$1000 DAC and AMP Recomendation

[Neville_]

Sorry if this has been asked before.

What is the general recommendation for a desktop DAC & AMP around the $1000 price range that has XLR out. I'll be driving the Focal Elex (think elears with clear pads) and a pad modded HD700 (atleast for now).

I've seen more than a handful of options in the bracket and well I want to ensure I make the right choice. I can live with a separate dac & amp housing (I would just prefer it to look pretty.

 

[Motocrossman24]

Check reviews of the schiit jotunheim with Multibit dac...they make great products for a reasonable amount of money. And it’s probably the highest powered balanced setup under 1000$ so will most likely power anything you throw at it in the future.

 

[Oscar-HiFi]

Check reviews of the schiit jotunheim with Multibit dac...they make great products for a reasonable amount of money. And it’s probably the highest powered balanced setup under 1000$ so will most likely power anything you throw at it in the future.

Do you own the Jot? most think it is borderline bright and not a great match for the HD700.

Sorry if this has been asked before.

What is the general recommendation for a desktop DAC & AMP around the $1000 price range that has XLR out. I'll be driving the Focal Elex (think elears with clear pads) and a pad modded HD700 (atleast for now).

I've seen more than a handful of options in the bracket and well I want to ensure I make the right choice. I can live with a separate dac & amp housing (I would just prefer it to look pretty.

Just a hair over your budget is the Keces S3, I own one and it is superb. Plenty of clean power, it is natural and balanced but does not come across as overly analytical, it has super layering and detail though.

 

[Neville_]

Do you own the Jot? most think it is borderline bright and not a great match for the HD700.



Just a hair over your budget is the Keces S3, I own one and it is superb. Plenty of clean power, it is natural and balanced but does not come across as overly analytical, it has super layering and detail though.

That's what I thought of the Jot. The Keces S3 looks interesting and is around the same price as the Catylin stack. I'll have to add that to my list of comparisons to make when it's time to purchase.

 

[squee116]

Could do single-ended out of the Lyr 3.

 

[Neville_]

Could do single-ended out of the Lyr 3.

That is a possibility, however I wanted to see what I could get out the 1k budget.

 

[Motocrossman24]

I don’t own the jot but I have used it with my He400i which a lot of people say are bright cans and I didn’t find the jot bright at all. I actually enjoyed it...I have not tried the ly3 as it just came out, but I’ll have one next week

 

[squee116]

That is a possibility, however I wanted to see what I could get out the 1k budget.

or you could get several amps: thx aaa 789, lyr 3, or cavalli tube hybrid, cavalli liquid carbon, etc.
The only amp I've heard that costs more than 1k is the v200 or the Schiit SR009 paired amp, and the v200 is good but it's debatable if its worth the price. I think the 600 dollar price point where I've seen price/performance plummet precipitously.

 

[Neville_]

or you could get several amps: thx aaa 789, lyr 3, or cavalli tube hybrid, cavalli liquid carbon, etc.
The only amp I've heard that costs more than 1k is the v200 or the Schiit SR009 paired amp, and the v200 is good but it's debatable if its worth the price. I think the 600 dollar price point where I've seen price/performance plummet precipitously.

Most of those options are current massdrop drops, which after the drop wont be available until the next drop. Anything other idea that you have that arent drops?

 

[squee116]

Lyr 3 aside, (which should pair well with elex) Z recently positively reviewed Questyle cma400i, but I'd seek out other reviews before buying off that alone.
The RS08 + 10% off gives room for a DAC, or you could buy used.
The Aune x7s is a great value, but I worry it might not be warm enough to synergize well, from what I hear... my Elex haven't arrived yet so I couldn't say for sure.
The Fostex HPA4BL may not be able to run less-efficient headphones, but may pair well with the Elex.
The Matrix HPA-3B would probably have similar issues with the x7s.

To be fair, because of the price difference, you could go: DAC->Loki->Aune/Matrix to tame the treble some.

 

[Neville_]

The pair that I was more or less gravitating towards is the iHA-6 and iDAC-6 from Cayin. I know it's a bit out of "budget range" but I can live with the plan not always going according to plan. The other unit that I've been looking at is the Gustard A20H, however I would need to import that from China.

Those were the 2 most convincing options that I found so far outside of mixing dacs and amps. There's a couple of affordable R2R dacs that are outside of schiit's line up that look interesting.

 

[squee116]

The pair that I was more or less gravitating towards is the iHA-6 and iDAC-6 from Cayin. I know it's a bit out of "budget range" but I can live with the plan not always going according to plan. The other unit that I've been looking at is the Gustard A20H, however I would need to import that from China.

Those were the 2 most convincing options that I found so far outside of mixing dacs and amps. There's a couple of affordable R2R dacs that are outside of schiit's line up that look interesting.

Yeah, I knew the Gustard was out there, but I hadn't seen anyone I know the baseline tastes of review it.
If you're willing to stretch outside of the budget, Cayin makes gorgeous stuff. I'd be slightly worried about the non-user-replaceable tubes, but that's a "far off" concern - probably. While the 4490 chips can be found in cheaper options, (Teac comes to mind), they don't offer the filter modes or switching between the tube and solid state pre-out to the amp or 4pin xlr to headphone (3pin only to speakers, I think?) At least within 1300 pricepoint.

I don't think it's blasphemous to mix and match, especially when you're looking for synergies, and it can save you a buck.

 

[Motocrossman24]

Yeah, I knew the Gustard was out there, but I hadn't seen anyone I know the baseline tastes of review it.
If you're willing to stretch outside of the budget, Cayin makes gorgeous stuff. I'd be slightly worried about the non-user-replaceable tubes, but that's a "far off" concern - probably. While the 4490 chips can be found in cheaper options, (Teac comes to mind), they don't offer the filter modes or switching between the tube and solid state pre-out to the amp or 4pin xlr to headphone (3pin only to speakers, I think?) At least within 1300 pricepoint.

I don't think it's blasphemous to mix and match, especially when you're looking for synergies, and it can save you a buck.

Is the 4490 considered one of the better dac chips? I keep going back and forth between the 4490 and multibit setup with schiit.

 

[squee116]

Is the 4490 considered one of the better dac chips? I keep going back and forth between the 4490 and multibit setup with schiit.

They each have their ups and downs. Some prefer the sound of one over the other; some prefer the convenience of Delta sigma chips like 4490 because they don't require a warm up time like r2r multibit designs.

 

[Motocrossman24]

Thanks that makes sense. 4490 seems highly rated as far as delta sigma goes. I do like the idea of multibit just not sure it’s necessary as an upgrade yet.