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Which of the three?

post #1 of 7
3/14/13 at 4:39pm
Thread Starter 
Looking at a new desktop rig. Weigh in on how you'd rank them and any caveats please:

$159 Aune T1. I'm a tube guy from way back. But I've been buying my hps with a mellow sound sig in mind. Wonder if it would be too much of a good thing?

$180 Audio-Gd NFB 12.1 I like the idea of filter settings to tune the output. Plus discrete is a nice buzzword.

$200 Schiit Magni/Modi. Got to admit I'm a sucker for that "made in the USA" spiel. Also like the very real flexibility of separates.

Discuss! And thank you.
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post #2 of 7
3/15/13 at 10:08am
Thread Starter 
Bump. Anyone?
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post #3 of 7
3/15/13 at 11:40am
What are you plugging them into? confused_face_2.gif (This matters, to an extent, when discussing amplifiers).

Anywho - I'll say that by and large differences between D/A converters are highly over-stated, and that it's not a can of worms I'd suggest getting into unless:

- You have lots of money.
- You enjoy spending it.

This isn't because D/A converters are a "waste" - it's more that they've gotten very good in recent years, and you can get exceptional quality pretty much anywhere you look.
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post #4 of 7
3/15/13 at 12:24pm
Thread Starter 
The line out which I guess you're meaning if we're talking dacs will be going into a vintage receiver eventually. Marantz, McIntosh, Tandberg, Luxman are all on the list. Presently it's either a Mid 80s Yamaha or Denon.

If you mean hp into amp, target would be HE500 or Audeze LCD2 more than likely.
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post #5 of 7
3/16/13 at 4:40am
So I'd honestly say dump the hp amp, and put your money into a good receiver (and I wouldn't write 1980s era Yamaha gear off so quickly - some of the best amplifiers in the world came out of Yamaha in the 1980s), it'll drive the headphones and whatever else. If your current analog line out (from your PC, CDP, whatever) is clean, I'd leave that as-is; unless you have a big pile of money and like A/B'ing.
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post #6 of 7
3/16/13 at 6:17am
Thread Starter 
Cool! Thanks. Was having loads of fun looking at old receivers and amps last night. Had to kind of cringe at what my old Harmon Kardon Citation V tube gear commands now. But I remember the hp output on my particular example was kind of noisy so I consoled myself with that.
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post #7 of 7
3/16/13 at 7:55am
Yeah - if the old gear has gotten "popular" it usually gets gouged. And remember you're dealing with older gear, so condition is quite important (I'd rather have a lesser known or mid-tier model in tip-top shape, versus a top end model with serious issues). This doesn't mean don't look for the gems (and they do exist), but be willing to compromise as well.

Another thing you might consider would be separates with a headphone tap on the power amp (or a pre with a robust headphone section).
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