I just bought this 0404 and will say that the sound is not bad at all, very quiet. I will be using it for headphone listening (Grado 80). I bought it because I wanted to use my laptop as source (mainly FLAC and APE) and because I wanted a volume control. I had heard that the DAC in this one is good. Then there is the opamp for the headphone out JRC 2114... I'm thinking about replacing it, but don't know with what...yet. The caps look like they need a replacing too...hehe. I'm looking for ideas on this one, what to mod and what to leave alone. Overall I'm very happy with it so far, but just think it could be made better.
Are the 1/4 TS outputs and the mini-jack output independent? I would like to route the big ones to my hi-fi and run the mini to a desktop speaker system. I do not need independent volume control or even switching. I simply do not want the presence of both connections having a deleterious effect on the SQ, so would hooking up both be akin to using a splitter or am I being a dunce here?
Here is what the manual says, they are not independent of each other.
Main Outputs
The main outputs are normally connected to your monitoring system. The
signal is duplicated on a stereo 1/8¨ jack for easy connection to desktop
stereo speakers.
Use TS unbalanced cables for consumer-level line signals and TRS balanced
cables for pro-level line signals. Balanced cables provide +6dB more output.
Opamp swap. I'm listening to the 0404 with OPA2604 on the headphone out. The pinouts on the 2114 and 2604 are the same so it was fairly easy to do (steady hand required...not much space). IMHO this is a better match with my Grado 80s.
Here are the spec sheets for the 2114 and the 2604...
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