Recommended source setup for desktop with subwoofer? And how to connect it all/what accessories to get?

[Jiraya369]

Hello, I've been thinking about getting the Ascilab C6B for some nearfield usage, 0.3-0.8m (Keith at purite has said it sounds fine at 1m, i'd like to know how it sounds at 0.5 m and he's gonna test it, i've asked the manufacturer already let's see what happens, if it's too close i'll get stands and put em beside my table), the main thing is that right behind my table is my bed and i'd like the ability to go back and listen, yeah imaging wont be perfect but better than nothing, around 3 m distance from table/speakers to bed. If he says it wont work maybe I'll go get point source stuff like LS50 Meta. I intend to buy a sub later on, RSL Speedwoofer 10e. Won't need any more with a nearfield setup and in a shared place lol. I have a little BT Speaker, XB100, it's what got me into wanting a speaker and i did some little measuring with a db app on phone and im gonna be okay with 60-65 db sustained and 70 db peaks. add 5-10 db in case the app was inaccurate. I will use a laptop to play back sounds.

Anyways, that was the background. I was initially planning to get headphones but they would cost ~20-30% cheaper only and so i decided to just go for speakers, get a taste of real hi-fi. Was initially saving up for a Hifiman HE1000 V2 Stealth and that is what I want to buy later on. So I will be using a Topping DX5 II as the amp for headphones and DAC for everything.

hen I was thinking of getting a pair of Fosi V3 Mono but would they not be overkill? More power won't hurt but when I would be listening at such quiet volumes idk if it'll be really worth it. I have a recent sale on the Topping PA5 II where I live and I can get it for 130 USD right now. If I get a quick answer I will buy them as that would be a huge saving over the 400 USD V3 Mono, better looking, integrated power supply as well. Less power but more than enough for my needs, used chatgpt to make a table for the power needs and distances and it was way over what i'd need. So I have more than enough headroom should i need it even with a PA5 II.

I've seen some talk about speakers "opening up" with more power/headroom, is that real or is that just the usage of a better quality amplifier? I think the PA5 II is as good as it gets in terms of quality, I don't think I would care for any more.


The main issue I'm facing is integrating the sub with the speakers. DX5 II has no bass management, Fosi's ZA3 does not high pass speakers so it isn't useful at all, my Speedwoofer would only low pass the sub and the speakers would play full range still. Something like the minidsp flex is there but it is just way too expensive for me, i don't want to spend that much on something just for bass management. Then there's the Wiim Amp Pro which I wanted to buy initially but i still would need to buy a separate headphone amp/dac and so i decided to go down this DX5 II with PA5/V3 Mono route but im just stuck here. I'm thinking that I can get the whole setup up and going now and when I buy the subwoofer later on, I can just get a Wiim Pro Plus and use it for bass management. Maybe I can get it on some sale as well!

So what do you think guys? What route should I go down? Most people here are home theatre/non-desktop enthusiasts so it was quite tough going through it all.

The Neumann KH80 is what I was looking at as well but for somewhere around that price I can get a C6B+PA5, seems to me like that's the better buy. It seems to me that the C6B goes lower as well and is exceptionally linear just by itself so that's what enticed me and all measurements are so smooth!!


And finally, how would I even connect all of these together? I don't think cables need to be too expensive, right? Just some cheap XLR cables from DX5 to PA5, and then speaker cables. What kind do i get for the speakers? Sorry for the newb questions, I've never handled any gear like this and i've never done a speaker setup. Oh and i will get a UMIK-1 for room calibration as well.

So, TL;DR,
C6B and (in the future) Speedwoofer 10e setup for desktop nearfield. Planning to use DX5 II as DAC and PA5 II/V3 Mono as amp for speakers, no bass management on dx5 so what can i do? Wiim Pro Plus as a pre amp or something so i can manage bass? What about cables and stuff??

Thanks for reading, would appreciate any help.

 

[staticV3]

I've seen some talk about speakers "opening up" with more power/headroom, is that real or is that just the usage of a better quality amplifier?

Set to the same volume, both Amps will sound identical.

But the more powerful Amp can likely (not necessarily) play louder and that louder sound is often felt as being more "open".

That's really all it is.

I'm thinking that I can get the whole setup up and going now and when I buy the subwoofer later on, I can just get a Wiim Pro Plus and use it for bass management

WiiM Pro Plus has no bass management.

