Questions about connecting a mixer to a headphone amp

[Tacanacy]

Headphone, PC ➔ Just Mixer ➔ Magni 2 Uber ➔ Modi 2 Uber ➔ PS4

 

Will this setup work with an aux cable from the mixer's jack input to the amp's jack?

Will the signal just pass through the mixer to the headphone, or will the mixer power the headphone?

 

[rhyseyness]

Depends on the mixer.

Your arrows seem to be the wrong way round to me.

You should have the mixer before your amp, rather than after it.

Mixer is a line level device, not designed to be used with amp'd inputs.

Hope this helps

[Tacanacy]

14 minutes ago, rhyseyness said:

Depends on the mixer.

Your arrows seem to be the wrong way round to me.

You should have the mixer before your amp, rather than after it.

Mixer is a line level device, not designed to be used with amp'd inputs.

Hope this helps

The configuration is still the same. The PC and amp go to the mixer's inputs from their headphone jacks, at least that's what I'm thinking. I'm still unsure if this would work.

[anothertom]

You don't need the DAC after the mixer, the signal is already analogue. You also don't really need the amp after the mixer, as the output from the mixer is already at a suitable level and you would be triple amping the signal, which can lead to issues. 

 

Do you actually mean to have the PC and the PS4 connected to the mixer? Rather than from the PC through the mixer into the PS4.

[rhyseyness]

19 minutes ago, Tacanacy said:

The configuration is still the same. The PC and amp go to the mixer's inputs from their headphone jacks, at least that's what I'm thinking. I'm still unsure if this would work.

Yea, just makes it harder to understand what's going on.

Looks like your headphones are the audio source

 

PC and PS4 headphone out to the mixers inputs directly.

Amplify the mixer output, not the mixer input.

There is a risk you'll kill the mixer putting an amplified signal in.

It would work, but your PS4 (amp'd) input would be waaaaaaaaay louder than your line level PC input.

Kinda defeats the point of the mixer, as your PS4 could be at like 5% volume and still be louder than your PC at 100%.

Mixers are not generally for amplified inputs.

Usually, sound source -> mixer -> amplifier -> ouptut. 

[rhyseyness]

15 minutes ago, anothertom said:

You don't need the DAC after the mixer, the signal is already analogue. You also don't really need the amp after the mixer, as the output from the mixer is already at a suitable level and you would be triple amping the signal, which can lead to issues. 

 

Do you actually mean to have the PC and the PS4 connected to the mixer? Rather than from the PC through the mixer into the PS4.

He's got the DAC and amp before the mixer, not after.

DAC before the mixer makes sense, but amp, not so much.

How do you know the mixer output is already at a suitable level?

 

Although, @Tacanacy, you say you're using the headphone output from the PS4 and the PC... this is an analogue signal so the DAC is doing nothing.

 

Just had a look at that mixer too.

The output is already amp'd so you'd be double amping if you used your amp too (not sure where you got triple from @anothertom).

Your DAC and amp really aren't any use with the mixer.

 

Your final setup should be PC/PS4 headphone out->Mixer Inputs-Mixer Outputs->Headphones.

This is assuming you're trying to mix PC and PS4 audio... not sure what else you'd be trying to do.

The mixer is 2 in, 1 out, so not sure how you'd be connecting your PC and headphones to the inputs...

If you're trying to record PS4 audio with your PC, and listen through headphones at the same time, a mixer is the wrong tool for the job, you need a splitter (way cheaper and easier, and you can still use your amp).

Not a clue where you'd be putting the DAC in any of these setups though if you're using the headphone output from both devices.

[Tacanacy]

45 minutes ago, anothertom said:

Do you actually mean to have the PC and the PS4 connected to the mixer? Rather than from the PC through the mixer into the PS4.

 

I don't see the difference.

 

44 minutes ago, rhyseyness said:

Yea, just makes it harder to understand what's going on.

Looks like your headphones are the audio source

 

PC and PS4 headphone out to the mixers inputs directly.

Amplify the mixer output, not the mixer input.

There is a risk you'll kill the mixer putting an amplified signal in.

It would work, but your PS4 (amp'd) input would be waaaaaaaaay louder than your line level PC input.

