[jesselussier]

Hi all,

First let me say this is a great site, my efficiency at work has plummeted and I've already spent more money than I have.

Ok, so now I'm looking for a new amp. This is what I need:

1. Needs enough power for a pair of 400 ohm headphones
2. Preferably would like a usb input and an internal DAC, cause my computer soundcard sucks.
3. Preferably would like an optical line in input
4. Portability would be great, but not absolutely necessary
5. Cheaper is better, and by "cheaper" I mean less expensive, but still good quality. If I have to pay over $300 I might need to wait until Christmas.

It seems like the ibasso might be a contender, but for some reason I can't access their website to check for power/price.

Corda also seems like a candidate, but again, when I'm on their website and I go to check the specs the page locks up.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

[penger]

The ibasso D1 is $229. And the Corda Move is $240.

 

[jesselussier]

Right, it looks like both sites are back up now. Well, it looks like the ibasso is for me. It seems like it's slightly higher regarded by the members here, at least from what I've read.

 

[Kees]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jesselussier /img/forum/go_quote.gif Right, it looks like both sites are back up now. Well, it looks like the ibasso is for me. It seems like it's slightly higher regarded by the members here, at least from what I've read.

One vote for Meier amps. They are of the highest quality.

 

[vcoheda]

when i think amp + dac, i think meier or headroom. i think you get more for your money with the former, but both are quality products with very good reputations.

 

[jesselussier]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kees /img/forum/go_quote.gif One vote for Meier amps. They are of the highest quality.

From what I've read the ibasso has a higher quality DAC chip, correct?

 

[Negatron]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jesselussier /img/forum/go_quote.gif From what I've read the ibasso has a higher quality DAC chip, correct?

Put top end Michelins on a Volkswagen and Coopers on a Porsche carrera. Which handles better?

 

[jesselussier]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Negatron /img/forum/go_quote.gif Put top end Michelins on a Volkswagen and Coopers on a Porsche carrera. Which handles better?

I don't want a car or a new set of tires, I want an amp for my headphones. But I guess the Porsche would handle better, right?

 

[Negatron]

Yeh, sometimes the design implimentation outdoes the chip. That's to say take the Amp as a whole, not just judge it on a chip. YMMV

 

[jesselussier]

OK, I gotcha. So you're saying that the Michelins are the better DAC chip and the Volkswagen is the ibasso, whereas the coopers are the crappier DAC chip and the Porsche is the Corda. Thanks for your input.

 

[Chris_Himself]

almost certain the move has the better amp, which is all you need really. a lot of head-fiers say that its worth 250 for the just the amplification stage, and itd STILL be a bargain.

 

[Dual]

With the D1 you can also roll opamps so you can tune the sound to your liking. If you must have optical input and you enjoy tinkering around with opamps then D1 is the way to go.

The Move is more simple and sounds awesome straight out of the box but is missing features that the D1 has such as optical input, rechargable internal battery and opamp rolling. Oh yeah, one thing the Move has over the D1 is crossfeed if your into the sort of thing.

Right now I only own the Move. I have the D1 coming soon so I should be able to do a better comparison in a week or so.

 

[trb36]

From what I have read, the Move sounds better if you use USB (which I will, so I will order one when I get the money).

But you need optical, so go with the D1. You get the optical, you can fully use the better DAC (USB is limited to 16bit/48k resampling), and you have the option to upgrade the opamps. You'll save a few bucks too.

EDIT: Skylab's review changes things. Seems the D1's DAC is significantly better than the Move's, even out of USB. Looks like I'll get the D1 instead.

 

[Chris_Himself]

the move can power almost anything when running off of USB though. the amp section also is unparalleled by anything except the reference