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wwvierg
0
Jul 10, 2015
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quick, dumb, question ... already in on the CEntrance DACmini CX Amp/DAC drop ... and it has RCA outputs ... but these JBL's require TRS inputs ... my questions is: what's the diff between RCA and TRS, or better yet would i be able to drive these JBLs using the CEntrance rig? ... thanks in advance
theeattre
82
Jul 10, 2015
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wwviergthe centrance dacmini won't be "driving" them because it's a headphone amp, not a speaker amp. the jbl's are active so they drive themselves. (fyi, the dacmini px was centrance's integrated amp/dac unit)
rca is unbalanced, xlr is balanced. trs (tip/ring/sleeve) is balanced, ts (tip/sleeve) is unbalanced. trs and ts generally refer to 1/4" and 1/8" jacks...think guitar cable, ipod audio cable, etc.)
you can purchase xlr to rca (single) cables. i've done this in the past. some would suggest to get an unbalanced to balanced converter. not sure if this is necessary. i ran monitors(active) through a mixer that only had rca inputs/outputs and never had problems. ymmv. :)
rca is unbalanced, xlr is balanced. trs (tip/ring/sleeve) is balanced, ts (tip/sleeve) is unbalanced. trs and ts generally refer to 1/4" and 1/8" jacks...think guitar cable, ipod audio cable, etc.)
you can purchase xlr to rca (single) cables. i've done this in the past. some would suggest to get an unbalanced to balanced converter. not sure if this is necessary. i ran monitors(active) through a mixer that only had rca inputs/outputs and never had problems. ymmv. :)
wwvierg
0
Jul 10, 2015
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theeattretheeattre - thanks for the quick reply ... the reason i asked is b/c when signing up for the CEntrance drop, there was an option/mod to have the volume control also control the RCA output ports, vs. the default mode of fixed volume on the line-outs ... in fact, from their website, under Mods/"Variable Output" mod, although they mention the line-outs feeding another amp, they have this comment: "Tip: Use to adjust the volume of external powered speakers with the DACmini volume control knob, at the same time as you control the headphone volume" ... b/c of that, i thought perhaps this was similar to the Schiit Asgard 2 which can drive active monitors. FWIW i'm just getting into the whole headphone DAC/amp thing ... the Schiit stuff will be hooked up to my main desktop workstation (Windows) currently using the Klipsch 2.1 media setup, and i may even go back and re-rip some almost 900 CD's as FLAC (currently all high VBBR MP3s - see attached TXT file) and when i saw the CEntrance drop, for that price i figured i'd use that on my Mac Mini (i have to have a Mac to do some Excel VBA testing for some of my Mac-only clients) and then thought maybe i should have some external speakers besides just headphones ... anyway, sorry for long ramble - thanks again for the feedback
theeattre
82
Jul 10, 2015
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wwviergyeah, definitely. :)
i think the confusion comes from how you're using the term drive. to drive an inactive speaker one needs an amplifier. an active speaker (like the jbl) has an amplifier built inside so there's no need for external amplification. the asgard 2 has only rca in/out, (which again, would be fine to use with the xlr to rca cable i mentioned) but in the end, the only thing it (along with the centrance dac cx) will be driving is headphones.
if it helps, i own the centrance dacmini px and really enjoy it. i'm using it to drive the centrance speakers as well. it's a really pleasant setup for my computer. for convenience sake, i would def opt for the volume mod if you weren't planning on running the signal through another amp.
i think the confusion comes from how you're using the term drive. to drive an inactive speaker one needs an amplifier. an active speaker (like the jbl) has an amplifier built inside so there's no need for external amplification. the asgard 2 has only rca in/out, (which again, would be fine to use with the xlr to rca cable i mentioned) but in the end, the only thing it (along with the centrance dac cx) will be driving is headphones.
if it helps, i own the centrance dacmini px and really enjoy it. i'm using it to drive the centrance speakers as well. it's a really pleasant setup for my computer. for convenience sake, i would def opt for the volume mod if you weren't planning on running the signal through another amp.
theeattre
82
Jul 10, 2015
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wwvierghaha, of course! :)
out of curiosity, what made you decide not to go with these? i've been looking at them for quite a while now. thinking either this drop or the next i'll jump on board.
how are you liking your arsgard?
out of curiosity, what made you decide not to go with these? i've been looking at them for quite a while now. thinking either this drop or the next i'll jump on board.
how are you liking your arsgard?
Winnifred777
4
Jul 13, 2015
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wwviergthe JBL speakers does not need amps, since it is an active speaker. I'm not sure about the DAC/AMP driving it, but I suppose it should be able.
wwvierg
0
Jul 16, 2015
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theeattresorry for late reply - been dealing w/ hardware issues (unable to flash one of my 2 LSI SAS controllers on my Xeon workstation) ... i haven't plugged in the Asgard yet ... ordered it late last month, then after new Amex billing cycle, ordered their Bitfrost DAC (Uber version) that literally arrive a few minutes ago ... so give me day or two on Schiit feedback ... FWIW i cancelled my participation in the Centrance DAC/CX drop ... figured, for now, i really don't need another setup (was going to use it on my Mac Mini) *and* i e-mailed Centrance and they have discontinued the PX (no idea why) ... also, talking w/ Schiit (again, i am a big newbie in all this) and w/ a simply RCA splitter, i'll be able to use my existing Klipsch Promedia 2.1 setup for when i'm not using the headphones, i.e., browsing, youtube, etc. ... (they'll will be hung off, or plugged into, the Asgard) ... so i am thinking this setup should do me just fine ... if i do get an itch to do another DAC/amp for the Mac Mini i've been drooling over a Woo Audio WA7 Firefly <g>
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