Kinda defeats the point of the mixer, as your PS4 could be at like 5% volume and still be louder than your PC at 100%.

Mixers are not generally for amplified inputs.

Usually, sound source -> mixer -> amplifier -> ouptut. 

3

So, I connect the amp to the mixer's output and then the headphone to the amp via its RCA output? Even when reducing the volume on the mixer and amp, the audio from the PS4 will be much louder? Is there a way I can connect the PC to the DAC and amp at the same as the PS4 so that both are amped the same number of times? Will an optical splitter work?

 

42 minutes ago, rhyseyness said:

He's got the DAC and amp before the mixer, not after.

DAC before the mixer makes sense, but amp, not so much.

How do you know the mixer output is already at a suitable level?

 

Although, @Tacanacy, you say you're using the headphone output from the PS4 and the PC... this is an analogue signal so the DAC is doing nothing.

 

Just had a look at that mixer too.

The output is already amp'd so you'd be double amping if you used your amp too (not sure where you got triple from @anothertom).

Your DAC and amp really aren't any use with the mixer.

Yes, my original plan was the DAC and amp before the mixer.

The purpose of using a dedicated DAC and amp is to get better audio quality... I've used an interface for music that costs many times more than the Just Mixer and even then I could hear a big difference in the quality compared to the Schiit stack.

[anothertom]

24 minutes ago, rhyseyness said:

He's got the DAC and amp before the mixer, not after.

DAC before the mixer makes sense, but amp, not so much.

How do you know the mixer output is already at a suitable level?

 

 <snip>

 

Just had a look at that mixer too.

The output is already amp'd so you'd be double amping if you used your amp too (not sure where you got triple from @anothertom).

Your DAC and amp really aren't any use with the mixer.

In the original post going left to right the DAC is after the mixer. It's also after each amp stage, so the arrows are definitely the wrong way round. 

I'd hope a mixer with a headphone output would provide the signal at a decent level for headphones. 

 

If we use an analogue output from PC then it's being amped at the PC, mixer and the magni (and ignore that the signal chain doesn't work). 

32 minutes ago, rhyseyness said:

Not a clue where you'd be putting the DAC in any of these setups though if you're using the headphone output from both devices.

The PS4, I think,  has been part of the attempt of consoles to pretend analogue audio isn't a thing. It only has optical output but supports USB audio devices.

 

If we flip all but the first arrow, then we get something which makes some sort of sense, and would work. BUT, having that level of DAC before that mixer is a waste, and you don't need to have a headphone amp before the mixer or after it. 

[rhyseyness]

30 minutes ago, Tacanacy said:

I don't see the difference.

 

So, I connect the amp to the mixer's output and then the headphone to the amp via its RCA output? Even when reducing the volume on the mixer and amp, the audio from the PS4 will be much louder? Is there a way I can connect the PC to the DAC and amp at the same as the PS4 so that both are amped the same number of times? Will an optical splitter work?

 

Yes, my original plan was the DAC and amp before the mixer.

The purpose of using a dedicated DAC and amp is to get better audio quality... I've used an interface for music that costs many times more than the Just Mixer and even then I could hear a big difference in the quality compared to the Schiit stack.

What are you trying to do?

Mix PC and PS4 audio to one output?

That's what the mixer would be for.

 

If you're doing this, you need to connect analogue outputs from both the PS4 and the PC to the inputs on the mixer, then the output of the mixer to your headphones.

Mixer output to an amp is not advised, as the mixer has an amp built it.

If you connected this to an amp, you'd be amplifying an already amplified signal.

Not only could this damage your amp, but it's gonna be way too loud for your headphones.

 

WITH THE EXCEPTION OF PRE-AMPING, YOU SHOULD NOT BE AMPLIFYING AUDIO SIGNALS MULTIPLE TIMES.

Doing this will just introduce noise and also risk damaging equipment.

 

Are you using the DAC for converting digital output from the PS4 to analogue?

If the PS4 has no analogue output, this is the correct thing to do.

 

The mixer is going to be the lowest quality part of the audio chain, so you're not likely to see a huge benefit from using such a good DAC.

