All,
Is it possible / worth while using a AV Receiver as a DAC & Headphone Amp via an optical lead?
I ask as I like the prospect of being able to connect multiple sources and also to be able to drive speakers with a bit more power than typical PC speakers.
Space isn't an issue and looks like it could be more cost effective.
Cheers
Mark
This kinda setup has two main drawbacks that can make it less than ideal solution.
First, the codec and driver feeding the toslink optical output on most boards is a cheap realtek codec that cab be hit or miss depending how it is implemented on your board and if the drivers run well for it.
Secondly, the Headphone output jack on many AVRs unfortunately have a fairly high output impedance , typically around 120 Ohm or like on my own Yamaha RX-V673, 576 Ohm. This can really color the sound and affect the headphones ability to produce the frequency response it was designed for.
Were the AVR works well is using speakers in a surround setup using Dolby Digital or DTS encoding instead of a typical "computer speaker" setup.
With headphones, it just isn't optimal and everything becomes a compromise.
To start to approach the levels of performance offered by a dedicated DAC/headphone amp setup, you would at least need an AVR with pre-outs and route the audio to a dedicated headphone amp, essentially using the AVR mainly as a DAC.
Once you start to mitigate the compromises, the prices of having the features needed will push the price of the AVR up past the cost of just using a dedicated dac and headphone amp, and then if you still want to use speakers, just get an DAC with LIne-out or Coax- S/Pdif to feed the AVR.
that way you get much better headphone driving capabilities and can benefit from having a better DAC and a cheaper AVR for less money than a higher priced AVR just to feed a headhphone amp.