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Orozkoinsider
7
Jun 27, 2019
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I am using it with a pair of Q acoustics 3020 and a 3070S sub. Hooked by optical to the tv. It drives the speakers really well and the bluetooth from an iPhone sounds great to me. The headphone out is enough for casual listening of tv with the hd 6xx. I am wondering if it is worth the upgrade to a similar device with AirPlay or with hdmi inputs like a Marantz NR1508, NAD D3020 or a Denon RCD-N10. Thanks!
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Quotient
15
Jun 27, 2019
Orozkoinsider1) Did you just get yours? I've been waiting for mine... it's taking forever. Shipping notification on the 19th and as of yesterday still several states away. 2) Depends if you need the HDMI - If you have a Roku, dvd, or something plugged into the TV via HDMI, you should still be able to get the sound via optical, correct?
Orozkoinsider
7
Jun 27, 2019
QuotientI get mine on AliExpress a year ago for 97€. It came really quickly from Germany to Spain. About the second point, currently I do use the tv optical out to the ad18. But even if I don’t need the HDMIs do the sound upgrade be worth 300 or 400$?
Quotient
15
Jun 27, 2019
OrozkoinsiderI doubt there would be that noticeable of a difference in sound. I've bought and sold a lot of Hi-Fi and there is a lot of myth around sound upgrade, cables, etc. The quality of source is probably your most important, along with speakers (as long as power is adequate for speakers, etc) If you needed more power for some difficult speakers, maybe. Also, this SMSL has a built in DAC, and those others may not (I haven't checked their specs). If you need flexibility around HDMI, you can use something like this: https://www.parts-express.com/hdmi-4k2k-lpcm-71-audio-extractor--180-1104?utm_source=bronto&utm_medium=email&utm_term=HDMI+4K2K+LPCM+7.1+Audio+Extractor+img&utm_content=%3F%3FTech+Picks&utm_campaign=190628_Tech+Picks

Quotient
15
Jun 27, 2019
Orozkoinsider
7
Jun 27, 2019
QuotientHmm it may introduce some hiss or noise? But I could try it.
kidd
203
Jul 17, 2019
OrozkoinsiderHow did you set this up to drive both speakers and the woofer?
Orozkoinsider
7
Jul 18, 2019
kiddBinding post to the passive speakers and SW 3.5 jack out to the mono rca input of the active sub.
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Orozkoinsider
7
Jul 18, 2019
OrozkoinsiderI also added Airplay 2 support with a 2nd gen Airport Express. I use the digital optical out of the Airport to feed the Optical 2 input of the AD18. The TV is hooked to a fiio taishan that feeds the Aux input of the amp.
OrozkoinsiderGet some banana plugs onto those cables- it's really easy to short out between terminals just using the binding posts!
Orozkoinsider
7
Aug 7, 2019
RockyMountainsI will try it, thanks!!
OrozkoinsiderOne of my friends blew out his amp a couple months back when the cables shorted out. Installing a banana plug takes about 30 seconds and a screwdriver.
Orozkoinsider
7
Aug 18, 2019
RockyMountainsA bit better now, I used the amazon basics banana plugs.
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kidd
203
Aug 18, 2019
RockyMountains
478
Aug 19, 2019
OrozkoinsiderHaha, nice :) I know that photos can be deceptive depending on angles, but it looked like some of the wires between terminals came pretty close to other terminals. That's when you get the magic smoke.
Orozkoinsider
7
Aug 19, 2019
RockyMountainsI didn’t know about the shorts problem and I already had banana plugs at home, thanks!!
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