Splitting RCA signal from my dac to powered speakers and headphone amp?

Equipment / Electronics / Gear / Accessories DACs
1

Okay so here’s my current situation. I have a Monoprice THX AAA 788 Amp/DAC as my main headphone amp, I currently have it’s RCA outs plugged into my Edifier S2000pro’s, using it as a preamp to control the volume of the speakers.

I’m about to buy a secondhand DarkVoice 336SE tube amp to add some variety to my desk setup, I don’t want to buy another DAC just to run to the tube amp and I don’t want to be constantly unplugging and plugging cables. Can I get a RCA splitter and split the signal from my monolith DAC between the edifier’s and the DarkVoice? I’m never gonna run them at the same time, so I wouldn’t think it would have any adverse effect on SQ…

If this will work, what spliiter should I get? I would like something that’s not super cheap and won’t have any negative effects on SQ.

any advice or feedback is greatly appreciated!

EDIT: I was just reading some literature on the DarkVoice and apparently you can use it as a preamp for your speakers… would the Tubes affect the sound of the speakers at all by doing this? what are the upsides and downsides of using a tube amp as a preamp for powered speakers?

2

Using a splitter like this probably won’t have an audible effect on sound quality. It’s easy to experiment since splitters are cheap. But I personally would use a switch instead of a splitter generally. If you want something fancy, you can use this (which I own):
https://www.amazon.com/TC-7240-Router-Switcher-Selector-Splitter/dp/B00KDQXITG
There’s also this Sescom splitter:
https://www.amazon.com/Sescom-SES-AUDIO-AB-Stereo-Audio-Switch/dp/B008BMLXAU

Going from memory, I think @ZeosPantera suggested the preamp outs (on the DarkVoice) affected the sound. I might be wrong here though.

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3

Cool. Thanks for the reply, I’ll look into these.

4

These should be good enough

AudioQuest adapter - RCA male to two RCA female - hard assembly https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0009MFRW0/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_Ff5oDbQ8WWQ6G

Generally RCA splitters have no discernible impact on the signal. An RCA switch adds more components that might degrade the signal, like poor switches or cheap internal wiring.

I use Pangea audio splitters and they work fine.

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5

Hello, I am in a similar situation and am a bit confused by this.

Could you explain the connections please?

6

I use Amazon splitters to split my feeds from my SMSL SU-8. Both RCA and XLR.

7

RCA splitters help you to use a single output with two devices. There are some cheap options and they are very simple devices for example: https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=7186

8

That is certainly cheap, but you still need cables, so why not just buy splitter cables?

9

They are essentially the same thing. I’ve nothing against splitter cables.

10

I am having trouble understanding what gets connected to what.
So if I have active speakers, DAC/Amp combo, headphones that makes sense to me.
Speakers RCA → DAC/Amp combo → 3.5mm out to headphones.

Can you explain how these splitters work (like literally what gets plugged into what) in a setup like:
active speakers, standalone DAC, standalone amp, headphones.

11

OH I believe i understand, I’d buy 2 of those splitters and each male goes into R/L from DAC correct? Then speakers/Amp into the females?

12

Yes, one for each channel. You connect them to the output of the DAC, and then you run cables to your speakers an to your headphone amp.

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13

Thanks so much!