[kevitivity]

I need the help on where to start my search.
 
I'm looking for an affordable (~$200) headphone amp/DAC to use with my iPhone 6+.  It doesn't need to be portable as I plan to leave it on my nightstand. I would like to use the iPhone lightning as the output.
 
Amp/DAC Requirements:
- Powered from the wall (not my phone or a built in battery).
- Able to take digital signal from my phone's lightning port
 
Maybe I haven't been able to find anything because my budget is too low, but I know how overly inflated audio equipment is. In my searching I've seen people who will buy $80 USB cables! lol.

 

[buke9]

  I need the help on where to start my search.
 
I'm looking for an affordable (~$200) headphone amp/DAC to use with my iPhone 6+.  It doesn't need to be portable as I plan to leave it on my nightstand. I would like to use the iPhone lightning as the output.
 
Amp/DAC Requirements:
- Powered from the wall (not my phone or a built in battery).
- Able to take digital signal from my phone's lightning port
 
Maybe I haven't been able to find anything because my budget is too low, but I know how overly inflated audio equipment is. In my searching I've seen people who will buy $80 USB cables! lol.

Lots of conflicting things out there on by passing Iphone dac. From what I gather you can get a Lightning  to USB adapter that is for a camera connection that you would just plug into any DAC. Check out this link. Also I have seen $500 plus usd cables. Also from Schiit website there is this. Hope this helps.
Just looking for stuff and found this . Thought you might like it.

 

[kevitivity]

Thank you buke9

 

[kevitivity]

Deleted. Double post.

 

[kevitivity]

After some thought. I decided to stay with the iPhone 6+ DAC and just get a small amp for my nightstand.  I ended up going with the Schiit Audio Vali 2.

 

[buke9]

Schiit makes nice stuff. I have the big brother of the Vali a Valhalla 2. Good luck with it.

 

[fjrabon]

  Lots of conflicting things out there on by passing Iphone dac. From what I gather you can get a Lightning  to USB adapter that is for a camera connection that you would just plug into any DAC. Check out this link. Also I have seen $500 plus usd cables. Also from Schiit website there is this. Hope this helps.
Just looking for stuff and found this . Thought you might like it.

If the DAC draws power, you would also need a powered USB hub to use a DAC.  The iPhone won't allow any external devices that are USB bus powered.  

 

[buke9]

He is going to use the iPhone 6+'s dac( or in other words out of his phone) with a amp instead of a external DAC.

 

[fjrabon]

  He is going to use the iPhone 6+'s dac( or in other words out of his phone) with a amp instead of a external DAC.

right, just wanted to make clear up that the iPhone won't work with most DACs without a powered USB hub, in case somebody else is reading this.  I've seen more than a few people on here buy a DAC for use with their iPhone and get frustrated when they keep getting the "this device draws too much power" warning on their iPhone.

 

[buke9]

That is why I included the links.

 

[kevitivity]

After just a few nights with the Schiit Vali 2. I really like it!  It really brings my 80 ohm phones to life. I bought a cheap $10 mini stereo to RCA cable from Best Buy and that however sucks, lots of RF interference. I need to learn my lesson and always go to monoprice.
 
Thank you guys for your help.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

  I need the help on where to start my search.
 
I'm looking for an affordable (~$200) headphone amp/DAC to use with my iPhone 6+.  It doesn't need to be portable as I plan to leave it on my nightstand. I would like to use the iPhone lightning as the output.
 
Amp/DAC Requirements:
- Powered from the wall (not my phone or a built in battery).
- Able to take digital signal from my phone's lightning port
 
Maybe I haven't been able to find anything because my budget is too low, but I know how overly inflated audio equipment is. In my searching I've seen people who will buy $80 USB cables! lol.

 

The Pangea HP101 works on my Android (Note3), with both MediaMonkey and NeutronMusicPlayer, so if you have the latter on your iPhone it will likely work. Also, you can use the Lightning to USB-A female camera adapter hooked up to the sync dock, like how I do it with the third party dock below. $99 on Amazon. The DAC though is a little bright vs Ibasso D-Zero that I have, but that said that one's a bit warm for my taste.

 

Note: I originally posted elsewhere I was getting crackling noise, but recently got a new USB OTG cable, and even without an external power source for the HP101's DAC, the noise is gone.

 

[12many]

 
right, just wanted to make clear up that the iPhone won't work with most DACs without a powered USB hub, in case somebody else is reading this.  I've seen more than a few people on here buy a DAC for use with their iPhone and get frustrated when they keep getting the "this device draws too much power" warning on their iPhone.

This is good advice and good to keep in mind.   I iphone is not great in this way and some companies rely on the iphone to power the DAC (hello Schitt) instead of powering it from the wall.   There are work arounds but it requires more $ and cables but for a fixed option maybe that is ok.    One other option is a Airport express to stream music and use the optical output of the airport express into a dac with an optical output.    
 
Check out the Oppo portable dac/amp and the TEAC HA-P50 ($175) for portable options that connect directly to iphone.  The TEAC can be powered from a wall plug.  I have it and like it but a high end desktop unit will sound better. 

 

[karl521]

The Pangea HP101 works on my Android (Note3), with both MediaMonkey and NeutronMusicPlayer, so if you have the latter on your iPhone it will likely work. Also, you can use the Lightning to USB-A female camera adapter hooked up to the sync dock, like how I do it with the third party dock below. $99 on Amazon. The DAC though is a little bright vs Ibasso D-Zero that I have, but that said that one's a bit warm for my taste.

Note: I originally posted elsewhere I was getting crackling noise, but recently got a new USB OTG cable, and even without an external power source for the HP101's DAC, the noise is gone.

Nice HD 600s

 

[HotIce]

Here's one setup I use. Less than $150 for everything