TFox
New Head-Fier
- Joined
- Oct 29, 2008
- Posts
- 30
- Likes
- 0
Hi All,
I've seen tons of threads like this one, but since some of them are years old and hundreds of pages long, I figured I'd quickly list out what I want and see if there's one or two most appropriate based on what's currently available and popular. My work laptop's onboard sound sucks - I can hear interference from somewhere, and there's a crackle on the right channel, and my home computer's card is also poorly shielded and not very good.
Quick overview of what I'm looking for:
Must haves:
Strongly Preferred:
Icing on the cake:
This will be used both at work and at home.
At first glance, this Topping D2 at http://mp4nation.net/catalog/topping-d2-headphone-amplifier-usb-dac-with-4-inputs-p-509.html seems like it would fit the bill pretty well, but I don't know how it stacks up against other options. Based on my previous experience with Chinese audio components, I'll bet that this same item is available in nearly identical forms from several different sources.
I bought a small PMP from mp4nation a few years back, and while the experience was mostly positive, it really took a long time for my item to arrive, so retailer suggestions are also very welcome.
Thanks in advance for your suggestions!
-tfox
I've seen tons of threads like this one, but since some of them are years old and hundreds of pages long, I figured I'd quickly list out what I want and see if there's one or two most appropriate based on what's currently available and popular. My work laptop's onboard sound sucks - I can hear interference from somewhere, and there's a crackle on the right channel, and my home computer's card is also poorly shielded and not very good.
Quick overview of what I'm looking for:
Must haves:
- Desktop form factor
- Drives a 32-ohm load well - will be paired with Grado SR-225i
- Line-level output to run to my stereo's preamp or to my LD I+, if I ever get replacement tubes for it...
Strongly Preferred:
- 1/4" output jack
- Supports other impedances well, possibly with DIP switch settings?
- Support for 24-bit audio - not a total dealbreaker, but very important
Icing on the cake:
- Optical input as well, for when I'm at home
- Power supply not a wall wart - I hate this so much, why oh why do they still make them like this?
- Has a line-in as well
- Packs well / isn't excessively heavy
This will be used both at work and at home.
At first glance, this Topping D2 at http://mp4nation.net/catalog/topping-d2-headphone-amplifier-usb-dac-with-4-inputs-p-509.html seems like it would fit the bill pretty well, but I don't know how it stacks up against other options. Based on my previous experience with Chinese audio components, I'll bet that this same item is available in nearly identical forms from several different sources.
I bought a small PMP from mp4nation a few years back, and while the experience was mostly positive, it really took a long time for my item to arrive, so retailer suggestions are also very welcome.
Thanks in advance for your suggestions!
-tfox