[U6astik]

Hello guys!
 
After being absent for more than a year I'm back to the audiophile world
 
I would like to ask for your opinion on which DAC/Amp combos I should pay attention to?
 

1. I am planning to use this device to power any closed headphones (that I may buy soon) and to be able to drive my HE-500 to moderate volumes while having no significant problems with distortion. Currently I am using my iBasso DX50 to drive some cheap IEMs, while HE-500 spends most of the time in the box.

 

1. The price range is quite vast - £40 to £600. The cheaper device means I will be able to afford it sooner.

 

1. I am open to any suggestions - whether it's a DAC and an amp, or a combination of both in one chassis. It could be portable or stationary.

 

1. Low output impedance desirable (high damping factor)

 

1. I would prefer a device with neutral sound - neither warm, nor bright.

 

1. The amp must have a 6.3 mm jack and the DAC must have both USB and coaxial inputs.

 

Spoiler: Some of the devices I have had a look at:

Audeze Deckard  (£600) - perfect choise in its price range? Beauty. Expensive. 

Schiit Bifrost + Asgard 2 (£600) - upgradable. Heard some people saying, that Bifrost is not much better than Modi. Nice looking. Deckard rival. 

Graham Slee Bitzie (£350) - looks funny, only USB input though 

iFi iDSD micro (£415) - nice, but rather expensive for a portable gear 

iFi iDSD nano (£165) - only USB input, no 6.3 mm jack 

Audio GD NFB-11 ($360 + customs?) - rather ugly, not too sure how much would it cost to bring it to UK 

ProJect products (£150-180) - 

Audiolab Q-DAC (£400) - moderate price, nice looks 

Asus Xonar Essence STU (£200) - never liked Asus, but this dedicated DAC/amp has nice inputs and is relatively cheap 

 
Asus Xonar Essence One (£400) - not my cup of tea in terms of looks, but seems to be as good as STU 

Musical Fidelity V90-HPA (£150-250) - only USB input 

 and 50 ohms output impedance! 

Grace Design 9xx ($500 + customs?) - no coaxial input, not too sure how much would it cost to bring it to UK 

Teac UD-301 (£380) - nice piece of equipment, althogh not meant as a dedicated headphone amp 

FX Audio X6 (£60-90) - wow, that's cheap. Suspiciously cheap.
SMSL SD-793II (£40) - even cheaper. Even more suspicious.
 
Teac UD-503 (£700) - dedicated headphone amp, unlike UD-301, but too expensive.
Lehmann Audio Linear USB (£765) - too expensive. 
NJC amp and NJC DAC (£800) - nice British combo, too expensive.
Burson Conductor (£900) - well, I'm in love in Burson products, so maybe one day..
Violectric ($xxxx) - way too expensive.
 
I have noted there are plenty of interesting headphone amps on the market, but not too many headphone DAC. Why is that?

 
Please tell me which device would suit my needs in your perspective.
I will probably be able to audition some of devices, but would like to know your opinion first. 
 
Cheers!

 

[PurpleAngel]

If and when Audio-GD ships a NFB-11 to you, in the UK (total around 310 GBP or $402 USD)
Guess Audio-GD will claim a value, with the shipper, of around 75 or less GBP.
So import tax (VAT) should be low.
 
UK customs will see a no name electrics device, shipped from Asia, so no reason for customs question it's claimed value.

 

[U6astik]

PurpleAngel,
Thanks, I didn't know Audio GD are so flexible. That is important inforamtion for me.
Do you personally have any experience with NFB-11?

 

[PurpleAngel]

  PurpleAngel,
Thanks, I didn't know Audio GD are so flexible. That is important information for me.
Do you personally have any experience with NFB-11?

 
 
Bought the NFB-15.32 about 4 years ago.
Then about 18 months ago heard that Audio-GD had planned on stop making it.
So i ordered the NFB-15, which had the latest revision and sold off the older NFB-15.32
 
Which in comparison, the NFB-15 is considered  warmer and more musical.
and the NFB-11 more detailed.
 
The NFB-15 uses dual WM8741 DAC chips, the NFB-11 use one Sabre DAC chip.
 
The NFB-11 is sold in France and Netherlands, for around 390 Euros.
The European retailers only covers the first 30 days, after that you would have to deal directly with Audio-GD, for any warranty service.
Better (and cheaper) just to order straight from Audio-GD.

 

[U6astik]

Thank you.
Any other devices, that could be on par with Audio GD products? Or outperform them?

 

[U6astik]

Or any other recommendations?

 

[GRUMPYOLDGUY]

Chord Mojo is pretty nice.

