a need a headphone amp/dac recommendation

bryblob

Super Member
I was hoping for some input on what you guys use for low budget amps/dac's for headphones. Right now I am using a tascam us-122 audio interface, but there is a serious issue with a random bitcrushing noise that lasts for a few seconds. It's a driver issue, but I don't think anyone has came up with a solution. I am looking for something around $100, decent sound and decent amplification, nothing too fancy. Fiio comes to mind. My headphones are Sennheiser hd-598's and Phillips SPH-9500's.
 
I have been happy with the FIIO E10K. I have used it to drive phones directly and the line out to drive my tube amps. Either way, happy with the performance.
 
Happy with the FiiO Q1, but mostly use it as a DAC in my work system to feed my Schiit Lyr and Yamaha HP-1's. It does an incredible job driving my AKC K240 ll.
 
I was hoping for some input on what you guys use for low budget amps/dac's for headphones. Right now I am using a tascam us-122 audio interface, but there is a serious issue with a random bitcrushing noise that lasts for a few seconds. It's a driver issue, but I don't think anyone has came up with a solution. I am looking for something around $100, decent sound and decent amplification, nothing too fancy. Fiio comes to mind. My headphones are Sennheiser hd-598's and Phillips SPH-9500's.
The favorite partner for my Sennheiser HD-598 is the Tianyun Zero (Starting Point) DAC.
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You can get it for $156 on Ebay so it is more than your budget.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/120889836478?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT
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See the separate headphone amplifier board that it uses. The heatsinked output transistors (4) give it lot of drive power.
 
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The 598 are fairly efficient in terms of sensitivity and impedance and I'm not of the opinion that you'd need to spend that much money to drive them well. I also don't think they scale as much as others seem to
I have not heard the Schiit Fulla first hand, and should not have jumped to judgement. But I have not heard any USB headphone amp that work to my satisfaction, so an AC power headphone amp is always a safer bid to me. It is not the question of average sound level, it is the dynamic range it counts.

The Bifrost is the DAC only: http://schiit.com/products/bifrost
You will also need the Asgard2 headphone amp: http://schiit.com/products/asgard-2
The grand total is $648.

You are right that it is not necessary to spend big bucks to get good headphone amp. My Tianyun Zero DAC/Amp combo is less than $160 and sound extremely well to me. It is a reasonable match to the 598 cost wise.
 
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Rave reviews over on the can site for the Maverick D1 and D1+.

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Couple thousand pages last I checked. Very wide ohm coverage so it'll drive most anything you throw at it, and you can mod it with a minor resistor swap if you've got some oddball cans to match. Killer DAC as well, has basic pre functions, and it also makes a mighty fine tube buffer for tailoring the output to your tastes. The op amps are socketed as well so a rollers dream there. I love mine ...
 
FYI, Schiit Fulla currently on closeout for 59.00.......
If it's half as good as my entry level Modi, I'll be thrilled.
 
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