[Magnetophon]

Over the past two years, I've been amassing a Hi-Res collection of classical music (primarily from https://www.prestoclassical.co.uk/, in FLAC format). They are currently enjoyed mostly on my Windows PC, through an ASUS Xonar Essence STX sound card and headphone amp, and a Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro (250 Ohms).

As I've found myself listening to more and more pieces lately, I think it would be much more enjoyable to get away from the PC to avoid distractions, so I'm looking at putting together a Hi-Res setup in a different room, for headphone listening only.

So far, I've settled on the Beyerdynamic A2 Headphone Amp and a Beyerdynamic DT 1770 Pro (also at 250 Ohms) - you can tell, I'm a "Made in Germany" fan.

What I can't decide on, is how to feed it my FLAC audio properly. High-end component systems are out of the question due to their size and setup required (hi-fi rack, etc). I've started looking at portable players (Sony, A&K, Onkyo, Pioneer) and the number of features and choices have me confused.

And this is where I come to this community for assistance. What would you recommend in terms of a hi-res player setup? If you have something else in mind that will work harmoniously together and does not involve my Beyerdynamic selections, I'd be happy to hear that as well.

My goal is to keep the entire setup under $2,500.

 

[buke9]

Most any of the portable players will do what you want. Most of the players will do 24 bit music as well as DSD. Most of the Android based ones will also stream .

 

[Magnetophon]

Thanks, buke9.

What primarily confuses me is the following:

Let's take the A&K unit as an example... it has a balanced and regular jack. They are both supposed to be amplified to an extent. If I were to run an adapter from the balanced jack to two male RCAs (assuming such a thing exists) on the A2 Headphone Amp, would there be any potential/expected issues?

 

[buke9]

Thanks, buke9.

What primarily confuses me is the following:

Let's take the A&K unit as an example... it has a balanced and regular jack. They are both supposed to be amplified to an extent. If I were to run an adapter from the balanced jack to two male RCAs (assuming such a thing exists) on the A2 Headphone Amp, would there be any potential/expected issues?

The balanced jack is 2.5 mm for a reason so you want do what you want to do.

 

[buke9]

Going balanced to single ended Would probably kill the AK. You can go the other way around as in a balanced headphone into a single ended connection on a amp with no problem. Balanced connections have their grounds separate and most single ended use the same . Most players have a a line out setting and that is usually on the 3.5mm connector and some even have optical out on the 3.5mm connector also.

 

[Magnetophon]

I was thinking more along the lines of getting each channel from the 4 pole connector on a separate Male RCA cable. So, for example R+ and R- on the Red RCA and L+ and L- on the White RCA... Though now that you explain it that way, I'd be scared to even try it on a $700+ portable unit. I'll have to do my due diligence on their features. Any one unit in particular that you like or have had experience with?

 

[buke9]

I understood what you wanted to do but like I said single ended amps are going to have their grounds connected to each side for the most part so you would be shorting it out and that is always a bad thing. On a balanced amp that probably would be fine but it would have XLR connectors or some monitor amps have TRS as balanced. I have only owned two daps myself a Fiio X1 and Questyle QP1R and by far the QP1R is my favorite. Runs most of my full-size headphones with ease but if your using higher impedance headphones it won’t run them all that well as my HD-6xx’s are fine but would rather hear them on something else. It is just a straight player as it doesn’t do WiFi Bluetooth but does sound awesome. I think A&K is a bit overpriced for me and really liked the Onkyo DP X1. Forgot I also have a Echobox Explorer which is also nice but flipped out on me on the operating system so it is going back for repair.

 

[squee116]

Why not run an optical cable from PC, to DAC, to Amp, and use a remote to change songs? Or do you mean in a completely separate room for the PC? Do you have a laptop? Tablet? Literally any of these devices could save you a huge headache here.

 

[Magnetophon]

Completely separate room. PC is in the home office, and I'm building a relaxation/listening area in the bedroom. The problem with Laptops and Tablets is that they don't have optical out. In the case of a laptop, specifically, I would need to get a USB DAC as well, which I was sort of, kind of, trying to avoid.

 

[squee116]

A laptop->Chord Mojo/ifi (micro or nano)/etc->headphones would be a possibility as well.

If you're set on the DAP, I love the Aune M1s, and it has a line out, but navigation through any of these DAPs is inherently more difficult than PC. I've had good luck with Fiio units in the past.

 

[mbritt]

I’m going to suggest you check out Roon as a database/streamer on your PC then setting up a wireless roon endpoint wherever you want. Roon is an amazing player that really connects you to the music and it plays and streams tons of file formats and resolutions. Then use any dac/amp you want in your listening room with a tablet or phone as your remote.

Roon has a trial period then it’s $500 lifetime or $119 yearly. Try it on your computer as a server player with a tablet remote (preferable). Then if you like the software and interface get an endpoint like the Auralc Aires Mini (also $500). Now you have $1500 left for a great DAC/Amp that will pair nicely with your Beyerdynamic headphones.

 

[NDArcher]

+1 for Roon
Look at Hugo2 which is Roon ready
PC to Hugo2 to headphone

 

[Magnetophon]

Some good suggestions here. I'm really trying to avoid having to use a PC or NAS server. I came across this which could be perfect, had Neil Young not pulled the plug on it. I'm zeroing in on the Onkyo DAP - especially as I've seen a reviews noting that the tracks can be sorted or grouped by "Composer", which is important (to me) when it comes to Classical music.

I'll come back and post my final equipment list here when I've finalized all the pieces.