Sent from my E5803 using a highly trained, special forces carrier pigeon

 

[bigpulco]

I buy xduoo xd-05 and good with it since than two days. Burson v5i on the parsel to change opamp. Heard that chord mojo pretty well but heating after some use

 

[Oistein]

I would personally go for Jotunheim + Modi Bitfrost. Then you can upgrade the dac if and when you decide or upgrade to a tube amp. The Jotunheim is very neutral and can drive anything from IEM''s to larger headphones =)

 

[Ruben123]

I would get a nice home stereo receiver with low imp. Most often their power is amazing and you can connect your Ibasso player to it. No need for a seperate DAC. I thought though the Ibasso already DOES have some power so what is actually the problem here? Are your headphones that hard to drive? They are if the volume doesnt get high enough.

 

[329161]

+1 for Mojo. Nothing twice the price is better.

 

[Oistein]

+1 for Mojo. Nothing twice the price is better.

 
Mojo is excellent for portable use and for it's size, but for a permanent home setup I think you can do better for 599. I love my Mojo though, it is excellent for what it does.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

 

1. Low output impedance desirable (high damping factor)

Spoiler: Some of the devices I have had a look at:

Musical Fidelity V90-HPA (£150-250) - only USB input 

 

 
You can scratch that one off your list.

 

[U6astik]

First, let me thank all of you who posted their thoughts on my problem, I really appreciate your help
 
Now, I'll ask some questions to your answers
 
 
Quote:

Chord Mojo is pretty nice.

GRUMPYOLDGUY, thanks for the kind siggestion. This guy looks really funny
However, I have read some people posting fovourable reviews on it, but it doesn't have a 6.3 mm jack, which is crucial for me T_T
 
 

I buy xduoo xd-05 and good with it since than two days. Burson v5i on the parsel to change opamp. Heard that chord mojo pretty well but heating after some use

This beast looks like an interesting creature. bigpulco, could you share some more thoughts regarding this device?
So you have also changed the opamp to the Burson v5i? How much it cost you? Is it difficult to make? Was the audio quality bad before this change?
 
 

  I would personally go for Jotunheim + Modi Bitfrost. Then you can upgrade the dac if and when you decide or upgrade to a tube amp. The Jotunheim is very neutral and can drive anything from IEM''s to larger headphones =)

 
Oh, so you opt for the Schiit combo? It's one of my favourite.
Could you please specify if you mean Modi or Bitfrost? Once again, I may not be right, but it seems some people were saying bad things about Bitfrost, when comparing it to Modi...
 
And also, the last time I checked the Schiit website they did haven't had any Jotunheim yet. Would you say it is a better amplifier to have than the Asgard 2? 
(Hm, judging from the price difference it has to be better)
 
UPD: Seems like Jotunheim is an Amp/DAC combo itself. Oistein, could you please explian me why you suggested pairing it to another "Jotunheim + Modi Bitfrost" DAC?
 
 

  I would get a nice home stereo receiver with low imp. Most often their power is amazing and you can connect your Ibasso player to it. No need for a seperate DAC. I thought though the Ibasso already DOES have some power so what is actually the problem here? Are your headphones that hard to drive? They are if the volume doesnt get high enough.

 
Regarding stereo receiver - one of my goals is to find a product that would be designed primarily as a device t work with headphones. Of course receivers, that have a headphone output would do, but they are mainly designed to power the speakers and may sacrifice the headphone amplification layout, right? (my knowledge of electronics is negligible, pardon my incompetence if I'm saying ********)
 
I never liked Asus gear to be honest for their looks mainly, but I have found out that the Essence One (mk II is the latest model t my mind) ticks most of the boxes in my list. Plus it has RCA outs to power speakers if I ever care to purchase ones. Ruben123, would you say this model could act as a stereo receiver you mentioned?

 
The problem with iBasso is that it does not have a 6.3 mm output and I don't want to be restricted to the headphones having a 3.5 mm jack. 
Plus I want to believe it would be an upgrade in terms of audio quality.
 
Quote:

   
... but for a permanent home setup I think you can do better for 599. 

 

Oistein, what do you mean by 599?
 
 
Quote:

   
You can scratch that one off your list.

 
ProtegeMania, do you mean that the V90-HPA has a high output impedance?

 

[Oistein]

First you can get the Jotunheim as a pure amp for $399, the dac is extra for $100. Second Modi has a Multibit upgrade: http://schiit.com/news/news/introducing-modi-multibit. Here are some impressions http://www.head-fi.org/t/815368/happy-as-a-pig-in-schiit-introducing-modi-multibit. Which everyone praises for it's low price compared to high performance. If you want to save some some claim the internal dac on the jotunheim is decent enough.
 
Since the Mojo is $599 (and very good for the price), it is natural to try to beat it in terms of performance vs price. Without a doubt it is the best portable setup, but you can argubly get a better permanent setup for the same money.
 
However it boils down to what you are interested in. The Jotunheim is claimed as a very neutral amp which can drive pretty much anything. I have been eyeballing the *IFI iCAN SE* ($359 / $289) myself. It has a bass option and can also drive everything. I would go for the multibit + either iFi Micro iCAN or Jotuneheim. They are about the same when considering shipping.