Hi there. I see a couple threads about this as it pertains to other PS Audio products and one kind of toward my product, but for the DL III (unmodded), is it okay to have both XLR and RCA outputs connected to equipment and use one or the other (but not both at the same time)?
In my case, RCA’s out to Plinius integrated and looking at options now for headphone amp for use with both unbalanced and balanced headphones and the bare XLR outputs I currently have look ‘very’ appealing. In that, I’m considering then balanced XLR to XLR inputs of a headphone amp and not any sort of XLR:RCA adapter and such.
Welcome! You likely won’t run into any issues doing this. Both the integrated and the headphone amp should have pretty high input impedance as to not cause too much strain on the DAC’s output stage. What I tell people is to give it a shot and see. You won’t hurt anything if you do. If you have an impedance mismatch, you’ll know right away because the sound will be pitiful.
As I’m still ‘humming and hawing’ between a few choices for that headphone amp, on a related question any advice if I need or should decide to go the route of splitting that DAC RCA output between amp and headphone amp? I have a query with Plinius as to a set of ‘Processor’ outputs on the Plinius and if possible to use them as a second set of “Pre Outs” for line level signals (the existing “Pre Outs” of the Plinius currently feed my active sub). Trying to resolve all scenarios in deciding on choice of headhpone amp.
For reasons that have been discussed a bunch, always try and used balanced when possible. I’m sure it’d be fine to split the RCA signal, but I’d try not too. Using something like another pre-out in the system would keep the impedance side of things happy. Much less potential for a mismatch there.
Yeah . . . . . suspect I’m trying to pull off something with that potential to ‘split’ that I even suspect wouldn’t be ideal . . .
I’ll see what Plinius puts back to me but I ‘did’ have a revelation that I have an RME device in my home studio that I could test with some XLR cables to see what that routing would give me at the headphone output of the RME.