Analog out to USB in - For IFI Hip DAC

Misguided

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Hi

I previously posted about some headphones and have since decided to buy some Hifiman Sundaras. I am looking at a DAC / Headphone Amp and the best appears to be the IFI Hip Dac. My issue is I want to use the headphones and DAC for movies which means I either need to plug it into my TV an LG 55 B7V Oled or my Amp a Denon AVR-X 2200W, neither device as far as I can see will transmit sound out via USB so to use the IFI Hip Dac I need a way of getting the analog sound via the headphone out to USB.

I was looking for a cheap wired solution but I'm not sure if something like this even exists as it's usually the other way round (usb to analog) and if it does will it mess with the sound (probably). I have a back up in the form of a FIIO Q3 which whilst not as nice sounding as the IFI is pretty good and has an analog in.

I'm not looking at Bluetooth Devices, my budget is £150 ish for the DAC and leads etc and I've been researching bluetooth devices, whilst they are great I dont think they will get me the kind of sound I'm looking for. Portable is better as I want to be able to use it around my house but not outside much.

I want a balanced out as I believe (i dont know) this will help widen the soundstage of the Sundaras which is something I am quite keen on. If balanced wont benefit the headphones there is the Topping NX4 DSD to consider.

Any thoughts? Thanks in Advance.
 
Why not just plug the headphones directly into your TV or amp.
Trying to use a DAC for TV sound is overkill IMHO and depending on your age/hearing I doubt you'd notice much difference.
 
Based on the TV specifications (link) and noting Bluetooth function is excluded:

*Option 1 Easiest = plug wired headphone directly into the TV headphone port

*Option 2 = TV headphone out to analogue input of an external headphone amplifier only, no DAC (effectively double amping)

*Option 3 = TV optical out to the optical input of an external headphone DAC/amplifier and plug headphones into that

It appears the ifi hip DAC does not fit into any of the above scenarios. In the ifi family I would purchase the older micro idsd black label that has a 3.5mm input (link)

Or present day xdsd gryphon also has 3.5mm input (link)

Or find a portable/ desktop headphone amplifier only. Saves money as the DAC part is not being used
 
Thanks for the reply. I would like a portable dac for now as I plan to use it quite a lot with my phone. The reason I want the amp is because I think the headphones may struggle a bit with the headphone out from my amp or Tv although I have not been able to find much in the way of specs for either device. Also (I failed to mention this before) I have a Yamaha As500 for my stereo amp and the headphone out on that device is pretty bad so I will need an amp to use with that.

I have looked at a few desktop amps and do plan to get one but not yet. In the meantime I have narrowed it down to two devices. Topping NX4 DSD or Fiio Q3. The Fiio Q3 has better functionality but reviews are better for the NX4 so I’m leaning that way. Still not 100% sold on either yet.
 
Thanks for the reply. I would like a portable dac for now as I plan to use it quite a lot with my phone. The reason I want the amp is because I think the headphones may struggle a bit with the headphone out from my amp or Tv although I have not been able to find much in the way of specs for either device. Also (I failed to mention this before) I have a Yamaha As500 for my stereo amp and the headphone out on that device is pretty bad so I will need an amp to use with that.

I have looked at a few desktop amps and do plan to get one but not yet. In the meantime I have narrowed it down to two devices. Topping NX4 DSD or Fiio Q3. The Fiio Q3 has better functionality but reviews are better for the NX4 so I’m leaning that way. Still not 100% sold on either yet.

I'm thinking that if you want to combine mobile and TV at home then Bluetooth might be the answer. Contemporary BT solutions deliver excellent sound quality and they will free you from cables completely. Congrats on Sundara, it's a very good headphone.
 
Hi

Just thought I would update. I bought the Topping NX4 DSD today. It was on sale for £75 and although it doesn’t have balanced outputs it has enough power for the Sundara. The review and very low cost swayed me although unfortunately I had to fork out another £30 for the camera kit for my iPhone.

I did consider Bluetooth for a long time but I wanted to get the high definition audio from Amazon Music and I understand that isn’t possible over Bluetooth currently. As I’m only going to be using the dac around the house and garden I don’t mind losing some of the conveniences of the more portable Bluetooth devices.

I appreciate all the helpful comments from the forum as always. It’s great to see manufacturers like IFI on here too helping consumers, it says a lot about the company. Congrats on the review of the Signature Dac, it looks excellent.
 
Hi

Just thought I would update. I bought the Topping NX4 DSD today. It was on sale for £75 and although it doesn’t have balanced outputs it has enough power for the Sundara. The review and very low cost swayed me although unfortunately I had to fork out another £30 for the camera kit for my iPhone.

I did consider Bluetooth for a long time but I wanted to get the high definition audio from Amazon Music and I understand that isn’t possible over Bluetooth currently. As I’m only going to be using the dac around the house and garden I don’t mind losing some of the conveniences of the more portable Bluetooth devices.

I appreciate all the helpful comments from the forum as always. It’s great to see manufacturers like IFI on here too helping consumers, it says a lot about the company. Congrats on the review of the Signature Dac, it looks excellent.
Congratulations on your new purchase! Topping makes very good stuff, you'll be happy with it. I have HiFiMan HE400se as my office headphones and I like them a lot.

The newest BT codecs are capable of transmitting hi-res audio, but as a wireless connection, it will not be as perfect as using a cable. If Apple Music is your focus, then yes wired will sound better.

We are proud of our PRO iDSD Signature as it uses state of the art digital section with a tube output. It really gives it another level of performance. Also an ability to switch between tubes and solid-state is nice as you can choose your flavour of the day with sound. If you have an opportunity, please try it!
 
Thank you I did not realise I could get hi res audio via Bluetooth apart from Apple. I am loving the nx4 and Sundaras they are so detailed but the bass is a little lacking however the bass boost is quite good. I’m really enjoying headphones it’s a whole new side of audio for me. Thanks again for all the help, really appreciate it and love this forum.
 
Thank you I did not realise I could get hi res audio via Bluetooth apart from Apple. I am loving the nx4 and Sundaras they are so detailed but the bass is a little lacking however the bass boost is quite good. I’m really enjoying headphones it’s a whole new side of audio for me. Thanks again for all the help, really appreciate it and love this forum.
Sundara (and any other HiFiMan on that matter) won't give you a super-powerful bass response. Those headphones are more about resolution, space, and speed. Happy to hear that bass boost helps you with that :)
 
Why not just plug the headphones directly into your TV or amp.
Trying to use a DAC for TV sound is overkill IMHO and depending on your age/hearing I doubt you'd notice much difference.
The Sundara's that he's referring to are 300 ohms. Kind of a tall order to find the right power source if you really want to take advantage of such amazing headphones.
 

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