General purchase advice: Ask your questions/for advice here!

Purchase Advice
526

Thanks for all of your responses. For a desktop system, it seems the Magni 3+ or Asgard 3 are good choices with adding a new DAC at a later time. One question @pennstac, what is the issue with the Dragonfly not having a real line-out. Can’t I just set the volume from computer (or phone) at about 50%-70% power and run this into the Magni 3+ for now? Won’t the amp still improve the sound?

Not sure this solution helps me with listening in multiple places in the house though. It looks like you (@pennstac) have two solutions (Cobalt / xDSD for portable and Lyr for desktop).

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527

This is interesting, as I wasn’t a fan of the Utopia (I appreciate it’s capabilities), but I do enjoy the Clear. I’ll be receiving an Aeolus soon, so that should be fun.

D8000 is one I’d like to hear.

528

Oh, I’m not a fan of the Utopia either. But I can see why its up at that level. Clear I personally found a bit grating for my sensitive Australian ears.

I liked the Verite, D8000, D8000 Pro and the HE1000Se. Utopia and Stellia not really my thing. Empyrean nope, coulnd’t get into it as a “one” can, too hit and miss on genres.

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529

The Clear can definitely sound bright depending upon music and source. They’re pretty sweet off of the Lyr.

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530

OK, I’ll try, but I’m nowhere near as good at explaining this as @Torq. However, I read on the Audioquest website where it talked about the Dragonflies Red and Cobalt as having a “line out” mode when they set the volume to maximum. I wrote to Audioquest to see if this was truly a standard line out, and they told me that it was NOT. It was just the DFR or DFC at maximum volume which represents about 2.1 volts peak to peak. The DFB only puts out 1.2 volts peak to peak.

That’s only part of the story. The rest is the impedance of the output. If we look at LINE LEVEL in Wikipedia, you will see that it is typically 2 volts peak to peak with an impedance of 100 Ω to 600 Ω. This is in contrast to the typical output impedance of much less - Ideally 0 to perhaps half an Ω. Note that the impedance can very with frequency.

What you have with a Dragonfly driving an amp is one amp driving another. Not a good match. Yes, you will get some sound, and I thought it was OK until I heard the difference.

There is a junction between components. In order not to lose power to heat, as I understand it, the driving component should have an impedance of 100 to 1000 times that of the driven component. That won’t be the case with a Dragonfly driving the amp. It can affect efficiency and differently at different frequencies.

HELP PLEASE SOMEONE WITH Audio Engineering experience. I can solder pretty well, but I’m no theorartic… theoryatic…person who knows this stuff.

For the rest of your comment, I use the xDSD to drive the HD-6xx and I use the xDSD both as DAC and AMP when I want portable. I use the xDSD in LINE OUT mode to drive the Lyr 3 amp when I am not being portable.

I use the DFB (still) or the DFC when I travel, right out of the iPhone with IEMs, my Grado RS1e, or Koss Porta-Pros. The DFB if I want to save power and have efficient headphones.

I hope this helps. There are very portable DACs that DO have a line out - if you can pick up a Meridian Explorer 2 (discontinued), for example, it does everything the Dragonflies do - including MQA - and has a LINE OUT you can use to drive an amp.

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531

The original discussion @pennstac and I had on this can be found starting with this post, and then following the rest of the thread.

Will DFB → Magni 3+ work?

Yes.

Will it be better?

Probably … for small and contextualized values of “better”.

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532

Yes, thank you. Buffer vs amp. What I know but failed to say. It was good to review that post.

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533

This is a great little unit. I still prefer it over any of the DragonFly units, both for sound and capability. Although it is not a great choice to drive from a phone as it’ll need external power, and it’s 4x the volume of the DragonFly units (it’s the unit next to the DFR of course):

They-Are-Breeding
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Sounds better. True line-out. Not limited to 24/96 kHz input. FULL MQA unfolding, decoding and rendering (rather than just rendering). More powerful. Though it does exhibit a little more hiss with sensitive IEMs than the DragonFly units.

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536

Which little unit? There’s like… a dozen in that pic. The Meridian Explorer?

537

Yes, the Explorer 2.

