Headphone amp - help please

[Womaz]

Over last few months been using my headphones a lot more and looks like this will continue. Not by choice I  may add

My AKGs are decent and I feel the amp is decent too. A few techhy questions though. My amp is connected with RCA inputs so not digitally. Does this mean I am using the DAC in the 200 as apposed to the DAC in the headphone amp.?

Hello again!

If you're taking analog pre-out from the Devialet to the input of your headphone amplifier, then you are certainly using a DAC in the Devialet.  I hesitate to say the DAC because I wouldn't be surprised if there are multiple DACs.

Would I be better off with a headphone amp without a DAC as then I presume this would use the D200s DAC?

If the headphone amp has analog inputs, you can connect the Devialet's analog pre-out directly to it.  It sounds from your previous question as though that's what you're doing.  Whether that will be better or worse than connecting a digital output from the Devialet into the digital input of a headphone amplifier is probably a matter of personal taste/opinion.

If I go for a new headphone amp should I look at one that will connect digitally to the 200 as this means it will use the ADH technology?

From my understanding of the Devialet architecture, if you're taking a digital pre-out into a headphone amp, ADH will not be involved.  I may be wrong, but I understand ADH to be essentially the power amplification stage of the Devialet and involves a hybrid of class A and D amplifiers melded together.  There is a DAC shown in the ADH white paper, which provides the input to the class A/D hybrid power amplifier -- that may or may not be the same DAC that drives pre-out, but in either case the ADH part really comes after it so would not be "involved" in the headphone chain.  But that sounds like a moot point to me.

Just trying to understand all of this as it will help me with the buying process.

Considering the Senn HD800, Oppo PM1 and the Hifman HE1000 (crazy price )

Any help or guidance as always very much appreciated.

You might be over-thinking it!  Choose a headphone amp you like, maybe one that has both analog and digital inputs, and experiment.  Personally I doubt I would hear a difference between analog and digital inputs to a decently-engineered headphone amp.

Excelent, exactly the help I was looking for, I also think you are right in that I am tending to overthink it........maybe because I got a little caught out with my 200 purchase and lack of homework

Again I must reiterate that I love the 200. I was just wondering if the headphome amp really takes away the 200 sound signature.
Thanks for your help , as always much appreciated.