[dezzadk]

Is anyone aware of a good decently priced and lownoise headphone amp or combo that has 4.4mm balanced output as well as the usual 6.3mm and comes with auto shutoff function for USB?

I'm getting quite annoyed that I have to shutoff the E30/L30 stack all the time.

I don't mind a combined DAC/amp but it should be modern.

I looked around a little yesterday but I felt overwhelmed by choice so I hope to get some recs

 

[peterinvan]

Why not just leave it turned on? Surely a steady temperature state is best for consistent playback performance?

I don't mind paying for the very small power consumption.

I believe my recent FiiO K7 purchase is the best value for my money at this time. Love the AKM DAC sound.

 

[dunring]

The new JDS Atom 2 amp/DAC stack has the auto shutoff, and 4.4mm as well as 6.35mm jacks. It auto powers them up when activity is detected. I have an Atom+ and they sound amazing, but the new 2 version has quite a bit more power (so you can stay in low gain longer for best sound quality).

 

[dezzadk]

The new JDS Atom 2 amp/DAC stack has the auto shutoff, and 4.4mm as well as 6.35mm jacks. It auto powers them up when activity is detected. I have an Atom+ and they sound amazing, but the new 2 version has quite a bit more power (so you can stay in low gain longer for best sound quality).

I just read https://audiosciencereview.com/foru...-atom-amp-2-headphone-amplifier-review.49795/

While 4.4 mm headphone output is provided, note that it is not "balanced" (differential).

I'm not that technical but I guess it means that its not balanced so its only there as "an adapter"

Why not just leave it turned on? Surely a steady temperature state is best for consistent playback performance?

I don't mind paying for the very small power consumption.

I'm unsure what the actual idle power consumption for the 2 devices actually are, but I bet it will be somewhat significant since they both have their own PSU and power in the EU is like pure gold in terms of costs.

 

[UrAvgPlay3R]

Having their own

I just read https://audiosciencereview.com/foru...-atom-amp-2-headphone-amplifier-review.49795/


I'm not that technical but I guess it means that its not balanced so its only there as "an adapter"



I'm unsure what the actual idle power consumption for the 2 devices actually are, but I bet it will be somewhat significant since they both have their own PSU and power in the EU is like pure gold in terms of costs.

Having their own external PSU doesn't mean that it draws more power. In some cases it's because there's no space to put it inside the device itself, while others might be to eliminate interference (or something).

Good example would be those high output power amplifiers, where some have internal power supplies, but can take hundreds of watts to power them.