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Dac/amp for headphones and speakers

mr_palm

Hello, I am looking for a dac/amp for my system.

I am currently powering two JBL slr 305s, audio technica m40x, and might get the akg a7xx headphones.

I just got the speakers, and they sound great, however there is a lot of static occuring when theyre plugged into my computer and it is really bothering me. they were both initially plugged into a power strip on the back of my desk for power, however i moved one of the plugs to a strip on the floor and it made the static quieter, however still there. BUT, when I plug the speakers into my phone, the static goes away so I dont think it has a lot to do with the power cables. I after i noticed it in my speakers, I realized that the same sounds were coming out of my headphones as well but i just never noticed. I would like to buy a dac to plug both speakers and my headphones into, as well as amps for the speaker and headphones seperately to drive them.

 

I was wondering 3 things.

1. What DAC should I get? i was looking at 

    -SMSL SD-793II DAC/Amp (would work as dac and amp?)

    -schiit MODI 2

   -SMSL sanskrit

   -HiFime Sabre 9018 USB DAC (this would probably be easiest due to cables but it seems to lack the design features of others. was reccomended to me.)

2. What AMP(s) should I get? (1 headphone 1 speaker)

    -SMSL Audio Sap 6 (headphones)

    -SMSL SD-793II DAC/Amp (would work as dac and amp? [headphones])

    -Schiit Magni 2 (headphones)

    -SMSL sa98(speakers)

3. If i get amps, dacs, etc. What cables will i have to get to bring it all together? Splitters, rca, etc?

 

I did look into the "before you buy amp and dac" thread, and saw the reasons to and not to stuff, and i was looking at spending about maybe 200-250 USD in total. was probably going to get the SMSL sap 6 and sa98 for amps for 150, but wasnt sure about what dac, or if a dac/amp would be better and am open to suggestions. Thank you

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Sounds like you got a ground miss match, it also sounds like your running things off different power sources. I recommend a DI box.
Also the speakers are powered dont need a amp. Just buy a DI box to help with the ground problem and a couple XLR cables to plug from the DI box into the speakers.

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2 minutes ago, Ahoy Hoy said:

Sounds like you got a ground miss match, it also sounds like your running things off different power sources. I recommend a DI box.
Also the speakers are powered dont need a amp. Just buy a DI box to help with the ground problem and a couple XLR cables to plug from the DI box into the speakers.

What is a DI box? and they are currently on different power sources due to the cord being too short :(

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7 minutes ago, mr_palm said:

What is a DI box? and they are currently on different power sources due to the cord being too short :(

Its mainly used to turn a unbalanced cable to a balance cable. But they also come with extra features such as a ground lift and volume pads. The ground lift is very helpful for you and the balanced cable will probably help.

This is the one I use.
http://www.stage-electrics.co.uk/shop/sales/audio/signal-processing-and-noise-control-units/eq-compression-and-gates/product.aspx?code=300-2476&nr=true
Its pretty good but does put a 3dB drop on frequencies below 50Hz.
That and a couple XLR cables to run to the speakers should do it.

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2 hours ago, SSL said:

Loving affirmations. Follow my guide to eliminate static.

I went through some of it, and going into safe mode eliminated the static. the next step is to run a dpc latency checker but i dont know what that is. i downloaded one but it just graphed some stuff. i checked to see if my sound drivers were up to date in with windows said they were

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