 

If you're doing this your audio chain will look somthing like this:

 

 

PC analogue out (3.5mm/RCA)------------------------>mixer input

                                                                                      |----->mixer output (already amplified)->headphones

PS4 Digital out (optical/usb)->DAC (3.5mm/RCA)->mixer input

 

 

If you're attempting to do something other than mix your PC and PS4 audio ouptuts, a mixer is not what you need.

[Tacanacy]

On 7/28/2017 at 10:25 AM, rhyseyness said:

What are you trying to do?

Mix PC and PS4 audio to one output?

That's what the mixer would be for.

 

If you're doing this, you need to connect analogue outputs from both the PS4 and the PC to the inputs on the mixer, then the output of the mixer to your headphones.

Mixer output to an amp is not advised, as the mixer has an amp built it.

If you connected this to an amp, you'd be amplifying an already amplified signal.

Not only could this damage your amp, but it's gonna be way too loud for your headphones.

 

WITH THE EXCEPTION OF PRE-AMPING, YOU SHOULD NOT BE AMPLIFYING AUDIO SIGNALS MULTIPLE TIMES.

Doing this will just introduce noise and also risk damaging equipment.

 

Are you using the DAC for converting digital output from the PS4 to analogue?

If the PS4 has no analogue output, this is the correct thing to do.

 

The mixer is going to be the lowest quality part of the audio chain, so you're not likely to see a huge benefit from using such a good DAC.

 

If you're doing this your audio chain will look somthing like this:

 

 

PC analogue out (3.5mm/RCA)------------------------>mixer input

                                                                                      |----->mixer output (already amplified)->headphones

PS4 Digital out (optical/usb)->DAC (3.5mm/RCA)->mixer input

 

 

If you're attempting to do something other than mix your PC and PS4 audio ouptuts, a mixer is not what you need.

6

 

Yes, mix PC and PS4 audio to one output.

I need to use the DAC because PS4 has no analog outputs.

Ok, so no amp, but what about the part where anothertom said: "If we use an analogue output from PC then it's being amped at the PC, mixer and the magni "? The signal from the PC would be amplified multiple times...

 

[anothertom]

19 minutes ago, Tacanacy said:

Ok, so no amp, but what about the part where anothertom said: "If we use an analogue output from PC then it's being amped at the PC, mixer and the magni "? The signal from the PC would be amplified multiple times...

Yes. Unfortunately motherboards don't have pre-amp outputs, so you can either use the headphone or line level output and not worry about it, or get a cheap USB DAC (but not a DAC/amp).

 

What you definitely don't need is a fancy DAC for the PS4 or an amp after the mixer. 

[Tacanacy]

Just now, anothertom said:

Yes. Unfortunately motherboards don't have pre-amp outputs, so you can either use the headphone or line level output and not worry about it, or get a cheap USB DAC (but not a DAC/amp).

 

What you definitely don't need is a fancy DAC for the PS4 or an amp after the mixer. 

I can connect the DAC via RCA to the mixer, right? 

[anothertom]

52 minutes ago, Tacanacy said:

I can connect the DAC via RCA to the mixer, right? 

I think that mixer only has inputs on either 3.5mm or 6.3mm jacks, but you can find a cheap adapter quite easily. 

[rhyseyness]

19 hours ago, Tacanacy said:

 

Yes, mix PC and PS4 audio to one output.

I need to use the DAC because PS4 has no analog outputs.

Ok, so no amp, but what about the part where anothertom said: "If we use an analogue output from PC then it's being amped at the PC, mixer and the magni "? The signal from the PC would be amplified multiple times...

 

 

19 hours ago, anothertom said:

Yes. Unfortunately motherboards don't have pre-amp outputs, so you can either use the headphone or line level output and not worry about it, or get a cheap USB DAC (but not a DAC/amp).

 

What you definitely don't need is a fancy DAC for the PS4 or an amp after the mixer. 

Motherboards usually have a "line out."

This is the output you should use.

 

The "diagram" I did above is what you should do.

I'll be shocked if the motherboard only has an amp'd analogue output.

 

If it doesn't have a line out, then yes, cheap DAC to get analogue outputs from your PC, to mixer input.

Then both PS4 and PC analogue outputs to mixer inputs and headphones connected to the mixer output.

 

Hope this helps