[subguy812]

Today is my second day with my desktop DAC/amp combo (T+A HA200) which I use also to drive my active speakers, and it makes both MAX and R8 sound dull and lifeless. I avoided going that path as I used to go on-site with my projects and used to be mobile (which I will not be doing at least until the end of the year), but knowing that something so capable awaits you at home... I would recommend anyone looking for the absolute best sound, to audition something stationary for what is possible. Then chasing the portable demons will become meaningless.

By the way, it is not a very powerful device, probably won't properly drive Susvara or Abyss 1266, so I didn't buy it for its power. It is the sound.

Again, power will do that. To each his own

 

[gLer]

I would think the ability to drive them from "any" source plays into this big time. Also as I said yesterday I don't think the majority of the people use high-end amps. 1) don't want to be tethered to a desktop 2) with the sound quality of today's mid-tier and top of the line daps it's unnecessary. 3) in most cases this only applies to specific headphones Again, that is your preference. There is a big misconception and most people think more power and more volume equates to better quality.

I think you misunderstood. By 'high end amps' I mean to say anything from $300 DAPs upwards, because let's face it, 99% of people use the IEMs that come with their phones, and us crazies who buy these super deluxe IEMs want something a little nicer to run them through. Like @twister6 says, most CA IEMs hiss before they're even connected to something, with defies logic. If you're designing a high-end IEM that can be powered off most sources, maybe a design goal would be not to make it so sensitive so that it hisses with anything OTHER than a phone?

Since only a select few IEMs hiss with some DAPs, I'm calling it a design flaw in the IEM, not the DAP. Maybe other companies should learn from the likes of 64 Audio and use technology that eliminates hiss and impedance sensitivity despite their IEMs generally being very low impedance to begin with.

 

[subguy812]

This is why I’m scared to go into desktop gear. I don’t want something that’s only available at home to make any portable setup sound poor. That’s why I like the Max, because at the end of the day it’s still portable.

God, I imagine desktop gear is a whole other rabbit hole, haha.

It is totally new rabbit hole. I already went down that path not into the desktop settings as the about me on my blog says, it's all about finding the best possible pairings out there available with all the iems that's what I enjoy there is no art in power.

To carry that thought one step further, it is my preference that I don't even really enjoy open back headphones that much, and yes I've had the privilege of doing some of the top of the line open-backs. For the most part, open backs serve no purpose outside of the home, the same as desktop gear. So I always shop for the best closed-backs available. We could argue whether that's ZMF or Focal or Denon, but it's just a preference. Call me picky, but even if I get up the refrigerator to refresh my cocktail I don't want to untether, I take my quality sounding music with me. I guess I just have too much energy to be stuck at a desk don't want to just enjoy my music in that environment. So whether I have 5K to 10K in my pocket or on my desktop doesn't really matter to me.

 

[gLer]

This is why I’m scared to go into desktop gear. I don’t want something that’s only available at home to make any portable setup sound poor. That’s why I like the Max, because at the end of the day it’s still portable.

God, I imagine desktop gear is a whole other rabbit hole, haha.

I started with the desktop. Now I'm busy figuring out how to make portable fit my world view.

PS. My 9W desktop amp doesn't make my IEMs hiss either (unless I have it set to stupid volume levels of course). It's not about power, but also how it's implemented and delivered.

 

[aaf evo]

I started with the desktop. Now I'm busy figuring out how to make portable fit my world view.

PS. My 9W desktop amp doesn't make my IEMs hiss either (unless I have it set to stupid volume levels of course). It's not about power, but also how it's implemented and delivered.

Yep, the Max and the FiiO M15 are both insanely powerful and neither of them were as noisy as the R8 to me. But I don’t have the M15 anymore to fully confirm that, but I never recalled background noise on it being an issue.

 

[gLer]

Today is my second day with my desktop DAC/amp combo (T+A HA200) which I use also to drive my active speakers, and it makes both MAX and R8 sound dull and lifeless. I avoided going that path as I used to go on-site with my projects and used to be mobile (which I will not be doing at least until the end of the year), but knowing that something so capable awaits you at home... I would recommend anyone looking for the absolute best sound, to audition something stationary for what is possible. Then chasing the portable demons will become meaningless.

By the way, it is not a very powerful device, probably won't properly drive Susvara or Abyss 1266, so I didn't buy it for its power. It is the sound.

I don't entirely agree. I think headphones and IEMs are as different as headphones and speakers. Each have their place. I wouldn't drive my IEMs with a desktop amp just as I wouldn't drive my speakers with a headphone amp. Two very different use cases. I started with the desktop but have moved almost exclusively to portable audio because I don't want to be tied down to one location for music (I now mostly listen in bed or on the couch). The more I got into portable and the higher end I went, the more I realised the top-tier IEMs have several advantages over my fairly high-end desktop rig: they outresolve it, have better spatial cues with multiple drivers, and require far less power for the same dynamics. To each his own, but I now prefer to listen to my IEMs even when I have the chance to sit at the desktop.

 

[arijitroy2]

Today is my second day with my desktop DAC/amp combo (T+A HA200) which I use also to drive my active speakers, and it makes both MAX and R8 sound dull and lifeless. I avoided going that path as I used to go on-site with my projects and used to be mobile (which I will not be doing at least until the end of the year), but knowing that something so capable awaits you at home... I would recommend anyone looking for the absolute best sound, to audition something stationary for what is possible. Then chasing the portable demons will become meaningless.

