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Any good DAC headphone amps out there?
Have been looking at DAC headphone amps for a while as a solution to a particular set up problem.
Quite interested (price wise) in offerings from Douk Audio and Topping but a bit wary given some conflicting user reviews re. reliability.
Anyone have experience of their products they'd like to share (or other suggestions)?
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I'm Grant.
Been using an smsl m6 for quite a while with no issue. Sounds pretty good as well
Regards,
Grant.... ؠ ......Don't be such a big girl's blouse
I've said it before and I'll say it again: democracy simply-doesn't-work.... ..... ...... ...... ................... ..... ..... ..... ..... .....
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Oh my god! There's nothing wrong with the bidet is there?
“Nothing discloses real character like the use of power. It is easy for the weak to be gentle. Most people can bear adversity. But if you wish to know what a man really is, give him power. This is the supreme test. It is the glory of Lincoln that, having almost absolute power, he never abused it, except on the side of mercy".
“You see these dictators on their pedestals, surrounded by the bayonets of their soldiers and the truncheons of their police ... yet in their hearts there is unspoken fear. They are afraid of words and thoughts: words spoken abroad, thoughts stirring at home -- all the more powerful because forbidden -- terrify them. A little mouse of thought appears in the room, and even the mightiest potentates are thrown into panic.”
"You don't have free will. You have the appearance of free will.”
“There's a war out there, old friend. A world war. And it's not about who's got the most bullets. It's about who controls the information. What we see and hear, how we work, what we think... it's all about the information!”
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I use a Topping VX1 - looks great, sounds good.
Inputs are USB for digital and L/R RCA for analog.
It's also a 25wpc integrated amp. I use the latter to drive Stax SR3 electrostatics and the headphone jack for Philips Fidelio X2.
Very pleased with it, had it a year or so with no issues.
.
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Thanks for the suggestions chaps - appreciated
Unfortunately I should have said that USB input is not an option - I only have SPDIF output options to use for this set up.
Also keen to hear from anyone who has had bad experiences with Douk/Topping/SMSL devices. particularly if this involves sending back to China for replacement/repair.
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Location: W Lothian
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I'm Grant.
m6 has all three inputs. not tried coax tbh but used the other 2.. also has rca out if wanted. only thing is getting used to the multifunction switch/joystick button. once mastered it works very well tho. mine is on 8 hrs a day every day and has been flawless. with my planar's its super but was also great with my a technica's
Regards,
Grant
I've said it before and I'll say it again: democracy simply-doesn't-work.... ..... ...... ...... ................... ..... ..... ..... ..... .....
FIIO K7 BT, M11 PLUS, BTR7, KA5 - OPPO BDP-103D - PANASONIC UB450 - PANASONIC 4K ULTRA HD TV - PIXEL 6 - AVANTREE LR BLUETOOTH - 2* X600 SOUNDCORE - HEADPHONES INCLUDE, FIIO, NURAPHONES', FOCAL, OPPO, BOSE, CAMBRIDGE, BOWER & WILKINS, DEVIALET, MARSHALL, SONY, MITCHELL & JOHNSTON - 2*ZBOOK'S- MERCURY BD ROM, ROON, QOBUZ, TIDAL, PLEX, CYBERLINK, JRIVER - MULTI HDD'S -
Oh my god! There's nothing wrong with the bidet is there?
“Nothing discloses real character like the use of power. It is easy for the weak to be gentle. Most people can bear adversity. But if you wish to know what a man really is, give him power. This is the supreme test. It is the glory of Lincoln that, having almost absolute power, he never abused it, except on the side of mercy".
“You see these dictators on their pedestals, surrounded by the bayonets of their soldiers and the truncheons of their police ... yet in their hearts there is unspoken fear. They are afraid of words and thoughts: words spoken abroad, thoughts stirring at home -- all the more powerful because forbidden -- terrify them. A little mouse of thought appears in the room, and even the mightiest potentates are thrown into panic.”
"You don't have free will. You have the appearance of free will.”
“There's a war out there, old friend. A world war. And it's not about who's got the most bullets. It's about who controls the information. What we see and hear, how we work, what we think... it's all about the information!”
***SMILE, BE HAPPY***
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So it has - sorry Grant.... must've done a dodgy Goggle search first time aroundOriginally Posted by struth
Looks very smart for the money too. Also good to hear the toggle works OK, looked a bit off-putting (once I found the right one on Amazon...)
Will add it to my list
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With regard to Chinese gear reliability, the only issues I can recall having was with several XiangSheng DAC-01A DAC/headphone amps. Great sound but prone to partial failure ime, particularly individual inputs dieing.
I have had several Topping and SMSL DACs/amps over the last few years and they have performed flawlessly.
.
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I'm Geoff.
I use a Topping VX1 - looks great, sounds good.
Inputs are USB for digital and L/R RCA for analog.
It's also a 25wpc integrated amp. I use the latter to drive Stax SR3 electrostatics and the headphone jack for Philips Fidelio X2.
Very pleased with it, had it a year or so with no issues.
Are your headphones wearing a wimple?
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Ah, the Stax?Are your headphones wearing a wimple?
I'm experimenting with various configurations of earpad.
Current favourite is a pair with segments chopped out to make them more open.
.
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Just to set the context - this is the set-up I want to use it for:
The Vena does have a headphone output but I have a better result using either one the two analogue headphone amps i have (MF V-Can or modified Akafugu C-Moy).
Problem is that the Vena doesn't have the 'tape-out' option I am used to with pre-amps and is limited to 'pre-out' controlled by the Vena volume in parallel with the speakers.
What it does have is SPDIF out (coax or optical) which would be an ideal option if used with a DAC headphone amp.
I could use the Saffire DAC for this but it's a bit of a faff in this particular set up and also doesn't behave itself if connected to the Mac at the same time as the Vena - also the onboard hp output on the Saffire is not great.
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