I don't think cables need to be too expensive, right?

Correct. See Cordial Cables, Blue Jeans Cable, World's best cables etc.

Anything more is just jewelry without purpose.

What kind do i get for the speakers?

Just OFC of the appropriate gauge (see Google).

 

[DVDdoug]

The main issue I'm facing is integrating the sub with the speakers. DX5 II has no bass management,

Lots of active subwoofers have pass-through crossovers.

Was initially saving up for a Hifiman HE1000 V2 Stealth and that is what I want to buy later on.

You should be able to find something more economical. If you've tried them and you like them, fine. But with headphones there is almost no correlation between price and sound quality. (You can search the reviews here by "recommended" and "price".)

 

[kawauso]

Hello, I've been thinking about getting the Ascilab C6B for some nearfield usage, 0.3-0.8m (Keith at purite has said it sounds fine at 1m, i'd like to know how it sounds at 0.5 m and he's gonna test it, i've asked the manufacturer already let's see what happens, if it's too close i'll get stands and put em beside my table), the main thing is that right behind my table is my bed and i'd like the ability to go back and listen, yeah imaging wont be perfect but better than nothing, around 3 m distance from table/speakers to bed. If he says it wont work maybe I'll go get point source stuff like LS50 Meta. I intend to buy a sub later on, RSL Speedwoofer 10e. Won't need any more with a nearfield setup and in a shared place lol. I have a little BT Speaker, XB100, it's what got me into wanting a speaker and i did some little measuring with a db app on phone and im gonna be okay with 60-65 db sustained and 70 db peaks. add 5-10 db in case the app was inaccurate. I will use a laptop to play back sounds.

Anyways, that was the background. I was initially planning to get headphones but they would cost ~20-30% cheaper only and so i decided to just go for speakers, get a taste of real hi-fi. Was initially saving up for a Hifiman HE1000 V2 Stealth and that is what I want to buy later on. So I will be using a Topping DX5 II as the amp for headphones and DAC for everything.

hen I was thinking of getting a pair of Fosi V3 Mono but would they not be overkill? More power won't hurt but when I would be listening at such quiet volumes idk if it'll be really worth it. I have a recent sale on the Topping PA5 II where I live and I can get it for 130 USD right now. If I get a quick answer I will buy them as that would be a huge saving over the 400 USD V3 Mono, better looking, integrated power supply as well. Less power but more than enough for my needs, used chatgpt to make a table for the power needs and distances and it was way over what i'd need. So I have more than enough headroom should i need it even with a PA5 II.View attachment 487745
I've seen some talk about speakers "opening up" with more power/headroom, is that real or is that just the usage of a better quality amplifier? I think the PA5 II is as good as it gets in terms of quality, I don't think I would care for any more.


The main issue I'm facing is integrating the sub with the speakers. DX5 II has no bass management, Fosi's ZA3 does not high pass speakers so it isn't useful at all, my Speedwoofer would only low pass the sub and the speakers would play full range still. Something like the minidsp flex is there but it is just way too expensive for me, i don't want to spend that much on something just for bass management. Then there's the Wiim Amp Pro which I wanted to buy initially but i still would need to buy a separate headphone amp/dac and so i decided to go down this DX5 II with PA5/V3 Mono route but im just stuck here. I'm thinking that I can get the whole setup up and going now and when I buy the subwoofer later on, I can just get a Wiim Pro Plus and use it for bass management. Maybe I can get it on some sale as well!

So what do you think guys? What route should I go down? Most people here are home theatre/non-desktop enthusiasts so it was quite tough going through it all.

The Neumann KH80 is what I was looking at as well but for somewhere around that price I can get a C6B+PA5, seems to me like that's the better buy. It seems to me that the C6B goes lower as well and is exceptionally linear just by itself so that's what enticed me and all measurements are so smooth!!


And finally, how would I even connect all of these together? I don't think cables need to be too expensive, right? Just some cheap XLR cables from DX5 to PA5, and then speaker cables. What kind do i get for the speakers? Sorry for the newb questions, I've never handled any gear like this and i've never done a speaker setup. Oh and i will get a UMIK-1 for room calibration as well.

