[ThorSonic]

Hello All!

I have recently got into listening to music with headphones. My main system consists of Martin Logan's powered by Bryston amps using a Gustard X16 from my computer using the analogue bypass on a Lexicon processor.

I worked in the high-end audio business in the mid-90s and early 00s, but haven't really kept up on all the new technology.

I currently have a pair of Sundaras and an Topping E30 going to an old battery powered Grado R-A1 headphone amp.

I mainly listen to music through the headphones - from roots to rock - and I want an amp that will pair well with the E30 and the Sundaras.

I understand how important the right amp for the speakers/headphones is no matter how they measure into a static load.

I'm trying to keep the costs down starting out.

To give you an idea of my tastes, I hated almost everything out of a pair of Grado SR80es. The high-mid to treble destruction (much greater than simple distortion) was completely intolerable.

The Grado R-A1 is leaving me with a loose, wooly bass and cut in the high mid-range and a bit of upper range distortion. I like the sound of the Martin Logan's I have - which have absolutely no audible distortion in the treble.

What would you recommend to drive the Sundaras to tighten up the bass and clean up the treble?

 

[pbui44]

Check out the Schiit Magnius and get some XLR interconnects and Sundara XLR cable with the purchase of this amp:

https://www.schiit.com/products/magnius

https://www.amazon.com/Cable-Matter...ld=1&keywords=xlr+cable&qid=1616895468&sr=8-4

https://www.amazon.com/KK-Cable-Com...words=sundara+xlr+cable&qid=1616895511&sr=8-8

 

[silent-circuit]

They're not picky as far as amplification really. An L30 should do fine.

Check out the Schiit Magnius and get some XLR interconnects and Sundara XLR cable with the purchase of this amp:

https://www.schiit.com/products/magnius

https://www.amazon.com/Cable-Matter...ld=1&keywords=xlr+cable&qid=1616895468&sr=8-4

https://www.amazon.com/KK-Cable-Com...words=sundara+xlr+cable&qid=1616895511&sr=8-8

... The E30 is a SE DAC. Unless they get a new DAC, no need for XLR.

Edit: Didn't realize you meant replacement headphone cables. Does the Magnius drive balanced out with SE in?

 

[ProtegeManiac]

To give you an idea of my tastes, I hated almost everything out of a pair of Grado SR80es. The high-mid to treble destruction (much greater than simple distortion) was completely intolerable.

The Grado R-A1 is leaving me with a loose, wooly bass and cut in the high mid-range and a bit of upper range distortion. I like the sound of the Martin Logan's I have - which have absolutely no audible distortion in the treble.

What would you recommend to drive the Sundaras to tighten up the bass and clean up the treble?

Maybe the Meier Jazz FF.

 

[pbui44]

They're not picky as far as amplification really. An L30 should do fine.


... The E30 is a SE DAC. Unless they get a new DAC, no need for XLR.

Edit: Didn't realize you meant replacement headphone cables. Does the Magnius drive balanced out with SE in?

The Schiit Mjolnir 1 definitely did feed and XLR-out with SE-in, so the Magnius should as well.

 

[silent-circuit]

The Schiit Mjolnir 1 definitely did feed and XLR-out with SE-in, so the Magnius should as well.

Fair enough. I have a defect / issue with my Jotunheim and it's not properly passing SE input to balanced output. Probably just an issue with my unit specifically.

I did not mean to mislead.

 

[pbui44]

Fair enough. I have a defect / issue with my Jotunheim and it's not properly passing SE input to balanced output. Probably just an issue with my unit specifically.

I did not mean to mislead.

Well, the Mjolnir 1 was about a year old at that time, so components might degrade over time, which might be the case for you right Jot as well.

I feel the Magnius is the best cheap headphone amp right now because of both power/price ratio and it’s number of available configurations, which are (in-out) SE-SE and SE-XLR, as XLR-SE will very likely damage audio components. Yes, many people have stated that the Magnius’ SE section is rather lackluster in performance, but SE-XLR will work fine as well.

 

[ThorSonic]

Well, the Mjolnir 1 was about a year old at that time, so components might degrade over time, which might be the case for you right Jot as well.

I feel the Magnius is the best cheap headphone amp right now because of both power/price ratio and it’s number of available configurations, which are (in-out) SE-SE and SE-XLR, as XLR-SE will very likely damage audio components. Yes, many people have stated that the Magnius’ SE section is rather lackluster in performance, but SE-XLR will work fine as well.

I already have the adapters to go SE-XLR, but I would need to get another cable for the Sundaras. My worry with going with something like the Topping L30 is that it will be too harsh in the higher frequencies. I know people will howl that it measures perfectly flat, but I don't listen to test tones, I listen to music, and the relationship between a amplifier and a speaker is a dynamic process. To my knowledge no one has measured that yet except with their ears.

I've also contemplated sticking a tube buffer between the dac and an amp, but I don't think that will take me where I want to go.

I'll have to give a harder look at the Magnius. I didn't look at that initially because I didn't want to invest in balanced without a balanced dac, but if I can SE - XLR, this might be a good option.

Thanks!

Good ideas! Keep them coming!

