Hello, I just joined, primarily for the audiophile products. Looking at purchasing the NHT C3 speakers for our new living room. Space is about 15 feet wide by 33 long and they will fire long ways. Space is just for general listening, music room with all equipment is downstairs, so hoping they will fill it with sound nicely. Cheers.
Mar 18, 2024
If you have onboard audio and are having noise issues, spend the $100 and some change on proven interfaces like the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 or Steinberg UR22 or Mackie Onyx Blackjack and get TRS cables. These interfaces have superior components and converters than your onboard audio chip, and as a bonus, you can also record your voice or your instruments through them with pristine quality.
If you have discerning ears, you will notice the increased audio clarity through the monitors, and you won't get bothered by pesky noise interference. You are missing out if you have great monitors like these and just onboard audio. Blessings!
I have the speakers connected to the pre-amp out of a Schiit Fulla 2 and originally it was noisy as hell. Even lowering the volume on the Fulla 2 wouldn't get it to stop so I assumed it might be because the volume knob on the speaker was turned all the way up. Through some playing around, I found the ideal value for the volume knob on the speakers is 4 because it has no noise at all now and is at a position where playback is at a very nice quiet but enjoyable level, while allowing me to keep the volume knob on the Fulla 2 in the same position as where I keep it for my M50x's. When I want it a little louder, I just adjust the volume knob on the Fulla 2. Even when nothing is playing, I hear absolutely no noise coming out from it.
I would not like to enable any G.A.S. on you, but the music production world, in my experience, is even funner than the Hi-Fi world, ha! It's delving into what happens behind the scenes that makes the music we enjoy listening on our equipment. So instead of being just a consumer and knowing about the music, you become a producer. You'll know about the process behind making the music. It's a richer experience, like acquiring a new sense of musicality. It's life-changing to learn all that stuff. By learning music production, one understands clearly what music is about, instead of being a "deaf" listener like the majority of the population. Only "bad" thing is one starts listening to flaws and critiquing every track one listens to, noticing stuff that one was not aware of before. Nothing like busting one's bubble of musical innocence and being in the know, ha!
If you have the Fulla 2, then you don't need an interface, but maybe you'll get curious if you happen to want to dabble into music production. It's incredibly rewarding. There are lots of good YouTube channels to learn from. I like recordingrevolution.com because it is aimed at beginners, so I learn new stuff I missed when I started learning by myself 15 years ago. I was more interested in synthesizers and DAWs, since I started back when FL Studio was called Fruity Loops, ha! Now I'm learning lots about live recording and micing techniques. It's too much to learn in one lifetime. Check it out. Regarding the Fulla 2, I have been eyeing it since it came out. My first experience with Schiit Audio was good when I ordered my Asgard 2 amplifier. I love the company and the founders. They're really funny and are audio revolutionaries. God bless you!
Can you power your Fulla 2 from a usb charger and input the audio signal to the Fulla 2 from a stereo jack?
I get the audio signal with a Toslink optical cable from my on-board and use normal RCA to TS jack cables (not balanced) from the SMSL M3 to the LSR305s. Before I got the SMSL M3, I also had the volume on 4.
Now everything is fine. Actually even better because I have a good headphone amp with seperate volume control and a better bit and sample rate DAC. Zero noise with the speakers on 10. Hope I have helped.
I've bookmarked the website you shared so I could start learning once I've got the time. I've been very interested in learning recently now that I'm getting into the audiophile community. There's an infinite number of things I'd love to learn but like you said, it's just too much for one lifetime haha.
I'm loving the Schiit Fulla 2 so far. It's excellent for packing so much in a small package with a very affordable price. I'm a huge fan of Schiit Audio as well and will very likely go to them for further purchases as well. Again, thanks for the info!
@GregEl I power the Fulla 2 straight from my PC. Specifically connected to a usb 3.0 port on my Asus Strix Z270-E. It typically will only need about 160 mA according to Schiit's website so a usb 3.0 port supplying 900 mA of current is more than enough. It does have a separate port that you can use to connect an external power supply, like a phone charger, and if that is being used, it will cut off receiving power from the PC and that will only be used for the data. It doesn't have a stereo jack that can be used to input the signal from the PC. However, I assume since it cuts off power connection from the PC if an external is connected, that the noise issue will not occur. It does have a 3.5mm in the front that is for connecting your phone that you can possibly use to connect the PC instead. I can test it out if I can get my hands on an optical cable and the rca to ts cable but this is good enough for me at the moment. Thanks!
If by using the separate port to power the Fulla 2, the power from the PC is cut-off and the usb port from your Asus Strix Z270-E works as data only, then you should have 0 noise! If that does not work then give the front 3.5mm a try, just make sure that your DAC is powered from a different source and not your PC's PSU.
Hope you solve the issue with the DAC you have now and don't have to buy a different one.
Even my voice I'm starting to record it with just a low-pass EQ, a nice reverb, and nothing else. If it doesn't sound as airy as I want to, I sing further away from the mic and increase the pre-amp gain a bit. The point is I'm straying away from sound shaping as much as I can to focus on the accuracy of what I have in mind...or in the chance of attaining something unexpected. It's way more rewarding than EQing and compressing everything like it's done in popular, "radio ready" music. I love being able to crank up my headphone amp's volume knob instead of having my music as loud as modern music.
I feel like, after a couple decades of "wandering aimlessly", I am finally discovering my musical identity, and I'm starting to "de-merge" from the collective musical mind of humanity, and starting to embrace and use my God-given individual musicianship. Before, like most humans, I wanted people to hear my music, and now, I'm being secretive about it. Hah! It's SO weird. It's like...I want it just between God and me now. I don't even sing my own worship music in church with my self-produced tracks anymore. I've embraced singing with no backing track, and just using my voice, and it feels so right. I am not being a "musical coward" in my own eyes anymore, but a confident, grateful fellow. Sorry for the long-winded post; I felt like I had to share this, that I've become thirsty of embracing my musical individuality. All of a sudden, it feels like an unrealized goal in life.