Using a single DAC for both headphones and powered monitors?

[DapperDanMan]

For a long time I was using a Peachtree Nova 150 in my home office with a pair of KEF R300's. The Nova 150 has a built-in headphone amp (similar to a lot of AVRs) so if I needed to use headphones I'd simply plug them in and it would switch into headphone mode automatically.

I've rearranged things a bit and now I'm running a dedicated DAC (Soncoz SGD1) and Headphone amp (Geshelli Labs Archel2.5 Pro) in my office and the old equipment has moved to a different room. I'm finding there are still times when I'd like to use speakers in the office, so I'm thinking of adding a pair of powered monitors to the mix.

What's the recommended method to achieve the functionality I had previously, i.e. swapping from headphones to monitors with minimal fuss?

 

[Berwhale]

I have this functionality with my D50s + JDS Labs Atom because the Atom has a pre-amp output (enabled when headphones are unplugged). You could add an XLR switch box between the DAC and the HP amp to achieve a similar outcome.

Amirm reviewed one here: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...und-3-in-1-out-xlr-audio-switch-review.11062/

You'll need think about how you want to control the volume. On my setup, I do the following:

1. PC Volume = fixed at 100%
2. DAC = fixed at 100%
3. Monitor Speakers = fixed at 60%
4. Atom = 10 to 2 o'clock gives me reasonable volume on both my headphones and speakers (and no nasty surprises when I switch between them).

I think it would be easiest to use the DAC for volume control if you added a switch to your setup.

 

[renaudrenaud]

SABAJ D5? Or other DAC with XLR output for your powered monitors and and headphone amp inside the same box. SMSL M500 etc...

 

[DapperDanMan]

I'm liking the idea of the XLR switch. Not too expensive and it seems like it would give me what I want. I currently run the volume on my PC and DAC at 100% and adjust volume with the headphone amp. I imagine I could set the monitors to a fixed level and then adjust their volume with the DAC pretty easily.

If I did go with an integrated DAC / Heaphone amp like the SMSL M500 or SABAJ D5, are those always outputting from the XLR outputs, or does it automatically turn off that output when headphones are plugged in?

 

[Berwhale]

With the M500, I think you have to switch between HP and Line/XLR output in the menu. Not sure about the D5.