Submitted by caged nations on Fri, 03/05/2010 - 07:09
Hello all,
Great site!
But now alas I have a question. I currently have a audio server with a Lynx Studio AES16 card but I am not sure what is the best way to connect it to my Amp/DAC. I have been using USB to the Amp/DAC with good results but wanted to compare it against running it though the AES16 via the XLR3 connector.....but it am not sure about the best way of going about this.
I have the following:
Media Sever - PC running XP Pro - using Media Monkey
Kimber USB cable to
Headroom Max Balanced Amp / DAC
Coaxial Input - Goes though DAC
USB Input - Goes though DAC
Optical Input typical Toslink connector. - Goes though DAC
RCA Left and Right - Bypasses DAC
Balanced XLR3 Input - Bypasses DAC
What would be the better way to connect the Lynx to the Amp/DAC - happy to buy what ever is needed to get the best sound
Thanks in advance!
Cage
I assume you have the combination Headroom Max Amp and DAC two box system...
The XLR connectors on the DAC unit (as far as I can see) are only analogue output, there is no way to use AES (digital XLR connections) into the DAC unit.
You could purchase an AES to SPDIF balancing unit and connect that between the Lynx AES16 card and the SPDIF input of the DAC, but I'm not sure anyone reported how successful this is. Your other option is to look at alternative SPDIF output methods - people have reported good results using the ESI Juli@ card, or at a similar performance level to the Lynx AES16 is the RME HDSP 9632 card (or HDSPe AIO for PCIe version) which offers SPDIF along with AES if you ever change to another DAC.
Eloise
Mac OSX 10.5 with iTunes (mostly ALAC) --USB--> Musical Fidelity A1008 --> B&W CDM 7NT (iPhone remote)