By the way, it is not a very powerful device, probably won't properly drive Susvara or Abyss 1266, so I didn't buy it for its power. It is the sound.

Wow that's not a cheap toy! At that price I would also love to consider Rupert Neve's Fidelice DAC/preamp! But that's for long term plan!

 

[twister6]

Today is my second day with my desktop DAC/amp combo (T+A HA200) which I use also to drive my active speakers, and it makes both MAX and R8 sound dull and lifeless. I avoided going that path as I used to go on-site with my projects and used to be mobile (which I will not be doing at least until the end of the year), but knowing that something so capable awaits you at home... I would recommend anyone looking for the absolute best sound, to audition something stationary for what is possible. Then chasing the portable demons will become meaningless.

By the way, it is not a very powerful device, probably won't properly drive Susvara or Abyss 1266, so I didn't buy it for its power. It is the sound.

5W of desktop performance in this battery powered Romi Audio BX2 portable amp (2.5/3.5/4.4 in and out). This guy is a "transparent" beast, thanks to @jmills8 for pointing it out to me And the scary part, it doesn't even hiss with Campfire. Though, way too much power for IEMs. BUT, R8 LO is adjustable, not fixed, so you can drop the pre-amp input volume down.

 

[jmills8]

5W of desktop performance in this battery powered Romi Audio BX2 portable amp (2.5/3.5/4.4 in and out). This guy is a "transparent" beast, thanks to @jmills8 for pointing it out to me And the scary part, it doesn't even hiss with Campfire. Though, way too much power for IEMs. BUT, R8 LO is adjustable, not fixed, so you can drop the pre-amp input volume down.

Nice set up.

 

[DarginMahkum]

I don't entirely agree. I think headphones and IEMs are as different as headphones and speakers. Each have their place. I wouldn't drive my IEMs with a desktop amp just as I wouldn't drive my speakers with a headphone amp. Two very different use cases. I started with the desktop but have moved almost exclusively to portable audio because I don't want to be tied down to one location for music (I now mostly listen in bed or on the couch). The more I got into portable and the higher end I went, the more I realised the top-tier IEMs have several advantages over my fairly high-end desktop rig: they outresolve it, have better spatial cues with multiple drivers, and require far less power for the same dynamics. To each his own, but I now prefer to listen to my IEMs even when I have the chance to sit at the desktop.

Maybe it is the difference of our listening habits. I have only one IEM which is custom (as I most of the time have fit issues with universal IEMs), one cable that came with it (and another very cheap balanced cable just to feel that I have a balanced cable), and I use most of the time full sized headphones. Anyway, the desktop amplifier I bought has adjustable output impedances ranging from 8 to 80 ohms! 8 ohms, which is even more than the average impedance of my only IEM. So I am not even considering using IEMs with it. I am normally at my desk 9-10 hours a day but sometimes even 12+ hours, and normally I do a lot of home office also before covid. On top, we listen to music also as a couple, so speakers + multiple outputs.

So it suits my case perfectly. In the light of these consequences, I felt that it is my duty to award myself this little wonder of a sound machine.

5W of desktop performance in this battery powered Romi Audio BX2 portable amp (2.5/3.5/4.4 in and out). This guy is a "transparent" beast, thanks to @jmills8 for pointing it out to me

Yes, @jmills8 recommended me that, too. So far I am very happy with his other recommendations and when I am mobile again I will probably (I also could not find it in EU) get it, but something with more common home usage would be more suitable for me at this point. HA200 is also incredible as a DAC, so I am very satisfied with my decision.

 

[subguy812]

Nice set up.

JMills for the assist

 

[arijitroy2]

5W of desktop performance in this battery powered Romi Audio BX2 portable amp (2.5/3.5/4.4 in and out). This guy is a "transparent" beast, thanks to @jmills8 for pointing it out to me And the scary part, it doesn't even hiss with Campfire. Though, way too much power for IEMs. BUT, R8 LO is adjustable, not fixed, so you can drop the pre-amp input volume down.

I will be pairing the Oriolus BA300S JP with the R8 to bring some warmth and lushness if required, I wonder how will that work out. It does amazing work with the DX220+AMP8EX!!

 

[DarginMahkum]

Again, power will do that. To each his own

Output power won't give you clarity. And I tried using DAP line out to HA200 and the difference is still big due to the DAC implemenation. Both have their place and I don't see one replacing the other. For me best streaming portable is R8, but I wouldn't compare it to anything that has such an incredible sound, that is made only for that without any concern of portability. And also the same goes for MAX - it sounds OK in its own world but that is where it ends.

 

[davidmolliere]

Not the same price either HA200

 

[kp297]

I've found the unbalanced output to be excellent, it's odd. Usually the balanced is the way to go all the time (eg DMP Z1), but the R8 seems to have delivered excellent sound quality on the unbalanced. To my very picky ear, near identical to balanced.

Balanced does deliver more power, but sound wise...not hearing any benefits. I don't think the 'balanced is better' thought applies to R8.

*The way I see it, the R8 is two devices. One mode is full size headphones only (balanced). The second mode is IEMs (unbalanced). I don't think there's an IEM on the market that needs more driving power on unbalanced (save for LCDi4).