So, TL;DR,
C6B and (in the future) Speedwoofer 10e setup for desktop nearfield. Planning to use DX5 II as DAC and PA5 II/V3 Mono as amp for speakers, no bass management on dx5 so what can i do? Wiim Pro Plus as a pre amp or something so i can manage bass? What about cables and stuff??

Thanks for reading, would appreciate any help.

Hey Jiraya369,
If you’re not planning to blast music, honestly up to around 85 dB any decent amp will sound the same, lol.
You could use a multi-channel audio interface, but an AV receiver is way simpler and much better value.
If you want something compact, the WiiM Amp Pro is a solid pick.

kawauso runs Dirac Live Room Correction Suite on PC for 2.1 systems in different rooms.
It even works fine with onboard front/rear outputs, so you don’t really need any special hardware.
There’s a two-week free trial, so you might as well give it a try, lol.

It’s pricey, but one license covers two PCs — so if you ever expand your audio rooms, it actually pays off.
kawauso uses two PC licenses and four Denon AVRs — that’s eight rooms with Dirac running, lol.

 

[kawauso]

Yeah, I checked and it looks like the WiiM Amp Pro can’t connect to a PC directly via USB — it doesn’t work as a USB DAC, lol.
So if your main source is a PC, you’d have to use optical or something, which kinda defeats the point, lol.
It’s still a nice amp, but under those conditions I wouldn’t really recommend it.
The Topping PA5 II is fine, but it’s just a plain 2-channel amp.
The Fosi Audio ZP3 has built-in HPF and tone controls, which makes it a better pick, I think.
If you’re not planning to use Dirac or anything like that in the future, this one’s the way to go, lol.

 

[10PSPMemSticksForMiku2007]

If your PC has multichannel analog audio output, which is common for desktops, you can do a digital crossover to a sub using the additional channels. EqualizerAPO is the free software I use for this as you can configure the mixing and filters exactly how you want and it applies system-wide. Set it up once and forget about it. If you don't want to do that, there is bass management built into Windows that you can somewhat configure. It's perfectly fine to use an AV receiver for an amp but I would advise against buying a brand new one just to have the crossover function. Your PC can do that for free. If your PC mainboard audio is not egregiously horrible I would just use that; many are not bad. You can save the hundreds you would spend on dacs and overpowered amps on something more beneficial like a measurement microphone, second subwoofer, surrounds, etc.
I also like to use a different dac for my headphones and speakers on PC, because that allows me to have different EQs applied to each device in EqualizerAPO with no need to adjust the volume for each one. All I have to do is switch audio devices in Windows.
Another option is to use any stereo dac and connect your speaker amp and subwoofer both to it using rca or 3.5mm splitter cables, and rely on the sub's built in low pass filter. You might also choose a different sub with a better analog crossover that has a high pass for the main speakers etc. but I think all that is still not as good as a digital crossover.

 

[kawauso]

If your PC has multichannel analog audio output, which is common for desktops, you can do a digital crossover to a sub using the additional channels. EqualizerAPO is the free software I use for this as you can configure the mixing and filters exactly how you want and it applies system-wide. Set it up once and forget about it. If you don't want to do that, there is bass management built into Windows that you can somewhat configure. It's perfectly fine to use an AV receiver for an amp but I would advise against buying a brand new one just to have the crossover function. Your PC can do that for free. If your PC mainboard audio is not egregiously horrible I would just use that; many are not bad. You can save the hundreds you would spend on dacs and overpowered amps on something more beneficial like a measurement microphone, second subwoofer, surrounds, etc.
I also like to use a different dac for my headphones and speakers on PC, because that allows me to have different EQs applied to each device in EqualizerAPO with no need to adjust the volume for each one. All I have to do is switch audio devices in Windows.
Another option is to use any stereo dac and connect your speaker amp and subwoofer both to it using rca or 3.5mm splitter cables, and rely on the sub's built in low pass filter. You might also choose a different sub with a better analog crossover that has a high pass for the main speakers etc. but I think all that is still not as good as a digital crossover.

