[seacard]

I don't come to this forum often, but I was hoping to get some advice on a good amp / dac combo for an AKG Q701.  My wife just got an office job and appropriated my headphones, but she doesn't have an amp or a DAC and has been running them straight out of her computer.  I would like to get her something in the $250 range that will do the job.  I ran some searches and have across Fiio, and iBasso, and uDAC, but neither size nor portability really matter to me.  It will just sit in her office next to her computer, so I was wondering if there is a consensus favorite in that price range for a desktop unit?  The Matrix Cube is another option, and is in the ballpark range.  It must have a USB input, a headphone amp, and be solid state.  Thanks all!

 

[mbd2884]

I bought an Audio-GD NFB-12 with dual WM8741 D/A using ACSS current technology.  Fully discrete output, amp uses a custom RK27 potometer, should be good.  The sound doesn't distort with volume like traditional voltage amps do.  It has USB, Coaxial and Optical input.  USB is 24/96 input, feeds into the dual WM8741 via I2S, so that cleans up whatever jitter issues there might be.  Asynchronous USB is BS/Marketing since most DAC's compensate for jitter anyway, and I2S should clean that up.  The USB input isn't converted to SPDIF on this one, which I like.  Uses a 20 watt power source, with 6 PSU and a regulator if you are concerned about power.  There is no sound interference from the power unit with Audio-GD units.
 
It also has DAC output, variable output.  So if you do have a power amp without a pre-amp, the NFB-12 can change output for you.  Nifty, haven't used it in practice yet, but will test it out.
 
I got it for $240 shipped.