Feeding two Amps/Pre-Amps from a single PC ?

[zooba72]

Hi Everyone! Merry Christmas !

I'm looking for a solution whereby my PC would feed two different stereo systems simultaneously. The machine I'm considering using has two digital outs; SPDIF and Optical - The preferred approach would be to simpy connect cables to both of these outputs to feed the two stereo systems. From what I've read that will not work - The PC I'm working with is running Windows 7.

I was also wondering if it's possible to use one of the digital outputs on the PC simultaneously with the headpphone jack ? I have another pre-amp that does not have digitial inputs so I would consider simply using headphone to RCA to feed that particular system - and the digital to feed the other. Is this possible ?

Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated. Thank you !

 

[swechsler]

There are probably several different ways of doing this. But first of all, I'm confused. In your first paragraph you mention feeding two systems with two digital outputs, in the second you say you have a preamp that has no digital inputs. Is that from one of the two systems you mentioned in the first para, or is it a third?

Assuming you want to feed both systems digitally, the easiest solution would be an optical splitter. This is an inexpensive passive device that takes an optical input and outputs two optical signals. Generally the signal will still be bright enough to feed two systems. Another alternative would be to use an inexpensive distribution amp meant for composite video, fed with the coax output (a simple Y cable on the coax output probably won't work). I can't say whether your computer will allow you to output optical and coax at the same time; that would depend on the hardware. If Windows allows you to select one or the other in your audio output settings, then you probably can't do it. If it just allows you to select a digital output, it probably will work. Same goes for using the headphone output at the same time, but I can tell you that none of my PCs allow me to run both the headphones and an external D/A converter simultaneously (at least not sending them both the same audio; some software allows you to select the output device independent of the Windows default). Also, you probably won't be happy with the output from the built-in headphone jack - in most computers, the analog output sound quality is sub-par. If you want to go the full analog route, a better bet would be to get an inexpensive D/A converter, then split the analog outputs with Y connectors and send to both systems.

 

[zooba72]

Thank you for the response. My preferred option would be to use the digitial outputs to both Amplifiers, but I would be willing to do one digital, one analog via the headphone jack if that was my only option. The pre-amp with no digital inputs is simply another option. I haven't tested using both digital outputs on my sound card and wanted to get some advice before I buy long digital cables or having to move one of the systems closer to my PC to test with the short cables I do have.

I started investigated splitters and I was under the impression that there was a significant loss in quality. If that's not the case, that's probably the route I'll have to take. I appreciate the information. Thank you

 

[jazzmans]

Thank you for the response. My preferred option would be to use the digitial outputs to both Amplifiers, but I would be willing to do one digital, one analog via the headphone jack if that was my only option. The pre-amp with no digital inputs is simply another option. I haven't tested using both digital outputs on my sound card and wanted to get some advice before I buy long digital cables or having to move one of the systems closer to my PC to test with the short cables I do have.

I started investigated splitters and I was under the impression that there was a significant loss in quality. If that's not the case, that's probably the route I'll have to take. I appreciate the information. Thank you

There's many routes to your solution, For years I used M audios audiophile cards, which had dual balanced outputs, but a year or two ago, I bought a Cambridge Audio USB DA converter that has dual balanced and unbalanced outputs. It's worked flawlessly for me driving multiple preamps, and therefore multiple systems.

The balanced connection runs 100 feet.
https://www.amazon.com/Cambridge-Audio-DacMagic-Digital-Analogue/dp/B006GJU33I

the headphone jack will be a far less then optimal solution, as many here can detail for you.

 

[Artie]

One other problem with using different outputs, is that they will possibly have slightly different latency. So, your two systems won't be in sync. It would be like a funky reverb.

 

[zooba72]

Thanks for the suggestions and information - I need to do some testing.

 

[swechsler]

Thank you for the response. My preferred option would be to use the digitial outputs to both Amplifiers, but I would be willing to do one digital, one analog via the headphone jack if that was my only option. The pre-amp with no digital inputs is simply another option. I haven't tested using both digital outputs on my sound card and wanted to get some advice before I buy long digital cables or having to move one of the systems closer to my PC to test with the short cables I do have.

I started investigated splitters and I was under the impression that there was a significant loss in quality. If that's not the case, that's probably the route I'll have to take. I appreciate the information. Thank you

In most cases you shouldn't experience a loss in quality (it's actually more likely that it wouldn't work at all - it's not like using a splitter is going to reduce the bitrate).

For coax digital you can use composite or component video cables (just use one color). You can probably even connect several together temporarily using barrel connectors.