I've been using Equalizer APO for quite some time, but I never realized it could do that.
Would this configuration be correct? Thank you very much for sharing this

 

[10PSPMemSticksForMiku2007]

That looks like it would work fine. It's basically similar to my config. I would experiment with different crossover points and slopes. It's common to have second order filters at least, and by using EQAPO you can even have third, fourth, eight order filters if you want them. Just do multiple low or high pass filters in series. think at least two high pass filters would be typical, and if you're using a high frequency that both the speakers and subs can play easily like 100hz, you might try four filters. This requres more output at the center frequency compared to one filter but it results in less content above that frequency going to the sub. The best settings may be a compromise depending on your speakers and where you position them. It is also ok to use different number of filters for the high pass and low pass to account for those speakers' natural roll-offs and the low pass built in to the sub (if it can't be disabled).
You might notice that with Windows set to 5.1, some apps or games might output 5.1 signals that this mixing is applied to. You don't have a center or surround speakers so you may have to deal with that in order to hear everything. The LFE signal level needs to be higher than the bass from other speakers. Downmixing to stereo costs headroom but you can set it up to be toggled when you need to. A group of filters can be stored in a text file that you can toggle at once with the control > include filter. If you're only using apps that output stereo, you may not have to think about that at all.
Also, be aware there may or may not be a low pass built into the lfe channel on your sound card. If so, you pretty much have to use that channel for the sub in a full 5.1 setup, but otherwise you may prefer to use any of the other channels.

For those who aren't using EQAPO, Windows can also do this for you. When you set up your speakers to a 5.1 configuration for example, you can uncheck speakers that are not present - for example if you have 4.1 with no center, you uncheck the center speaker in the wizard and it will be mixed into left and right for you.

 

[Jiraya369]

Set to the same volume, both Amps will sound identical.

But the more powerful Amp can likely (not necessarily) play louder and that louder sound is often felt as being more "open".

That's really all it is.


WiiM Pro Plus has no bass management.


Correct. See Cordial Cables, Blue Jeans Cable, World's best cables etc.

Anything more is just jewelry without purpose.


Just OFC of the appropriate gauge (see Google).

dang it, so i need to get the Wiim Ultra, use some other amps and then connect em all if i want bass management.

thanks for the cable advice! Looked at some WBC cables available near me and now im confused even more. What do i use for all this, banana, spade, banana to spade? I looked it all up and stuff but it seems it's only for tightening the connection. Are speaker cables not like usb or something? I thought i'd just plug in and be done with it. If i get banana or spade cables what else will i have to do? I'm a little confused here.

Monoprice has cables at half the price but with no heads. I saw audioholics recommend them and the AWG is good enough for my needs from both of these cables, at least based on Audioholics's graphs.

Thanks for the badass answer! I at least know SOME things about "good" cables now.

 

[Jiraya369]

Lots of active subwoofers have pass-through crossovers.


You should be able to find something more economical. If you've tried them and you like them, fine. But with headphones there is almost no correlation between price and sound quality. (You can search the reviews here by "recommended" and "price".)

yeah but the RSL doesn't, it only has sound in or out or something, it only will low pass the sub, the speakers will play full range so the addition of a sub won't alleviate stress from speakers which is my primary goal TBH.

And well, I have a Moondrop X Crinacle DUSK IEM, they're 80-90% of the way there for IEM quality i'd say, they fit my preferences and I was looking at IEM endgames for me and they all go into speaker territory, not only that but they won't fit me, the DUSK is already a bit hard to fit. And for headphones well, the guy I trust, Crinacle, he put these headphones quite high and others i trust also put em high. Unlike speakers, headphones and iems have some non-measurable qualities that just improve and stuff and the main issue is that everyone's head/ear is different so they process sounds differently, speakers bypass that problem. So yeah, also, the Arya Organic is said to be almost the same quality as the HE1000 V2 Stealth but for far cheaper ofc, but I wanted the HE1K because it has a metal build, looks nicer and also has longer warranty. Enough reasons to pay more I think, considering Hifiman's shoddy reputation in terms of QC.

And I can thankfully try these headphones before buying them but again, the cost gets so high that I find it a better use of money to get speakers. I can get cheaper headphones but they'll be sidegrades from my DUSK iem, i don't want that, I want a triple setup of headphones, iems and speakers. I was going to spend on headphones first but as the cost is +-20% of the speakers, i just got swayed towards the speakers.

