Desktop DAC AMP combo recommendation with multiple input

Equipment / Electronics / Gear / Accessories DACs
1

Hi I’m relatively new to audio equipment and I was wondering if I could get some guiding for what to buy.
I’m looking for a DAC amp combo (either separate or all-in one) with input for multiple devices, ideally I would like to plug PC, ps4 and switch to the same DAC and output to powered speakers and headphones. Something with decent sound

I’m not sure about budget since I don’t know if what I’m asking for is something you would find on an entry level device or not, but I’m just wondering what my options are

2

What headphones would you be using? And what price range would you want to stay under? For the switch, you might need an hdmi audio extractor in order to use a good dac with it

3

I have a pair HE400i that I’m gonna be using, budget wise I’d like to stay under 300 dollars but slightly above that is also fine

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4

So it would depend on how you set things up, if you have a tv that has optical out, you could just use a dac like a topping e30 with an amp like a magni 3+ or topping l30, since you would be able to use one optical cable for the switch and ps4, and then the usb for the pc.

If you didn’t have a tv/monitor with a optical out, then things might get a bit more tricky, you would want a dac with multiple toslink inputs, and also would want an hdmi audio extractor to grab the digital audio from the switch and pass it through the dac. I like this one for something that works well:
https://www.amazon.com/J-Tech-Digital-Extractor-Converter-JTDAT5CH/dp/B074HHSJVN/ref=sr_1_31, and for an all in one that has multiple toslink inputs the cambridge dacmagic plus comes to mind as a decent option, but it’s a bit outdated at his point. You could also buy the topping e30 + l30 combo and then grab a toslink switcher like this one https://www.amazon.com/J-Tech-Digital-Premium-Quality-TOSLINK/dp/B00HQ2R38C/ref=pd_lpo_23_t_0/140-1771969-9742000

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5

Would you be able to get the same result if you connected the headphone out to the coaxial in on the DAC with an adapter? Instead of the optical out I mean. Finding a monitor with it seems impossible
Maybe that’s not a thing

6

No that is not possible, that would mean trying to send an analog signal into the dac which the dac will only take digital signals to decode

Then you would need to go with the route that I mentioned above of getting a signal extractor for the switch (the ps4 should have optical out on it already), and then the optical switch box

7

I see. Thanks for the help!

8

Topping E30 + Topping L30

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9

Looking at HDMI audio extractors last night, I’ve seen some that output to digital over coaxial.
If I were to get one of those, I’m assuming I would be able to connect the PC thru the USB port, ps4 goes to toslink and switch to coaxial. Would that work?

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10

That would work as well without issue (not sure why I never considered that could work as well lol)

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11

I have a audio extractor and they work beautifully as long as they support the screen resolution and refresh rate you want. It is a great way to make a chrome cast into an audio player.

12

Also make sure they support hdcp and other copy protection schemes so you don’t screw yourself with other devices

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13

That’s the fun part, after the hand shake with the end device they work fine. It’s essentially a man in the middle attack after the hand shake is done.

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14

How about Topping DX3 Pro? I’m looking for options for upgrading my MX3.