Axe FX 2 AES/EBU connectivity

[j.s.tonehound]

I fear what I'm about to ask is probably a bit thick but I'm not finding any answers that my layman's brain is comprehending so here goes:

Is it possible / advisable to connect the AxeFXII to a Woo Audio WDS-1 DAC, which would then feed the Woo Audio WES electrostatic headphone amp to drive a pair of Stax SR-009's?

The reason I ask is that I'm exploring a rig that makes the most sense for my playing needs (home only + thin walls) which appears to be headphone based. I listen to all my music through headphones anyway so updating that part of the equation is a no-brainer, but connecting to the AxeFXII is something I'd like to integrate.

I realise the unit has it's own headphone out but I'm not sure it would be able to drive the electrostatic headphones. Or can it (through a converter cable of some description presumably)?

Also (and this will probably illustrate how limited my understanding of how digital connectivity works), if I can run the AES/EBU out to the Woo DAC, do I also need to have something going in to the Axe's AES/EBU input? Not sure how that all works to be honest. My understanding is pretty much that one unit has an 'out' and the other unit has an 'in' of the same format and so should probably work.

I realise that this rig is a lot of money and that headphones aren't the most optimal way of listening, but if it means I can actually play guitar then it's worth it.

If anyone can shed some light on this, I'd really appreciate it.

[cliffc8488]

You can connect the AES to the DAC. Just be sure to set the SPDIF/AES option to AES in the I/O menu.

[shasha]

You won't need anything going into the AES of the AxeFXII to make this work, but you will need to configure a few things in the menu to make sure that the right signal is coming out of the unit. Pretty easy stuff though. You will need to make sure that the DAC you are going into will sync to the clock of the AxeFXII or else you will get jitter. I'm about 99% sure that it will do this with no problem since it's main use appears to be amplification.

[shasha]

Or you can just read what Cliff beat me to. :)

[j.s.tonehound]

Thank you both indeed!

Is the route I'm looking at any better than going for a set of Grado PS1000's straight out of the headphone output of the Axe?

And sorry to be a PITA but the 'clock syncing' is where my eyes start glazing over... from what I understand it's how one device 'reads' the other? Is there a 'clock syncing' for Dummies explanation or do I need to just spend some dedicated time reading?

Thank you once again.

[j.s.tonehound]

Hmm, seems I was over thinking it. Wiki provides enough background info in a general sense. So I guess my question should really be how do I check the clock sync is compatible?

Looking at this another way, I think I could go straight from balanced XLR output to balanced XLR input of the WES and bypass the external DAC altogether. That makes more sense doesn't it?