I'm still wondering if I should go for the speakers or the headphones lol. I'm not here to collect things, I just want good audio that i can reasonably call "endgame". IEMs I'll wear on my bed, headphones i'll use for close monitoring/quiet listening at night if i dont want to disturb neighbours and speakers for everything else. It was my dream to get a good audio setup be it headphone or speaker and I'm on my path to fulfill that dream, was saving up to get a new laptop but if i can get a whole speaker OR headphone setup for the same money, im just gonna do that. Audio is the only thing in my life that's keeping me going so yeah I want it to be good. And I don't want to spend too much to get too little of a jump. The HE1000 V2 Stealth for example, was 3000 USD, now it's 1230 USD in my country. That's why I was tempted.

I hope this clears things up, i dont want to dismiss your advice, i thank you for looking out, but I hope you understand where I come from and if you have anything more to say after reading this info, feel free to!

 

[kyuu]

dang it, so i need to get the Wiim Ultra, use some other amps and then connect em all if i want bass management.

Or just use a Wiim Amp/Amp Pro/Amp Ultra.

 

[Jiraya369]

Hey Jiraya369,
If you’re not planning to blast music, honestly up to around 85 dB any decent amp will sound the same, lol.
You could use a multi-channel audio interface, but an AV receiver is way simpler and much better value.
If you want something compact, the WiiM Amp Pro is a solid pick.

kawauso runs Dirac Live Room Correction Suite on PC for 2.1 systems in different rooms.
It even works fine with onboard front/rear outputs, so you don’t really need any special hardware.
There’s a two-week free trial, so you might as well give it a try, lol.

It’s pricey, but one license covers two PCs — so if you ever expand your audio rooms, it actually pays off.
kawauso uses two PC licenses and four Denon AVRs — that’s eight rooms with Dirac running, lol.

omg it's the otter man himself!! heyy!

thanks for the balanced advice! Any amp will sound the same... LOL imagine saying that to some subjectivists! And I don't think I'm doing a multi-channel setup until a few decades or so later when i have my own house or something lol, an AVR would be a bit of a waste as a result I think.

And yes! I was looking at the Wiim Amp Pro and Ultra at first but forgot about them as soon as I heard that they have no USB input to pc, that got me scared, like, how was i supposed to get the sound from my pc then? Then i heard about USB to toplink converters and that got me thinking about them again lol

The thing was that I was thinking of getting headphones later on, so I really wanted to get a topping dx3 pro+ or dx 5 ii as a DAC, but since it is not possible it seems the Wiim Amp Pro is the way to go. Just wondering if it'll actually work with the toplink conversion being in the middle.... And like if i ever get a dual sub system, i can just use some y-splitters or something and connect em to the sub out right? Both subs will be playing the same frequencies so that ought to work.

It's frustrating honestly that there's only one "good" amp/dac for pc that does this job and everything else is just taken from home theatre stuff OR i have to go down the active speaker route, i actually think genelecs and ESPECIALLY neumanns have loads of value in them, i was eyeing up the KH310A as an endgame setup but the Ascilab stuff looked so good i thought why not go for these with a sub lol

And wow, dirac sounds cool! But it's prohibitively expensive considering my circumstances lol. I'm going to get it later when i get two subs, that's the beauty of a setup like this i can just add stuff later on.

Thanks for the answer!

 

[Jiraya369]

Yeah, I checked and it looks like the WiiM Amp Pro can’t connect to a PC directly via USB — it doesn’t work as a USB DAC, lol.
So if your main source is a PC, you’d have to use optical or something, which kinda defeats the point, lol.
It’s still a nice amp, but under those conditions I wouldn’t really recommend it.
The Topping PA5 II is fine, but it’s just a plain 2-channel amp.
The Fosi Audio ZP3 has built-in HPF and tone controls, which makes it a better pick, I think.
If you’re not planning to use Dirac or anything like that in the future, this one’s the way to go, lol.

yeah..... the optical thing is kinda weird but wdym defeats the point, what issue could arise?

And hmm yeah ig a pa5 ii with zp3 all connected to a dac ought to do the trick. I don't mind loads of small boxes on my desk.

