Whats a good AMP/DAC combo for Grado 225s please (500 or less)?
Apr 29, 2013 at 7:06 AM Post #16 of 32
A tube with a grado always make me happy.
that said, the 225 is very enjoyable and in your face FUN right off the laptop,

If u can snag a dacportLX on the cheap,
It's v portable...
U can power any headphone up to 600ohms with little trouble...
And get a clean silent background.

If u want a setup for the home,
I highly recommend taking a look at the dacs or dac/amps at audioGd
Say in the 300 to 500 zone...
The sound is awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwe ...ok I am going to stop there. :p
 
Apr 29, 2013 at 12:45 PM Post #17 of 32
Quote:
mad max said:
 
Jitter requires special instruments to detect and measure.  It is small timing errors in the digital signal from what I've read around here.  Clicks and pops are something else entirely.  You might be able to remedy the situation by adjusting the latency in ASIO and/or whatever program you use for playback.
Click to expand...

I suspected jitter was the wrong term. I'll experiment with some players. I was hoping a good DAC might have a way to buffer the data stream better to eliminate such things.
 
Apr 29, 2013 at 10:57 PM Post #18 of 32
USB receivers do have a buffer, but latency configuration must be done computer-side.  Too bad it is not something that configures itself.
 
Apr 30, 2013 at 9:02 AM Post #19 of 32
Hey Lorspeaker
 
The dacportLX has some great reviews, would it be suitable for a home syste?
 
Could i use it as a dac for an AudioGd?
Quote:
lorspeaker said:
A tube with a grado always make me happy.
that said, the 225 is very enjoyable and in your face FUN right off the laptop,

If u can snag a dacportLX on the cheap,
It's v portable...
U can power any headphone up to 600ohms with little trouble...
And get a clean silent background.

If u want a setup for the home,
I highly recommend taking a look at the dacs or dac/amps at audioGd
Say in the 300 to 500 zone...
The sound is awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwe ...ok I am going to stop there.
tongue.gif
Click to expand...

 
Hey
 
Apr 30, 2013 at 12:16 PM Post #20 of 32
The dacportLX itself is able to drive a can like beyer dt770/600ohms to loud vol with a dark background....off a a desktop or laptop. It is USB powered.

U can still connect it to another amp if u want a change of taste.

-------------------

If I am setting up purely for home use....
I would jus buy a dac amp from audioGd.


--------------------

Think I repeated myself...lol.

I just sat thru 6hours of music on the audioGd....my best gear buy so far.
 
Apr 30, 2013 at 1:48 PM Post #21 of 32
I've been thinking of the Bifrost or the recently well reviewed Peach Tree Dac-it. Think that's overkill for the 225i?
 
Apr 30, 2013 at 9:39 PM Post #22 of 32
Nah......value is relative. Besides u will grow to be a cancollector in notime if u linger here.
 
Apr 30, 2013 at 10:04 PM Post #23 of 32
gheadphone said:
If it helps at all i am using a Samsung laptop as a source.

I already have a Fiio E11 for portable use.

I heard the Firefly at the headphone meet in NY and was really impressed, but its a little pricey for me.

All advice will be gratefully revieved
Click to expand...


Schiit Magni/Modi is great.

You might be able to swing a Schiit Asgard 2/Modi too.

Another good one to look at is the O2/ODAC which is well regarded as entry level equipment that doesn't sound cheap. http://www.jdslabs.com/item.php?fetchitem=48
 
Apr 30, 2013 at 10:08 PM Post #24 of 32
markm1 said:
I've been thinking of the Bifrost or the recently well reviewed Peach Tree Dac-it. Think that's overkill for the 225i?
Click to expand...


The Bifrost is a really nice piece of gear. It is fully upgradeable too which makes it unique. I just bought their Bifrost Uber upgrade card which is supposed to increase the sound quality to nearly on par with their $750 DAC.

The customer support from Schiit is top notch too.
 
