[PointyFox]

Massdrop LCX + SDAC is pretty excellent. It has no problem driving my 200 Ohm Audeze LCD-4 and has a black background even with my super sensitive Campfire Andromeda. OI is <0.1 Ohms I think.

The Schiit Jotunheim is equally as good, but more expensive and you'll probably want an external DAC. I don't think the internal ones are too good on the Schiit products.

 

[mod853]

Have not heard a Aune myself so don’t know. I have not heard a Jot yet either been around one several times but didn’t have the time to listen to one. I’m not a big fan of a Schiit amps other than a Mjolnir 2 that one I do like but way over your budget . Not a Schiit hater as I own several other of their products like Yggdrasil,Freya,Mani and a Sys just not a fan of the amps. I have to say I haven’t heard any bad things about Aune so that is something.

What don't you like about schiit amps?

 

[mod853]

Massdrop LCX + SDAC is pretty excellent. It has no problem driving my 200 Ohm Audeze LCD-4 and has a black background even with my super sensitive Campfire Andromeda. OI is <0.1 Ohms I think.

The Schiit Jotunheim is equally as good, but more expensive and you'll probably want an external DAC. I don't think the internal ones are too good on the Schiit products.

Massdrop Liquid Carbon X + SDAC DAC/Amp would be like between 450 and 500 after shipping, toll and taxes.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

Features it needs:
Low output impedance, preferably less than 2ohm
Powerful, preferably over 1w at 8-16ohm and 32ohm

What do you guys think about aune? i could get either x1s or x7s for around 250$, otherwise i'm thinking about the asgard 2 from schiit. Or maybe it's worth it to save up and get the jotunheim with the dac upgrade for around 500.

X!S - does not conform with your requirements

X7S - You need to get balanced cables to get those numbers, switches over to Class B above a certain output level

Asgard2 - no need to by balanced cables, stays in Class A

 

[buke9]

What don't you like about schiit amps?

I just find them very bright sounding myself. Not too bad for the 650’s but not what I want for most others.

 

[mod853]

X!S - does not conform with your requirements


X7S - You need to get balanced cables to get those numbers, switches over to Class B above a certain output level


Asgard2 - no need to by balanced cables, stays in Class A

The x1s fills in the minimum requirements and i would get a good dac.
For the x7s i wouldn't need a balanced cable for it to push 1w
Asgard 2 i heard runs very hot and would cost me around 335$ as opposed to one of the aunes for 250$

 

[mod853]

I just find them very bright sounding myself. Not too bad for the 650’s but not what I want for most others.

Okay, Ill take that into consideration.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

The x1s fills in the minimum requirements and i would get a good dac.

Features it needs:
Low output impedance, preferably less than 2ohm
Powerful, preferably over 1w at 8-16ohm and 32ohm

You're gonna have to rephrase and be more specific than "preferably over 1W," because 560mW and 1000mW are very far apart. That almost double the power can mean nearly double the output in dB.

For the x7s i wouldn't need a balanced cable for it to push 1w

Ask and confirm with Aune because their power ratings state that for "RCA," which probably refers to using the RCA input but still using the XLR headphone output; while the 1700mW rating is when using XLR inputs with XLR outputs. Amps that have to convert SE to XLR can have different outputs when doing that vs taking a natively balanced signal.

Asgard 2 i heard runs very hot and would cost me around 335$ as opposed to one of the aunes for 250$

Asgard won't need balanced cables and as previously stated, that heat just comes from it running full Class A. Failures due to not being able to cope with operating temps are unheard of so that's not really a problem other than if you might have children or pets that might touch it.

 

[mod853]

You're gonna have to rephrase and be more specific than "preferably over 1W," because 560mW and 1000mW are very far apart. That almost double the power can mean nearly double the output in dB.

Ask and confirm with Aune because their power ratings state that for "RCA," which probably refers to using the RCA input but still using the XLR headphone output; while the 1700mW rating is when using XLR inputs with XLR outputs. Amps that have to convert SE to XLR can have different outputs when doing that vs taking a natively balanced signal.

Asgard won't need balanced cables and as previously stated, that heat just comes from it running full Class A. Failures due to not being able to cope with operating temps are unheard of so that's not really a problem other than if you might have children or pets that might touch it.

I wrote in a reply to this thread that the Verum 1 headphones, while they're only 12 ohm, the guy recommends 1w at 12ohm. ill update the first post. It's partly just me wanting to future proof myself as well. So i was thinking since the aune is the perfect price for me and it comes with a dac what ill probably never upgrade since it'll be good enough for me and in the future i could spend the same amount and be able to run balanced and at higher power. But i kinda want some input if aune is good or not, I've only heard a couple people talking about it.

quote from the Verum 1 guy: "I'd recommend any amp that can deliver 1w@12 ohm. But even 0,5W@12 ohm will be suitable."

