Nope. I avoid it like the plague. Way way way too many dynamic disruptions that grate and distract.
My hierarchy of music that is typically more irritating than pleasant:
Everything else is generally okay. String quartets and classical piano are fine by me.
Emotiva a2
$500
160 / 250 WPC (8 / 4 ohms)
Gain: 29 dB
Parasound NewClassic 275 v2
$900
90 / 150 WPC (8 / 4 ohms)
200 WPC bridged into 8 or 4 ohms
Gain: 28 dB
Outlaw 2220 x 2
$800
200 / 300 WPC (8 / 4 ohms)
Gain: ?
Schiit Vidar 2
$800
100 / 200 WPC (8 / 4 ohms)
Gain : 26 dB
One could make an argument for Vidar on numbers alone. 100 watts into 8 ohms is plenty of power for a small-to-medium room. Also, it’s the only one of this group that doubles its output as the load halves, like an ideal current source. That makes it a better match for Maggies, at least in theory. And if you ever decide to go full boat crazy, feed it a balanced signal and it’s a 400-watt monster. Seems about as future-proof as it gets.
Also, you can get an original Vidar for $599 at The Music Room (tmraudio.com).
What’s the preamp?
Just a note that the Parasound price is deceptive because I’ve seen it on the used market as low as $350. This seems to be because Parasound is used in installations and when the installations change the gear is sold off en mass, so lots of Parasound gear can be found for low prices. (I currently have a Parasound Zamp which I found for $200 without looking hard.)
The Vidar might still be the better bet, I’m just wondering if anyone’s actually had ears on this stuff (rather than just relying on numbers).
Hello everyone!
Had a session between Edition XS and Anandas (non stealth) from Hifiman today. And have to say I really like how the Anandas sound, liked them better than the XS.
My first question is, would you personally buy a demo headphone - this is the only unit they have available of the non-stealth Ananda, and it’s discounted to 430 euro - they looked to be in a very good condition.
The 2nd question is a little bit more tricky, for 669 EUR, so 239 EUR more they have the new Ananda Stealth - what do you guys think is it worth spending so much more on the stealth magnets? Unfortunately they didnt have a demo unit of the stealth ones.
Hi, I’m looking for a portable amp or DAC/amp that can adjust the L/R balance of the sound. Right now I use a DAP’s line out signal to portable amps like the iFi xCAN or Little Bear B4-X. It seems like the L/R balance feature doesn’t work with DAPS as digital transports.
Let’s start with how much you’re willing to spend since sky’s the limit nowadays.
And, here we go again.
If I were you, I would buy a JDS Labs El DAC and El Amp for a combined total of $550 - see here: https://jdslabs.com/shop/?category=featured.
If you find yourself missing the manual EQ controls of your old Walkman, buy a Schiit Lokius ($299) and insert it between the El DAC and El Amp. See here: https://www.schiit.com/products/lokius?gad=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwmICoBhDxARIsABXkXlJ5LLflscTonTbVbsfdzvMyhKDODvR4C3gqR0gjq0ufy7vr8oq-HoUaArrbEALw_wcB
This will give you plenty of power in a compact and aesthetically pleasing form factor, with the option of adding retro and tactile analogue EQ.
Over and out.
Indeed.
If I was a cynical person I might share a link or something.
You know keeping with your Walkman days of having a “tape out” option you could buy say a nice DAP (digital audio player) that utilizes and supports the “Line Out” feature.
My advice is to buy a good DAP and get some well built cables ( dual RCA male to singled ended 3.5mm Jack) to hook up to your amp or external DAC player.
Also. Most DAP’s do support optical out in the line out stage, so you could hook it up that way as well.
It is a good way to go. Sony and Astell & Kern make some beautiful players. 
I wanna delve more into tubes, but I have reached kind of an impass and was wondering if some could help me.
Recently discovered the magic of tubes via a friend’s Shiit Vali 2++ and Schiit Valhalla 2. It’s lovely. Got a Vali 2++ myself now, but I crave more.
But the issue is. None of my headphones are high resistance enough to run properly on an OTL. And the only high ohm choices within my budget are none that I really like.
Then said friend recommended me to just double down on a decent hybrid instead. So I can keep using my collection, but enjoy tube magic nonethless.
But I don’t know what other interesting hybrids there are. Something in the 500 euro range and available in Europe. The only decent candidate I found was xDuoo, specifically the TA22 and TA20 Plus.
But I wondered if there are other decent recommendations.
Anyone willing to chip in? And in case you own any of the mentioned xDuoo’s, how are they?
The Vali2++ is a hybrid amp (tube input stage, solid state output stage) so you already have a feeling for them.
The amount of tubiness flavor varies with different hybrid amps so you would need to listen first to see if the amp has the tube flavor you are seeking.
Tuba
Or maybe look for a used Feliks Echo? What headphones are you using? Some like focals with this even tho it’s an otl.
What headphones do you have?
Hifiman Edition XS, Beyerdynamic DT700 Pro X, DT770 80ohm, AKG 712, 7hz Dioko, S12 Pro
If you can handle the treble on those Beyers and want to swap headphones instead of buying an amp, you might consider Beyers 300 and 600 ohm products. I have a DT880 600 ohm that’s quite decent after serious filtering/tone management. I run it on the Bottlehead Crack OTL.
Hybrids are kind of unusual, for no really good reason, they strike me as a good way to go at the above entry level price points, but there just aren’t a ton of options.
Monoprice Liquid Platinum, used to be an option, but it’s discontinued, and was always on the dryer side of neutral.
If you like the Vali 2++ just go with that, there isn’t really a stand out option I can think of in the price range your proposing.
You’d get away with everything on that list except the Hifiman with something like the Haggerman Tuba which is a pure tube amp (but I doubt it’s easily sourced used in Europe).
Yes and No
I have kind of outgrown my DT700 Pro X
and I only use my DT770 due to the Dekoni pads I have making the FR sound much less U shaped then they do originally
I sense that you may be on the edge of wanting to move up a quality tier in all ways, even if you are trying to stick to a budget right now. More than a few of us said “this is my end game” – then it wasn’t the end game. One can do an awful lot with a $2,000 to $5,000 total setup.
I mean, yeah. I recently scored a heck of a steal on a Bifrost 2 and Asgard 3 with Multibit card and I tasted blood. Same for some pricier headphones. I fell badly in love with the HEDD V2. I spent over an hour at canjam just trying them with songs. The V1 already blew me away at High End and the V2 fixed every gripe I had with the original. And that friend of mine and I keep drooling over Susvaras.
I know I am reaching my endgame territory and I am a bit scared for my wallet >.>