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Questions about dac amp combo from a newbie

Jsr

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Dec 3, 2019
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Hi, I have been looking into getting a dac and headphone amplifier. I have no experience with both.

Right now I'm leaning towards a khadas tone board(122 € ) and a JDS Labs Atom(150 € )

The headphone price range will be between a dt770 and hd 650, I will have to listen to a couple of different headphones when I get the dac and amp.

I will also be using the khadas and Atom signal for my integrated amplifier(using the atom as a pre amplifier) and speakers, so the quality of that signal is equally important.
-Is there something better at this pricepoint?
-Will the signal from the Atom to my integrated amp be good? And where in the chain should I adjust the volume? Would i be better off down the line with a seperate dac for my integrated amp?

Any thoughts or suggestions would be welcome.
 

oohlou

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Aug 9, 2019
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DAC -> Atom -> amp

The Atom works fine as a preamp. The RCA output is turned off when headphones are plugged in.

If this is something you are sitting next to I would use the volume knob on the Atom. If you are not next to it and your integrated amp has a remote adjust it there. I don't think it makes a big difference, but I'll defer to the experts.
 
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twsecrest

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Nov 27, 2018
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Hi, I have been looking into getting a dac and headphone amplifier. I have no experience with both.
Right now I'm leaning towards a khadas tone board(122 € ) and a JDS Labs Atom(150 € )
The headphone price range will be between a dt770 and hd 650, I will have to listen to a couple of different headphones when I get the dac and amp.
I will also be using the khadas and Atom signal for my integrated amplifier(using the atom as a pre amplifier) and speakers, so the quality of that signal is equally important. -Is there something better at this price point?
-Will the signal from the Atom to my integrated amp be good? And where in the chain should I adjust the volume? Would i be better off down the line with a separate DAC for my integrated amp? Any thoughts or suggestions would be welcome.
I think the DAC and headphone and the way your connecting them it fine.
Headphone wise, check out the Soundmagic HP151 or HP 200 and Massdrop Sennheiser HD58X headphones.
 
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