[sumitabhg]

Hi All,
 
I have recently upgraded my cans from Sennheiser HD558->HD650. My previous setup was E7+E9. I have decided to get a Schiit Asgard but not able to decide which dedicated DAC to go for (budget 150$). As portability is not compulsory I was thinking of getting a E10. Will E10 be enough to feed Asgard? 
 
Any suggestions appreciated.Thanks in advance.

 

[CSGO rice]

LOL
My set up which will come in a couple days is HD600 + asgard + e10.
I'll let you know how it sounds =)

 

[CSGO rice]

btw I plan on getting and Odac or something in the 100-250 range soon.
Main reason for the e10 is cause I study in the Library a lot and I want to bring my hd600 there plus to better drive my RE-0's.

 

[sumitabhg]

Quote:

LOL
My set up which will come in a couple days is HD600 + asgard + e10.
I'll let you know how it sounds =)

Waiting for your feedback. please let me know.

 

[PurpleAngel]

Schiit just came out with a new USB DAC, the Modi. $99
http://schiit.com/cart/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=0&products_id=14
http://www.head-fi.org/t/640774/this-schiit-is-bananas-99-schiit-magni-amp-and-99-modi-dac
 
Or if you want movie and gaming surround sound.
Asus Xonar DX or D1 sound card, comes with the CS4398 DAC chip.

 

[cssarrow]

Go with the Modi & Magni stack.

If you haven't read the review of the Schiit Asgard on sixmoons.com , you should.

They do fine with driving high impedance headphones, but won't do so well on orthodynamics. So if you ever plan on transitioning to orthos, you'll probably need another amp change.

just my two cents.

 

[sumitabhg]

Quote:

Schiit just came out with a new USB DAC, the Modi. $99
http://schiit.com/cart/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=0&products_id=14
http://www.head-fi.org/t/640774/this-schiit-is-bananas-99-schiit-magni-amp-and-99-modi-dac
 
Or if you want movie and gaming surround sound.
Asus Xonar DX or D1 sound card, comes with the CS4398 DAC chip.

 
Wow!! I ll wait for some reviews to come out then...

 

[wolfetan44]

Maybe a JDS Labs ODAC?

 

[sumitabhg]

Ordered a Schiit Magni

 

[wolfetan44]

Quote:

Ordered a Schiit Magni

Nice, man!

 

[steelle]

Quote:

Ordered a Schiit Magni

wait why did you order a Magni if you already got an Asgard? Or did you mean you got the Modi, not Magni? If thats the case I'm dying to know how you think, I have the 650 +asgard and I'm looking for a DAC. Going to get the ODAC or modi, not sure though yet...

 

[sumitabhg]

I was planning to get an Asgard, currently my setup is FLAC->foobar2000->E7/E9->HD650. I got an E10 recently and closely following Magni impressions on HD650 
and its definitely better and warmer than E9. So now I am gonna try E10->Magni(ordered) later I will get an DAC upgrade may be,  but E10 definitely improved the sound 
signature a lot.

 

[CanadianNoob]

Noobie Questions. The E10 is an amp/dac combo right?  When you use it in front of another amp do you end up amplifying twice?  Or does it somehow recognize there is an amplifier further down the chain?

 

[sumitabhg]

E10 provides you two outputs.
 
1. Headphone jack port which is in front of the unit and it is the amplified signal.
2. This is the line out port at the back side which gives you the analog signal without amplification.
 
It's your choice which output you wanna use depending upon your need, hope that clears your doubt

 

[CanadianNoob]

Thanks! I really appreciate it the quick answer!
 
I have a couple of other questions if you don't mind:

• Does the length of the USB cable make a big difference?  I have a set up where I would like to run a cable that is about 4m in length.
• I listen to mostly lossless CD rips.  The application I am looking for is to run from my laptop with will be on my desk over to my amplifier that sits in a cabinet a few meters away.  Am I likely to notice much of a sound quality difference between the E10 and an ODAC?
• Are there any budget friendly (sub $200) but relatively good quality (I know - quality is very subjective) DACs that take an optical input?  Depending on the answer to question 1, if I go optical I could stream digital signal using airplay to my airport express and then go optical to a DAC then into my amp.