Hi,
Did you get the FA10 Pro? If yes, then how is your experience with FA-10 Pro as compared to FA-10?
Hi. Yes, I got. Wrote a short impression in the FA10 topic
Iām really considering getting this thing. I have a question thoā¦ it might sound dumb but if I were to strictly feed this thingās RCA straight from the aux out of my computer monitor would that make a huge difference to the sound quality/performance?
I just have my computer and Nintendo Switch HDMI into my computer monitor. Iāve just never had keen enough ears to hear how much difference a standalone DAC makes when fed to an amplifier. Thanks!
A standalone DAC would make things much less noisy. The aux output from a computer or monitor would typically be noisier, since there are electrical components doing things other than reproducing sound and tend not to be isolated from the audio circuit.
If you connected a standalone amp to one of these and turned the volume/gain up high running hard to drive headphones, you may hear all that electrical noise. You could also hear it if you were using sensitive IEMs.
DACs are also designed to feed the high input impedances of amplifiers, so you would get more volume out of your amp with one of these vs an aux output.
That being said, it really depends on your monitor. It could work just fine, or it could be noisy. But if youāre going to spend $500+ on an amp, I would highly recommend a standalone DAC so you get the most out of it. For your use case, I would get a cheaper amplifier IMO. Not worth spending all the money if youāre not feeding the amp through a DAC.
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Thanks so much! That all makes a lot of sense. To clean up the signal from my monitorās aux outā¦ what would be the best way to do that? I found a analog to digital converter on Amazon, which would allow me to feed RCA in from my monitor then optical out to a DAC. Iām just mainly trying to figure out what would be the best way to clean up my Nintendo Switchās signal since I donāt have a dedicated digital out source from it or my monitor. An all in one solution would be preferred so that I donāt have to switch sources between my Mac mini and Nintendo switch, but if thereās a better way thatās fine too. Thanks again.
You should explore looking into HDMI audio extractors.
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There wouldnāt be a way to clean up the signal coming out of the monitor aux port, since it is already an analog signal when it comes out. You would just be converting any noise already present from analog to digital using that device. I would try the monitor with an amp first, then if you notice any issues, try some devices with a DAC to get a better source signal.
There are a few ways to go: HDMI audio splitters, USB switches (the Switch works with some USB DACs), a switchbox for the amp input, etc. Just be warned, there is no elegant solution that wonāt cost money here 
.
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Ok awesome! Sounds like the HDMI extractor would be my best option. Thanks!
Yes. 
I personally have an old Monoprice hdx-401ta (30$?). It takes the HDMI signal and outputs to coaxial (or optical) to my 100$ SMSL Sanskrit 10th. Analog out to the amp, thatās it. And even this little 100$ black (or red, or blue) box will be a massive improvement versusā¦ whatever cheap DAC inside your monitor.
Mine: (ā¦please donāt use the analog out of this either: coax/toslink out to amp).
https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=5557
If you need 4K, the 4K version is way harder to find, way more expensive, way bigger, etcā¦ optical audio out would be via the 3.5mm out (which is quite āhiddenāā¦ itās analog audio out and mini-toslink at the same time).
https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=39666
EDIT: Thereās a ton of 4K HDMI to coax/toslink adapters on amazon, use this for 4K, never mind.
Maybe you have a coax or ātoslink outā of your monitor? If so, your monitor is a HDMI audio extractor: Simply toslink out to a DAC.
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Keep in mind that this is only one piece of the puzzle. Pairing this with something like a Fiio K5 Pro (all in one amp/dac) is a good starting point.
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So I bought the RebelAmp completely on impulse which if Iād let myself think about it I probably wouldnāt have done, since I have the Atom Amp and it sounds great and why do I need to pay $400 more for something when I already have something that sounds great? And it doesnāt really fit in my space anyway, and Iād be using a $500 amp with a $100 DAC, $350 headphones, and $150 speakers.
But the RebelAmp arrived andā¦ dear lord it sounds so good. I want to A/B test it with the Atom Amp but Iām havenāt yet because I donāt want to stop listening to the RebelAmp. But I can say that while the Atom sounds crisper and sharper, the RebelAmp sounds just so big and full and inviting and beautiful, warm but still much less āveiledā sounding than the iFi Zen Can. I think I might be done, at least for now.
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How powerful is it in real life? I think it doesnāt even have 1 watt per channel so Iām slightly worried about the power
It has 1 Watt at 32 ohms class A. What are you trying to power?
It has 1wpc and it can drive most of the headphones without any issues. With that said with higher end headphones would be wise to upgrade also chain imo.
Thanks. Nothing in particular at the moment, my hifiman ananda has a 102db sensitivity so itās really easy to drive. I was just wondering, since many THX amps or even the Schiit Asgard 3 has more power. But if I upgrade to an Arya, will it be enough?
It is not only about power numbers. i had both asgard and rebel and rebel was not lacking in terms of pushing the headphones that were not that efficient.
If you plan to upgrade to arya I guess there are many recommendation in arya topic and you may look elsewhere to something like liquid platinum for bigger planars.
It all depends on you preferences ,budget ,dac etc.
How does the sound of the Asgard compare to the Rebel Amp?
Another question for yāall: So as mentioned I have the Atom DAC+. I know that usually youāre supposed to put the amp on top of the DAC, but obviously I canāt stack this amp on top of this DAC, so Iām doing it the other way around, which does cover a little of the ventilation holes and the DAC+ does generate some heat. Is this a problem? Or not something I need to worry about?
I stacked my DAC on the left side of the amp. The right side seems to be where most of the heat is coming from. Had no issues with the amp, even in the heat of summer with no AC.
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It powers my ZMFās and Sennās just fine. Lots of headroom.