / mixing on the headphones via a single ASIO device (my audio interface)? I don't really want to shell more money to achieve this honestly. I love the Topping, really dig the Mackie because it has the Midi inputs + other nifty and handy features which I like. And I for sure don't want to invest in another audio interface / amp. Attaching image of the cables and the outputs / inputs on the Topping. Any input would be greatly appreciated, TYIA!

?

 

[staticV3]

recently got the Topping DX3 Pro+, and I have been wondering, is there a way connecting the Topping DX3 Pro+ to outputs on the back of the Mackie Onyx?

There is not.

Do I simply insert the jack in the line output of the Mackie interface, and the RCAs into the back of the DX3 pro+?

That will not work.

The analog RCAs at the back of the DX3Pro+ are purely outputs. They cannot be connected to another output.

The DX3Pro+'s digital RCA inputs also cannot be used, as the Onyx cannot output SPDIF.

There is simply no way to connect these two devices to each other.

 

[hellraiser98]

There is not.


That will not work.

The RCAs at the back of the DX3Pro+ are purely outputs. They cannot be connected to another output.

There is simply no way to connect these two devices to each other.

Oof, okay. If I had to take a wild guess, can I use something like the Topping L30 MkII along with the audio interface I've got? I think that unit has RCA inputs.

Incredibly stupid of me, I messed up with the RCA output. I thought those were RCA ins... FML.

 

[staticV3]

If I had to take a wild guess, can I use something like the Topping L30 MkII along with the audio interface I've got? I think that unit has RCA inputs.

Yes, that would work.

Edit:
Though at that point, would it not make more sense to search for an audio interface that meets your requirements outright?

 

[hellraiser98]

Yes, that would work.

Edit:
Though at that point, would it not make more sense to search for an audio interface that meets your requirements outright?

It does make a lot of sense to search for an Audio Interface which meets my specific requirements, although, I'm in a country where the options are limited (we've got some Audient stuff, some Presonus stuff, some of the Focusrite models, but that's about it I think). I found out that Topping has made some audio interfaces too which fit my bill, BUT, Aliexpress is banned / blocked in my country, which is a huge handicap. I'll still search for a way to get one, thank you for the help.

 

[unpluggged]

Oof, okay. If I had to take a wild guess, can I use something like the Topping L30 MkII along with the audio interface I've got? I think that unit has RCA inputs.

Why do you insist on connecting the Mackie's outputs to an amplifier? You can just as well get the DX3+ (or any other USB DAC/amp) and use it as the default output device of your computer. You then would only use the headphone output of your Mackie when you need to monitor its input directly (it would not be so important to have a top-notch headphone output section on the interface then). And I suspect the line output of your Mackie interface is not SOTA, either.

 

[hellraiser98]

Why do you insist on connecting the Mackie's outputs to an amplifier? You can just as well get the DX3+ (or any other USB DAC/amp) and use it as the default output device of your computer. You then would only use the headphone output of your Mackie when you need to monitor its input directly (it would not be so important to have a top-notch headphone output section on the interface then). And I suspect the line output of your Mackie interface is not SOTA, either.

I get where you're coming from. I tried doing that using the ASIO drivers on the DAW I have been using since a long time, it doesn't play nicely.... I have tried it on 2 systems thus far: one is a very high end gaming PC, another is my old gaming laptop, I can hear crackling noises on both. Also, there are latency issues due to the ASIO devices being separate. Also, if I use the ASIO driver specifically tailored for my audio interface, it won't let me select the Topping DX3 Pro+ as an output inside the DAW, so, live monitoring goes out of the picture...
Wish I had a Mac though, Mac is pretty cool when it comes to handling workloads and problems like the one I have. My initial thought was the same as the one you've mentioned: use the Topping as the output, Mackie as the input, game on! But that doesn't seem to work in my case.

 

[unpluggged]

My initial thought was the same as the one you've mentioned: use the Topping as the output, Mackie as the input, game on! But that doesn't seem to work in my case.

I specifically suggested to use Mackie's direct monitoring in case you need to track your recording. Not to use separate devices for that. The DX3+ would be used only for playback. If you want an audio interface with quality AD, DA, and HP sections and with stable ASIO drivers, you will need to look at another price level. Have a look at @Julian Krause YouTube channel. The ultimate solution would be an RME recording interface (BabyFace Pro FS/UCX II/UFX II/UFX III) that is connected digitally to an ADI-2 Pro/ADI-2 DAC as a monitoring front-end. But the arrangement I suggested would still work if you are on a budget. Oh, and another thing: not all budget interfaces that have digital outputs allow to use these outputs as their main outs and not all of them expose digital outs through their WDM driver.

Wish I had a Mac though, Mac is pretty cool when it comes to handling workloads and problems like the one I have.

This is soooo far from true

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And you still won't get zero-latency monitoring if you do it through the DAW, even on Mac.