It’s an old picture from a write up I did years ago. And the only device I it that I still have is the Explorer 2.

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538

Thanks both (@Torq and @pennstac). Very clear answer (but not what I wanted to hear). So, I guess I need to look for a DAC that has a line-out and an AMP to purchase to get the next step up in sound quality. I am using Tidal now, so I need to figure out if I will stay with Tidal (and get a DAC that handles MQA) or switch to Qobuz (and get a DAC that does not have to have MQA). I was originally planning on buying the AMP, using the Dragonfly and then going through a trial with Qobuz to compare the two services. Your posts forces me to rethink my strategy as I know that will not really work.

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540

Hi everyone,

I’m looking for a new, powerful, and relatively high-end solid-state amp to add to my collection.

I’m considering getting the HE6-SE at some stage otherwise the headphones I do have don’t require that much power. I really just want headroom and the versatility of having a powerful amp.

I have put together a shortlist but of course, I am open to any and all suggestions you may have.

I currently have a Topping A90 which I think is quite good but I’m always looking to try something different.

My budget is around $3000 AUD but flexible in either direction.

Shortlist:

  • Violetric V281
  • SPL Phonitor E
  • iFi Pro iCAN
  • Head Amp GSX-mini
  • Bryston BHA-1
  • Flux Lab Acoustics FA-10
  • Cayin iHA-6
  • Soundaware P1

I would love to hear any advice, impressions, or suggestions you guys might have. Thanks!

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541

I have a GSX-mini and HE6se. The two of them goes well together. The HE6se are definitely hungry headphones.

You need about 2w @ 50 ohms to adequately drive them.

542

I’ve owned all the amps you listed but one, the BHA-1. I used a friends BHA-1 with my LCD-3, my HD600, HD800s, Zach at ZMF noted his headphones should work nicely on the amp I ordered the BHA-1. I found the amp pretty neutral with a touch of warmth which is unlike other Bryston amps. I also tried the Pass HPA-1 since I love and own Pass gear and loved it, but a little outside of my budget at this time.

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543

Pass Labs HPA-1 is a Class A headphone amp that was designed to amplify headphones with impedances of 15 ohms to 600 ohms. It can deliver full-range dynamics across the entire frequency range. The HPA-1 can even drive headphones that present difficult loads in terms of impedance, power consumption or both.

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544

Thanks for all your thoughts and additional info. The THX certified variation shown above are of interest, but since I’m working and/or outside walking the dogs in all weather, I went with the IMore DUAL DRIVER ANC PRO WIRELESS IN-EAR HEADPHONES instead because of the moisture resistance rating…not to sure yet about the neckband configuration, but could be the best compromise for our Pacific Northwest rainy season…we’ll see. Thanks again!

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545

I hope you enjoy them. Given your use case, you probably made the right choice. 1More has decent sound quality, is reliable, and is, I think, rather purpose built. I bought a pair of Triple Drivers like mine - but the lightning port variety for a grand-niece when she went to trade school, and she still loves them.

They aren’t trying to be Empire Ears Odin - Or even Campfire Comet. BTW, I use Spinfit tips on them - the original tips were a little off for my ears, sponge tips were good, but got warm, and I found Spinfits just right.

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546

I don’t think the AC voltage affects the sound. The choice of 115V or 240V is just for compatibility with the AC mains of different countries. If you’re in North America you want 115V.

The cleanliness of the AC apply may affect the sound, but usually not the voltage.

547

I wish I could agree or disagree. Still learning.

Not sure if it’s my mother board on my pc or what, but it sounds super crisp and clean. The entire dac amp portion is isolated.

Just not too much bass. Not sure how much clearer it could get, it’s beyond satisfactory.

With USB 3.0, possibly another factor.

I think after sometime that I come to conclusion, maybe right or wrong, but if you buy really expensive equipment it’s going to have more exposure of these interferences. I only say this cause everyone talking about isolation in home theater/speakers to headphones have really expensive equipment.

Maybe going hand in hand with a bad master song on ok setup is alright, but you want to vomit with more revealing equipment.

548

Or, they are on a never-ending treadmill and ran out of other things to spend money on.

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