[sardonicus]

My budget is around 300$.
 
Thanks!

 

[cel4145]

Do you need a DAC? Or just an amp? What do you plan on plugging this up to?

 

[sardonicus]

Do you need a DAC? Or just an amp? What do you plan on plugging this up to?

Just the amp. I will connect it to a Little Dot DAC_I

 

[cel4145]

Well, you could get a Little Dot tube amp. Or the Schiit Magni 2 is a common choice.

 

[sardonicus]

Well, you could get a Little Dot tube amp. Or the Schiit Magni 2 is a common choice.

I was hoping to get a non-tube amp, hoping it wouldn't get as hot. Would it be worth it to get the Asgard 2 rather than the Magni? Also, how would the Matrix M-Stage compare?

 

[Two Ton Ted]

I pair an ifi ican micro with my K712's. Works very well for me and the Xbass is a useful feature when I occasionally listen to hip-hop. The 3D feature is effective too so there's plenty of ways to 'customise' the sound.

 

[cel4145]

I was hoping to get a non-tube amp, hoping it wouldn't get as hot. Would it be worth it to get the Asgard 2 rather than the Magni? Also, how would the Matrix M-Stage compare?

Asgard 2, Magni 2, M-Stage--any of those should have more than enough power to drive the K7XX. Which is better? I don't buy into subjective evaluations of amp/headphone synergy because it's too unreliable; I'm sure that they would all work quite well. However, I'm sure someone will tell you which they like better. If you go read around in the K7XX thread, you'll find plenty of discussion about which amps people like

 

[ProtegeManiac]

 
I was hoping to get a non-tube amp, hoping it wouldn't get as hot. Would it be worth it to get the Asgard 2 rather than the Magni? Also, how would the Matrix M-Stage compare?

 

The Asgard gets hotter than most tube amps since it runs completely in Class A; and with some tube amps at least the tubes sticking out helps them cool off a bit. The Asgard basically uses the entire chassis as a heatsink but it's not like the actual components that generate heat are all connected to the chassis like how you slap on thermal paste and then screw on a CPU cooler. If all you're worried about is longevity then don't worry about it, good ventilation on the amp is enough (if there's a heatwave you might want to point a fan at it); if you're worried about it adding to an already too warm room where you're already sweating, this amp can be a problem (but then again if I'm sweating I wouldn't use headphones to begin with, so if it's me I'd still get it despite the climate here).

 

[sardonicus]

Asgard 2, Magni 2, M-Stage--any of those should have more than enough power to drive the K7XX. Which is better? I don't buy into subjective evaluations of amp/headphone synergy because it's too unreliable; I'm sure that they would all work quite well. However, I'm sure someone will tell you which they like better. If you go read around in the K7XX thread, you'll find plenty of discussion about which amps people like

Thank you!

 

[sardonicus]

   

The Asgard gets hotter than most tube amps since it runs completely in Class A; and with some tube amps at least the tubes sticking out helps them cool off a bit. The Asgard basically uses the entire chassis as a heatsink but it's not like the actual components that generate heat are all connected to the chassis like how you slap on thermal paste and then screw on a CPU cooler. If all you're worried about is longevity then don't worry about it, good ventilation on the amp is enough (if there's a heatwave you might want to point a fan at it); if you're worried about it adding to an already too warm room where you're already sweating, this amp can be a problem (but then again if I'm sweating I wouldn't use headphones to begin with, so if it's me I'd still get it despite the climate here).

Wow, thanks for letting me know that. I was, in fact, worried about my already hot environment. If the non-tube amps get so hot, I might just stick to the tube amp that I actually already have, and hope autumn comes early this year. Thanks again!

 

[cel4145]

Wow, thanks for letting me know that. I was, in fact, worried about my already hot environment. If the non-tube amps get so hot, I might just stick to the tube amp that I actually already have, and hope autumn comes early this year. Thanks again!

It's Class A amps like the Asgard 2 that get hot. Plenty of other solid state amps run MUCH cooler. The Objective 2 amp I had ran WAY cooler than the Asgard 2. I don't think I even noticed it getting hot. My NFB-11 gets just a bit warm, but doesn't put anywhere near the heat of the Asgard 2. I would assume that the Magni 2 runs much cooler than the Asgard 2 as well (confirm that).

 

[sardonicus]

It's Class A amps like the Asgard 2 that get hot. Plenty of other solid state amps run MUCH cooler. The Objective 2 amp I had ran WAY cooler than the Asgard 2. I don't think I even noticed it getting hot. My NFB-11 gets just a bit warm, but doesn't put anywhere near the heat of the Asgard 2. I would assume that the Magni 2 runs much cooler than the Asgard 2 as well (confirm that).

Huh, that's interesting. What is this Class thing, and how do you know which amp is which?

 

[cel4145]

Huh, that's interesting. What is this Class thing, and how do you know which amp is which?

Solid state amps are often Class AB which don't stay on full blast constantly (I'm not the best to explain the engineering of it). You just have to research and find out which is which. But generally, people will note that an amp gets really warm if it's Class A so you could ask if it's that.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

 
Huh, that's interesting. What is this Class thing, and how do you know which amp is which?

 
It's in the specs. If it's a Class A amp it'll be in the product blurb before you even get to the specs table because Class A designs have less distortion in general. This kind of thing is all over Schiit's website, including the FAQ because a lot of people who have never really used audiophile gear before (like those high Class A bias Class A/B Rockford Fosgate amps dubbed "BBQ Grill" because the heatsink design looks like a stove top grill and actually gets hot enough to get jokes about cooking with them) were so shocked and alarmed by how hot to the touch the Asgard was (some owned Class A tube amps but I think it's obviously they didn't touch the tubes, but it's a lot more obvious not to do so since they're glowing and all).