After A Great Sounding Headphone Dac Amp £500 Budget

hi im looking for a permanent rack soloution not after portable one.
cheers

So I’m guessing digital volume control which can have an effect on the sound for 16bit files. Volume control should be via the analog output amp.

So whch of my many pairs of headphones would you like to know about? I was asking the question about the Bluesound because i found their specs to be somewhat lacking. Knowing the output impedance is useful. All the specs tell me is that the headphone output is an afterthought instead of a carefully designed feature. And this an “audiophile” company?

Well, the Topping DX3Pro would fit, too. Has a remote, can be configured to send line out to your Denon AVR. About $200. Multiple coax inputs for various gear; USB and optical inputs as well. You don’t have to use it with a headphone.

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Hmmm…OK. You said you wanted everything under 500. Was just trying to help.

I can’t answer this directly but I would say that the previous Node 2 wasn’t really up to driving my HD650s and I’m not aware that the headphone section has changed.

Meaning that it’s low impedance similar to a mobile device aka not a real headphone amp. Nonetheless it does look like a very nice Roon endpoint and DAC

Slim, strictly as a dac would you recommend the idac2 or the idsd bl?

I have a DAC2 and an IDSD, but not tthe BL. I listed the BL because it is a new version of the iDSD. and many people like it.

Of the two, I prefer the DAC2. It sounds just as good as the iDSD and it isn’t battery operated. I’ve had nothing but trouble with the battery in my iDSD. Other people have had no problems, so I may have gotten a lemon.

The DAC2 can’t do 768k or DSD512 like the BL, but that’s not a deal breaker for me.

Since you asked, I would recommend the DAC2 over the BL. I seem to recall reading something by a designer for iFi where he admitted that the DAC2 was a better device than the iDSD. Don’t know how he feels about the BL.

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When I auditioned the Node 2 (not the 2i) I thought it was on par with my £50 RPi DAC/ Amp hat. In other words, not an upgrade and worth the £500 price tag. I think the Mojo + iPhone + Beyerdynamic T5p2 is a really good headphone setup. As ever, try to audition.

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Listening to my DX3Pro with iTunes at work. Sounds very nice. Sonny Rollins, Silver City.

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