 

[Jiraya369]

If your PC has multichannel analog audio output, which is common for desktops, you can do a digital crossover to a sub using the additional channels. EqualizerAPO is the free software I use for this as you can configure the mixing and filters exactly how you want and it applies system-wide. Set it up once and forget about it. If you don't want to do that, there is bass management built into Windows that you can somewhat configure. It's perfectly fine to use an AV receiver for an amp but I would advise against buying a brand new one just to have the crossover function. Your PC can do that for free. If your PC mainboard audio is not egregiously horrible I would just use that; many are not bad. You can save the hundreds you would spend on dacs and overpowered amps on something more beneficial like a measurement microphone, second subwoofer, surrounds, etc.
I also like to use a different dac for my headphones and speakers on PC, because that allows me to have different EQs applied to each device in EqualizerAPO with no need to adjust the volume for each one. All I have to do is switch audio devices in Windows.
Another option is to use any stereo dac and connect your speaker amp and subwoofer both to it using rca or 3.5mm splitter cables, and rely on the sub's built in low pass filter. You might also choose a different sub with a better analog crossover that has a high pass for the main speakers etc. but I think all that is still not as good as a digital crossover.

im sorry but i dont follow you, and i might have not made it clear. I'm using a laptop.

It has USB-A, USB-C, 3.5 mm, power and HDMI ports.

I was thinking of connecting stuff to my laptop with the usb port so everything is digital. And yes! I use EQAPO! well not EQAPO but rather a GUI for it, Peace. I have dozens of presets and it's easy to make, edit and switch between them with peace imo.

The main issue with using a dac, speaker amp and sub low passing is that only the sub is low passed. The speakers play full range. I don't really know what you're talking about with EQAPO and configuring it. If I connect all of them and high pass the signal, would it not high pass the whole audio output? Resulting in both the sub and the speakers playing high passed sound? How would I just high pass the speakers and just low pass the sub digitally?

I'd like it all to stay in the digital realm like with a dac or something so that the dac only converts the digital stuff and speakers/sub play clean signals. Will i hear the issues? 99% sure i won't. But paying all this money just to not use it to the fullest potential would be a waste imo!

 

[Jiraya369]

That looks like it would work fine. It's basically similar to my config. I would experiment with different crossover points and slopes. It's common to have second order filters at least, and by using EQAPO you can even have third, fourth, eight order filters if you want them. Just do multiple low or high pass filters in series. think at least two high pass filters would be typical, and if you're using a high frequency that both the speakers and subs can play easily like 100hz, you might try four filters. This requres more output at the center frequency compared to one filter but it results in less content above that frequency going to the sub. The best settings may be a compromise depending on your speakers and where you position them. It is also ok to use different number of filters for the high pass and low pass to account for those speakers' natural roll-offs and the low pass built in to the sub (if it can't be disabled).
You might notice that with Windows set to 5.1, some apps or games might output 5.1 signals that this mixing is applied to. You don't have a center or surround speakers so you may have to deal with that in order to hear everything. The LFE signal level needs to be higher than the bass from other speakers. Downmixing to stereo costs headroom but you can set it up to be toggled when you need to. A group of filters can be stored in a text file that you can toggle at once with the control > include filter. If you're only using apps that output stereo, you may not have to think about that at all.
Also, be aware there may or may not be a low pass built into the lfe channel on your sound card. If so, you pretty much have to use that channel for the sub in a full 5.1 setup, but otherwise you may prefer to use any of the other channels.

For those who aren't using EQAPO, Windows can also do this for you. When you set up your speakers to a 5.1 configuration for example, you can uncheck speakers that are not present - for example if you have 4.1 with no center, you uncheck the center speaker in the wizard and it will be mixed into left and right for you.

what are second order filters? how does that translate into db/octave or a q slope? i only know these 2

thanks for the great answers and omg i read your username and saw your pfp. It's miku!!!

 

[Jiraya369]

Or just use a Wiim Amp/Amp Pro/Amp Ultra.

yeah i was thinking of using a wiim amp pro at the very start but now im wondering if using it is going to be okay, im gonna have to convert optical to usb and then use it. It just seems a little iffy.

 

[kawauso]

omg it's the otter man himself!! heyy!

thanks for the balanced advice! Any amp will sound the same... LOL imagine saying that to some subjectivists! And I don't think I'm doing a multi-channel setup until a few decades or so later when i have my own house or something lol, an AVR would be a bit of a waste as a result I think.