 

[pbui44]

I already have the adapters to go SE-XLR, but I would need to get another cable for the Sundaras. My worry with going with something like the Topping L30 is that it will be too harsh in the higher frequencies. I know people will howl that it measures perfectly flat, but I don't listen to test tones, I listen to music, and the relationship between a amplifier and a speaker is a dynamic process. To my knowledge no one has measured that yet except with their ears.

I've also contemplated sticking a tube buffer between the dac and an amp, but I don't think that will take me where I want to go.

I'll have to give a harder look at the Magnius. I didn't look at that initially because I didn't want to invest in balanced without a balanced dac, but if I can SE - XLR, this might be a good option.

Thanks!

Good ideas! Keep them coming!

Send Schiit an e-mail about your situation and if the Magnius will work in SE-in-to-XLR-out configuration, as this company has evolved with product life-lines from year-to-year.

 

[pbui44]

Oh yeah, their e-mail is here:

https://www.schiit.com/contact

 

[PopZeus]

If it was me, I'd want something with a hardware bass boost for the Sundara, like the ifi Zen amp.

 

[ThorSonic]

Send Schiit an e-mail about your situation and if the Magnius will work in SE-in-to-XLR-out configuration, as this company has evolved with product life-lines from year-to-year.

I did a similar thing years ago when I wanted to bypass my HT processor and bi-amp my Martin Logans with an Audio Research D70 without removing the processors single ended connections to the Bryston amps. In my case, the Brystons have a switch to toggle between balanced and single-ended connections. Since my passive pre-amp was only single ended, as well as my source components, I had an adapter that allowed me to plug the RCA (single ended) into the balanced input on the amp and switch to that when I wanted to run the passive pre-amp.

The issue that you have when you do this is that you are floating the ground, which in my case was not a problem because everything was already very quiet, but more importantly is that I was not getting the 4 volt balanced output into the balanced input of the amp. You only get the 2 volts of a singled ended output.

This would make the Magnius under-perform and I wouldn't be getting the most out of the system. I don't see how they would not have the single ended and balanced input to output running separate paths, but I could be wrong. I don't see how they would deal with the ground and voltage issues.

I could be totally wrong on this, and I'll reach out to Schiit and see what they say.

Thanks!

 

[pbui44]

I did a similar thing years ago when I wanted to bypass my HT processor and bi-amp my Martin Logans with an Audio Research D70 without removing the processors single ended connections to the Bryston amps. In my case, the Brystons have a switch to toggle between balanced and single-ended connections. Since my passive pre-amp was only single ended, as well as my source components, I had an adapter that allowed me to plug the RCA (single ended) into the balanced input on the amp and switch to that when I wanted to run the passive pre-amp.

The issue that you have when you do this is that you are floating the ground, which in my case was not a problem because everything was already very quiet, but more importantly is that I was not getting the 4 volt balanced output into the balanced input of the amp. You only get the 2 volts of a singled ended output.

This would make the Magnius under-perform and I wouldn't be getting the most out of the system. I don't see how they would not have the single ended and balanced input to output running separate paths, but I could be wrong. I don't see how they would deal with the ground and voltage issues.

I could be totally wrong on this, and I'll reach out to Schiit and see what they say.

Thanks!

Well, you will have to be very careful with what types of units and sub-units you use in accordance with electrical approximations. With portable generators, miscalculations with voltage and wattage could mean that you could be left out with a lot of needed reserve power. Conversely, miscalculations with voltage and wattage could meant that you could be left with blown materials and dead components, much less stuff that could catch fire. When you ask questions, be as specific as possible and check your work.

 

[ThorSonic]

Well, you will have to be very careful with what types of units and sub-units you use in accordance with electrical approximations. With portable generators, miscalculations with voltage and wattage could mean that you could be left out with a lot of needed reserve power. Conversely, miscalculations with voltage and wattage could meant that you could be left with blown materials and dead components, much less stuff that could catch fire. When you ask questions, be as specific as possible and check your work.

Yes, very true. I asked Bryston before I did what I did to make sure it was OK. Every amp is different and I've blown up enough amps over the years to know that they all have their little quirks that end up costing me money!

 

[ThorSonic]

I did a similar thing years ago when I wanted to bypass my HT processor and bi-amp my Martin Logans with an Audio Research D70 without removing the processors single ended connections to the Bryston amps. In my case, the Brystons have a switch to toggle between balanced and single-ended connections. Since my passive pre-amp was only single ended, as well as my source components, I had an adapter that allowed me to plug the RCA (single ended) into the balanced input on the amp and switch to that when I wanted to run the passive pre-amp.

The issue that you have when you do this is that you are floating the ground, which in my case was not a problem because everything was already very quiet, but more importantly is that I was not getting the 4 volt balanced output into the balanced input of the amp. You only get the 2 volts of a singled ended output.

This would make the Magnius under-perform and I wouldn't be getting the most out of the system. I don't see how they would not have the single ended and balanced input to output running separate paths, but I could be wrong. I don't see how they would deal with the ground and voltage issues.

I could be totally wrong on this, and I'll reach out to Schiit and see what they say.

Thanks!

Now I can't wait to hear back from Schiit. I just noticed that the Topping A50s has a balanced headphone output, but only single ended inputs. The mysteries continue!