May 9, 2013 at 10:38 AM Post #25 of 32
Just got an Aasgard 2 for my 225i. I'm enjoying it so far sans DAC connected to a stereo receiver and  dedicated CD player-so far have listened to a couple of CD's and streaming Rhapsody. An improvement for sure, but I notice the improved sound more on some recordings/formats than others. Just a few days in, I'm saying it was a worthwhile investment.
 
May 9, 2013 at 11:44 AM Post #26 of 32
Quote:
markm1 said:
Just got an Aasgard 2 for my 225i. I'm enjoying it so far sans DAC connected to a stereo receiver and  dedicated CD player-so far have listened to a couple of CD's and streaming Rhapsody. An improvement for sure, but I notice the improved sound more on some recordings/formats than others. Just a few days in, I'm saying it was a worthwhile investment.
Click to expand...

Thanks Markm1, what is the bitrate you are streaming from Rhapsody?. How much did the Asgard cost? Any plans to add a DAC?
 
May 9, 2013 at 2:42 PM Post #27 of 32
Quote:
gheadphone said:
Thanks Markm1, what is the bitrate you are streaming from Rhapsody?. How much did the Asgard cost? Any plans to add a DAC?
Click to expand...

SQ on Rhapsody is not great. I'm thinking of switching to MOG. 256kbps CBR MP3 for purchased tracks; 192 kbps CBR MP3 for streaming to home audio devices; 128kbps AAC when streamed through PC via Rhapsody software; and 64kbps AAC + or 192kbps AAC for streamed or downloaded to Android devices and 64kbps AAC + for iOS ones.
 
Asgard 2 is $250. I'm looking at the Bifrost and the Peach Tree Dac-it. But, I don't have an external DAC yet.
 
May 10, 2013 at 11:17 AM Post #28 of 32
Well, I got an ODAC just for grins. I doubt there's a better sound quality vs price option out there. Its hard to compare to the FiiO. I can hear a difference, but hard to say better or worse. My favorite part, however, is that it seems to be more efficient at offloading processing from my Surface Tablet. With the FiiO, I would notice the tablet would lag a bit when I was playing music. With the ODAC, everything stays nice and snappy. This probably has more to do with the RT driver, but I'm happy with it. Also, the ODAC is tiny!
 
May 10, 2013 at 1:39 PM Post #29 of 32
Quote:
pallentx said:
Well, I got an ODAC just for grins. I doubt there's a better sound quality vs price option out there. Its hard to compare to the FiiO. I can hear a difference, but hard to say better or worse. My favorite part, however, is that it seems to be more efficient at offloading processing from my Surface Tablet. With the FiiO, I would notice the tablet would lag a bit when I was playing music. With the ODAC, everything stays nice and snappy. This probably has more to do with the RT driver, but I'm happy with it. Also, the ODAC is tiny!
Click to expand...

I've heard a lot of good things for th ODAC.
 
I'm looking at a dedicated rig, but not necessarily for a computer. I've bought a Sonnos Connect using with a NAS. SO, I'm streaming and listening to my itunes via the Sonos Connect which connects to a stereo all adjacent to a computer. Router>Sonos Connect>stereo receiver. What I'm looking into is utilizing a DAC to improve upon the Sonos DAC and use with my HPs. So, basically I want the DAC to be able to function with the Asgard 2 as well as my receiver and I'm looking into various options rather than  a simple computer set up.
 
So, I'm going to need SPDIF. USB would work for my computer which would be cool, but I need also need SPDIF for the Sonos streaming set up.
 
 
 
 
I'm leaning toward Biforst w/ or w/o USB or Peach Tree DAC-but I'm still in research mode. Going to my first meet in a couple of weeks which I'm looking forward to.
 
May 10, 2013 at 10:20 PM Post #30 of 32
well I finally heard my 225's with a tube amp , got a little bravo v2 , very cheap, rolled a EH 12au7 , sound is warm, full
also new for me, the schiit magni, great control of the bass, excellent detail
 
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