And yes! I was looking at the Wiim Amp Pro and Ultra at first but forgot about them as soon as I heard that they have no USB input to pc, that got me scared, like, how was i supposed to get the sound from my pc then? Then i heard about USB to toplink converters and that got me thinking about them again lol

The thing was that I was thinking of getting headphones later on, so I really wanted to get a topping dx3 pro+ or dx 5 ii as a DAC, but since it is not possible it seems the Wiim Amp Pro is the way to go. Just wondering if it'll actually work with the toplink conversion being in the middle.... And like if i ever get a dual sub system, i can just use some y-splitters or something and connect em to the sub out right? Both subs will be playing the same frequencies so that ought to work.

It's frustrating honestly that there's only one "good" amp/dac for pc that does this job and everything else is just taken from home theatre stuff OR i have to go down the active speaker route, i actually think genelecs and ESPECIALLY neumanns have loads of value in them, i was eyeing up the KH310A as an endgame setup but the Ascilab stuff looked so good i thought why not go for these with a sub lol

And wow, dirac sounds cool! But it's prohibitively expensive considering my circumstances lol. I'm going to get it later when i get two subs, that's the beauty of a setup like this i can just add stuff later on.

Thanks for the answer!

If you’re using a laptop, grab a USB audio interface with 4 outputs, like the Focusrite Scarlett 4i4 — makes everything way easier.
Any decent amp will do, don’t overthink it lol.

Like 10PSPMemSticksForMiku2007 said, Equalizer APO lets your PC handle the crossover digitally, which is awesome.
And if you ever wanna dive deeper, check out MSO (Multi-Sub Optimizer) — it’s a free tool that helps fine-tune subs and speakers together. Bit of a learning curve, but super worth it if you like tweaking.

Plus, if you add a second sub later, that interface already has separate outputs, so you can run proper 2.2 correction instead of splitting a single 2.1 signal.
Cleaner, tighter bass — the good kind that hits without the boom.

 

[kyuu]

yeah i was thinking of using a wiim amp pro at the very start but now im wondering if using it is going to be okay, im gonna have to convert optical to usb and then use it. It just seems a little iffy.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with doing USB to optical, if your source doesn't already have an optical SPDIF output. The full galvanic isolation is actually a benefit, and for a stereo setup there's no downsides.

 

[Jiraya369]

There's absolutely nothing wrong with doing USB to optical, if your source doesn't already have an optical SPDIF output. The full galvanic isolation is actually a benefit, and for a stereo setup there's no downsides.

hmm ok it seems like going down the wiim amp pro/ultra route is the actual endgame then. More than enough power for me and the DAC, amp and power supply are all in one box. Hoping there's no need for any UAC drivers or anything to get it working. Since amir tested 2 ohms and saw amp pro was kinda iffy with it and erin tested 2 ohms on the amp ultra and found it to work till 200 watts, im gonna go down the ultra route.

Thank you for the answer!

So now my current setup would be

PC -> usb to optical converter -> wiim amp ultra -> speakers and sub

the sub would be connected with an rca cable and the speakers will use a monoprice or World's Best Cable thingy, i've got like 100 dollars as budget in mind for this. The main sad part is that BT doesn't have LDAC so i can't use BT with my phone with high fidelity, to my ears LDAC is transparent. But hey small price to pay for an easy and simple job. The amp/dac doesn't seem to be the highest quality/ "transparent" but the boost the speakers will get from proper sub integration would be more important i think.

 

[kyuu]

Since amir tested 2 ohms and saw amp pro was kinda iffy with it and erin tested 2 ohms on the amp ultra and found it to work till 200 watts, im gonna go down the ultra route.

From my reading, the Amp Pro only had issues with 2 ohms in combination with difficult phase angles. The C6B doesn't actually get down to 2 ohms and, at least by reading, doesn't seem to simultaneously have difficult phase angles when it bottoms out at 2.6 ohms. But the Amp Ultra certainly does put any worry about that to rest and gets you extra power (and the nice screen) to boot, so go for it I say.

The main sad part is that BT doesn't have LDAC so i can't use BT with my phone with high fidelity, to my ears LDAC is transparent. But hey small price to pay for an easy and simple job. The amp/dac doesn't seem to be the highest quality/ "transparent" but the boost the speakers will get from proper sub integration would be more important i think.

What would be using Bluetooth for? Listening to music stored on the phone? Some streaming service? For most use cases there's no need to even use Bluetooth.