Budget Headphone Amp/DAC

[mfny]

Hi all,

Looking for suggestions for a Amp/DAC for £100/$150 (or less)

The main device I plan on using it with (a HDMI audio splitter) has a basic as it is possible to get(read not great quality) output on a 3.5mm jack but does also have a digital optical output as an option .. so optical in would be something I would need.

Any suggestions ?

I am located in the UK for pricing/availably.

 

[pbui44]

Check this one out:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Nobsound-E...=1&keywords=aiyima+dac&qid=1613349510&sr=8-16

 

[mfny]

Check this one out:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Nobsound-E...=1&keywords=aiyima+dac&qid=1613349510&sr=8-16

This looks to be along the lines of what id be looking for thanks.

I note there is also a Q6, from the same company with a different brand on it that seems to offer significantly (?) better specs/features for £160 and I have £80 credit with amazon right now which would take that bellow my £100 budget "out of pocket" https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B087FZL...olid=2LCXZ164MJBSZ&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

Thoughts ?

 

[m-i-c-k-e-y]

There is a Loxjie D30 that is within your budjet:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/LOXJIE-Hea...ectronics&sprefix=ifi,electronics,186&sr=1-11

Review:

https://soundnews.net/sources/dacs/loxjie-d30-dac-review-jack-of-all-trades/

 

[pbui44]

This looks to be along the lines of what id be looking for thanks.

I note there is also a Q6, from the same company with a different brand on it that seems to offer significantly (?) better specs/features for £160 and I have £80 credit with amazon right now which would take that bellow my £100 budget "out of pocket" https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B087FZL...olid=2LCXZ164MJBSZ&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

Thoughts ?

The Loxjie P30 will work best.

 

[pbui44]

The Loxjie P30 has a more complex power supply, so it will very likely provide more power than both nobsound clones. Besides, I would have picked it in the first place, but your first budget was not met.

 

[Telin]

Hi all,

Looking for suggestions for a Amp/DAC for £100/$150 (or less)

The main device I plan on using it with (a HDMI audio splitter) has a basic as it is possible to get(read not great quality) output on a 3.5mm jack but does also have a digital optical output as an option .. so optical in would be something I would need.

Any suggestions ?

I am located in the UK for pricing/availably.

Loxjie P30 is a nice DAC but the headphone amp is kinda weak (110mW @ 32 ohms)
You never said what headphones you want to use with this setup.. make sure the D30 has enough juice for your cans before pulling the trigger.

 

[mfny]

Loxjie P30 is a nice DAC but the headphone amp is kinda weak (110mW @ 32 ohms)
You never said what headphones you want to use with this setup.. make sure the D30 has enough juice for your cans before pulling the trigger.

I have noted that people have said the amp may be the weak part of the D30.. this being the case would the Douk Q6 be better in this regard ? at least on paper ? as I can not find any reviews..

My current headphones are a pair of Samson SR850's and some Sennheiser HD25's. This may be subject to change in the medium term, however I would not intend on needing to drive anything to demanding as my budget would never allow me to go to crazy.

 

[mfny]

Looking at the specs 110mW@ 32ohm(D30) has much less power output then the 1000mW@32 ohm(Q6) right, i am not missing anything ?

 

[pbui44]

Looking at the specs 110mW@ 32ohm(D30) has much less power output then the 1000mW@32 ohm(Q6) right, i am not missing anything ?

The power rating on the Q6 is probably a typo, as that power rating would put it into any other price bracket.

 

[calvin8902]

Try check this: AIYIMA Tube T6 PRO or Suca Audio Tube T5c, both same product. Tube dac/amp with bluetooth, bass/treble tuning and preamp.

I bought T5c since 3 month ago. Don't look at the spec sheet, amp is powerful. Just turn volume knob nearly 11 o'clock my hifiman sundara goes very loud.

I think it is a good value at this price point it equip all those function and chipset: QCC3008+CM6642+NE5532P, USB 24Bit/192K. Blutooth 5.0 connection stable with my smartphone/laptop. Watching youtube sound no delay. The tube gives me the warm sounding and the most fun part is I can play with the bass/treble tuning when I feel bored with certain headphones.

Cons: It equips those cheapest potentiometers for all 3 volume knob. Headphone output only one 3.5mm, I hope can get 1 more 6.3mm output.

 

[mfny]

So I figure I should update this post with what I ended up buying.

Ended up going for an SMSL M100 MK II for DAC and a SP100 for headphone amp.

 

[Perepep]

So I figure I should update this post with what I ended up buying.

Ended up going for an SMSL M100 MK II for DAC and a SP100 for headphone amp.

Could you comment on your impressions of that combo, thank you.

 

[doctorstrobe]

I just got the SP100 tube amp and have used it with an smsl sanskrit 10th mk2 DAC and an ifi zen dac. The SP100 drives the Sundara with plenty of volume. There’s a slight amount of hiss but really only noticeable with iems. It’s my first tube amp so I can’t say how “tubey” it sounds…

One thing I just discovered is that while you can use the SP100 as a preamp to feed another amp, the signal DOES NOT go through the tube. I pulled the tube out and the signal still goes through…