[slmckay73]

Alrighty, y'all. I'm looking to upgrade my FiiO E10K to a new DAC and amp (combo or discrete, whichever) with more juice and a couple extra features. I'd be really grateful for any help.

Budget - >$250 USD, and that's firm. The Modi 2 Uber / Magni 3 has everything I want, but I don't want to spend quite that much. So, anything not significantly cheaper is kinda null and void.

Headphones - Right now all I have are the M50x and the VE Monk Plus. I'm kind of tired of the M50x, and I'm planning on selling them. Not sure what I want to replace them with yet; I'll probably make a separate post about that. I want the amp to handle pretty much anything within reason so that I would only need to upgrade it in the event that I were to buy some crazy thirsty headphones.

Features - Aside from doing its basic functions well (providing plenty of clean power and having a good DAC), the inputs and outputs are the most important thing: I want both USB and optical in so I can connect both my PC and PS4. (This is why I would need the Modi Uber; the regular model has no optical in.) A source selector would be fantastic if possible, but I could do without. Also, I'd like it to have either line out or pre-out so I can invest in some speakers down the road. I guess pre-out is preferable, but either is fine.

That should about do it. A couple options I've considered are the SMSL M6 and the Micca OriGen G2 after watching Zeos' reviews, if you're familiar with his YouTube channel. He seems to like them a lot, but I'm having a hard time finding more reviews to corroborate his opinions. Maybe what I'm looking for doesn't actually exist, and in that case I might just save up and spring for the Modi/Magni since they're well proven to be quality stuff. Anything you guys can recommend me?

Thanks in advance!

 

[PurpleAngel]

For around $68, you can get an optical DAC from Hifimediy.
But a used ($100)?) Magni amp (with separate line-output).

 

[slmckay73]

For around $68, you can get an optical DAC from Hifimediy.
But a used ($100)?) Magni amp (with separate line-output).

Thanks for the reply! I checked out the Hifimediy DAC, but it seems to only have an optical input. I'd like to have both optical and USB, so I can have a PC and PS4 both connected at the same time.

 

[cossix]

I'd get the Magni 3 anyway and just find a different DAC.

 

[PurpleAngel]

Thanks for the reply! I checked out the Hifimediy DAC, but it seems to only have an optical input. I'd like to have both optical and USB, so I can have a PC and PS4 both connected at the same time.

$20-$25 for an optical switch box.
Chances are your PC's motherboard comes with an optical output jack.
If not, for $20 get a Asus Xonar DG sound card (comes with optical port).