[Fiskus]

Hi Head-Fi'ers!
 
I am currently looking for a new amp / dac-setup for my headphones. Until now i have used o2 + odac and have been pleased. Whould like to try something new tho with a little more "punch" to it.

I'm going to use the dac / amp for Grado rs1i (main-headphone) and Sennheiser hd650 (2:nd headphone).I listen to all kind of music but mostly rock, pop and heavy metal.
Is there 1 setup that fits both of them equally? Grado with it’s low impedance of 32 ohm while Sennheiser got 300 ohm.
I have a budget at about $500-600 give or take.
 
Regards,
Fredrik

 

[ProtegeManiac]

Schiit Lyr or Jotunheim

 

[nhasian]

  Schiit Lyr or Jotunheim

Yep, I came here to say precisely this. 

 

[ProtegeManiac]

Also worth looking at is the Meier Jazz paired with something like the ODAC or Modi.

 

[obobskivich]

Grado RA-1 - will need a separate DAC/source though, but I'm assuming you may already have one, and if not there's plenty of inexpensive options out there.

 

[Fiskus]

  Schiit Lyr or Jotunheim

I most definitely gonna look Schiits Lyr up. Also wrote them a mail earlier today to see what they whould recommend. 
 
 

  Also worth looking at is the Meier Jazz paired with something like the ODAC or Modi.

Same goes for Meier, gonna googel em tonight. Thanks for the tip!
 
 

Grado RA-1 - will need a separate DAC/source though, but I'm assuming you may already have one, and if not there's plenty of inexpensive options out there.

Got the o2 + odac combo (where the dac is separated from the amp). Will i be able to run for example Lyr with the odac?
Have no direct requirenents on the dac. Will be standing beside my computer so it doesn't need to be portabel etc. 

 

[obobskivich]

If the ODAC is separate, where it takes USB in and provides RCA or TRS output, it can be used as a source for any of the amps mentioned here - be it the Schiit, Grado, Meier, etc just connect the line out from the ODAC to the input of the amp.

 

[Fiskus]

Been looking some more at the Lyr 2 you guys recommended. It really seems to have potential. Just a fast and maybe silly question, there won't be any problems driving the Grados (with there low impedance of 32 ohm?)? Like unwanted background noice or something like that. Also, they will not take any damage from the huge output?

 

[obobskivich]

Lyr 2 could destroy them with its output, along with your ears, however you'd have to crank it way way up to achieve that. I've not heard it myself, so I don't know about background noise or synergy (or lack thereof) or what-have-you, but in terms of its output specs, it has a stupid amount of power relative to what most dynamic cans use (and Schiit even says as much on their website). I'd still vote RA-1 here, and I'm guessing Schiit would vote Asgard or one of the smaller units, as opposed to Lyr with its ~6W output. :basshead:

 

[ProtegeManiac]

  Just a fast and maybe silly question, there won't be any problems driving the Grados (with there low impedance of 32 ohm?)? Like unwanted background noice or something like that.

 
It's not really the impedance that is the potential problem here but the sensitivity - Grados are already right up there with IEMs. Still, I haven't come across any reviews citing noise or excessive gain on the Lyr, so I suppose just keep it on low gain.
 

  Also, they will not take any damage from the huge output?

 
Your ear drums' threshold will be breached with a lot less dB that can be reached with a lot less power than the power required to push the drivers' diaphragm off the other bits of the suspension system. Other than that, at usable listening levels, the only thing that will damage a driver will be a short, or running a low frequency test tone too loud (ie your ears' perception of 10hz isn't the same as at 1000hz, so what you think isn't too loud at 10hz is waaaaaay too loud actually) too long.