When it comes to the Asgard 2 I'm thinking more about the power consumption and general heating the surroundings from running class A all the time, i'll be using it about 6-12 hours a day on a regular day.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

I wrote in a reply to this thread that the Verum 1 headphones, while they're only 12 ohm, the guy recommends 1w at 12ohm. ll update the first post. It's partly just me wanting to future proof myself as well. So i was thinking since the aune is the perfect price for me and it comes with a dac what ill probably never upgrade since it'll be good enough for me and in the future i could spend the same amount and be able to run balanced and at higher power. But i kinda want some input if aune is good or not, I've only heard a couple people talking about it.

quote from the Verum 1 guy: "I'd recommend any amp that can deliver 1w@12 ohm. But even 0,5W@12 ohm will be suitable."

1W at 32ohms doesn't even guarantee 1W at 16ohms/12ohms. Published power at the lowest frequency even on a current drive amp can drop below that frequency. It's not a linear progression that only goes one way on the curve. So in all likelihood getting 1000mW or 560mW at 32ohms, you're going to get less than that at 16ohms, unless the amp is rated for higher than that at 16ohms (like in the case of the Lyr). Which means this new information actually means you'd be even farther from your goal.

When it comes to the Asgard 2 I'm thinking more about the power consumption and general heating the surroundings from running class A all the time, i'll be using it about 6-12 hours a day on a regular day.

If you were in SEAsia, or India, or anywhere near the equator and you want to save on A/C power consumption, sure, that might be a problem. Might, because I'm using Class A gear here in Manila and that isn't my heat problem. I can use a Class A/B portable amp and yet my bigger problem is how circumaurals can make me sweat around the ears on a hot day, and even IEMs can make the ear canals uncomfortable.

In Sweden, not so much. Even in California I can comfortably use a tube headphone amp on my desk. As much as there are variances in heat tolerance, there's a wide range in temps between Sweden vs Manila and Southern California.

 

[mod853]

1W at 32ohms doesn't even guarantee 1W at 16ohms/12ohms. Published power at the lowest frequency even on a current drive amp can drop below that frequency. It's not a linear progression that only goes one way on the curve. So in all likelihood getting 1000mW or 560mW at 32ohms, you're going to get less than that at 16ohms, unless the amp is rated for higher than that at 16ohms (like in the case of the Lyr). Which means this new information actually means you'd be even farther from your goal.

If you were in SEAsia, or India, or anywhere near the equator and you want to save on A/C power consumption, sure, that might be a problem. Might, because I'm using Class A gear here in Manila and that isn't my heat problem. I can use a Class A/B portable amp and yet my bigger problem is how circumaurals can make me sweat around the ears on a hot day, and even IEMs can make the ear canals uncomfortable.

In Sweden, not so much. Even in California I can comfortably use a tube headphone amp on my desk. As much as there are variances in heat tolerance, there's a wide range in temps between Sweden vs Manila and Southern California.

I know that the power output at lower ohm can be lower, i've been searching for measurements for all amps i've been interested in but i can't find any for aune unfortunately. (I've found a review saying x1s amp does not work for those headphones)

The heat is more a problem in the summer, we have really bad cooling (no ac at all) and the air is totally still in the apartment if there's no wind. So it can get really really warm, i have no problem with wearing big leather earpads though just the ambient temp.

 

[mod853]

1W at 32ohms doesn't even guarantee 1W at 16ohms/12ohms. Published power at the lowest frequency even on a current drive amp can drop below that frequency. It's not a linear progression that only goes one way on the curve. So in all likelihood getting 1000mW or 560mW at 32ohms, you're going to get less than that at 16ohms, unless the amp is rated for higher than that at 16ohms (like in the case of the Lyr). Which means this new information actually means you'd be even farther from your goal.




If you were in SEAsia, or India, or anywhere near the equator and you want to save on A/C power consumption, sure, that might be a problem. Might, because I'm using Class A gear here in Manila and that isn't my heat problem. I can use a Class A/B portable amp and yet my bigger problem is how circumaurals can make me sweat around the ears on a hot day, and even IEMs can make the ear canals uncomfortable.

In Sweden, not so much. Even in California I can comfortably use a tube headphone amp on my desk. As much as there are variances in heat tolerance, there's a wide range in temps between Sweden vs Manila and Southern California.

Yeah and power consumption, i'm not sure how much it would draw, but since it's class a it means its on full consumtion all the time no? Electric bills are crap

 

[theveterans]

I just find them very bright sounding myself. Not too bad for the 650’s but not what I want for most others.

Asgard 2 isn't bright. I find it a bit laid back at the top end typical of Mosfet Class A design. Though I agree with you on their other amps, particularly Jotunheim and Lyr 3 due to their Pivot Point topology

 

[S3nsoryDeprivati0n]

X!S - does not conform with your requirements


X7S - You need to get balanced cables to get those numbers, switches over to Class B above a certain output level


Asgard2 - no need to by balanced cables, stays in Class A

What is the RZ rating?

 

[ProtegeManiac]

What is the RZ rating?

Impedance. 250mW at 300ohms, 1000mW at 32ohms, and so forth.