Suggestion needed for headphone DAC/Amp

No problem, any suggestion welcome, thanks.

It’s indeed very impressive and I’ve looked at it, will keep that in mind, thanks.

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You are right. The all in one units are expensive and they always seem to compromise somewhere unless you are spending $4k+. I have been researching products this year and it seems the best way to go is to get a streaming DAC and a separate amp, or a separate streamer and then whichever DAC/Amp combo you want. That way you are only wiring two divides together.

I also forgot to mention products by Lumin. For about $2,300 you can get their entry level Streaming DAC that plays MQA. No headphone amp though. I am looking at purchasing on myself. Good luck on your search!

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The Combo is a hard ask… A great little Balanced headphone amp is the Drop.com THX AAA 789

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You are right. I do have the Matrix Element X (Roon certified) in mind, seems to fit the bill pretty well, excellent DAC section, above average amp section as far as reviews I have seen are concerned. Seems so far it is the best all-in-one option. I have also considering Allo USBridge + Topping D90 + A90, certainly more boxes and cables and also perhaps more chance than the combo don’t work somewhere, like the Allo not recognizing the DAC etc. etc.

Thanks, noticed that, very good reviews indeed :slight_smile:

I bought 2, one is mainly as a backup/spare the other I switch between 4 DAC’s all balanced out.

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yes I intend to use balanced out, so that is very important for me at least

Yeah, I can understand that concern. I do not own or have used any of the Allo products or any of the Pi based streamers, but many people here have. I use the SOtM sMS-200ultra as my streamer/bridge. Since I already had my DAC and amps before I purchased a streamer, I was in a similar situation wondering if the streamer would work with all my DACS. So far I have had no issues with any DAC. Before that I used the ultraRendue and it worked exactly the same with no issues. And it only adds a power cable, ethernet cable and USB cable.

Scroll a bit down on the MQA website and you will find all brands that have MQA.

Click on all brands and see what they have:

With that list: a few candidates are selected.However I don’t want to buy a DAC blind without listening on my own stuff. I have a few really good candidates only from review, but it need to be tested first on my own equipment. Found a shop which have alot of them, so will go there in near future.

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Very happy with my decision :slight_smile:

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I bet you wallets considerably lighter.

I no longer have access to one :slight_smile:

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I just got a pair of Empyreans myself and they are amazing. That’s a great set up you have!

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Thank you, I couldn’t agree more. Totally engaging and enjoyable.

If they made the Element X in black I would order one right now. Alas, they are only available in that ugly silver…

I wouldn’t say silver is ugly, having black would be a welcome addition I’m sure. The silver is actually quite nice up close, beauty is in the eyes of the beholder is I guess.

Hi
Did you manage to test any other headphones in your search for that DAC/Amp?

I have seen an Element X for a decent price on eBay and I might take a punt on that and find matching headphones as a secondary task.

I cannot quite afford your choice of cans though :wink:

Cheers

Didn’t get any replies in the other thread, so I’ll ask here -

sorry haven’t done that really, just my CIEM JH Audio Layla, sounds fine to me. I got the X mainly for its operational and features integration / price point / reviews online, and I am very happy with it.