[jpalenzuela]

Hi everyone!
I recieved my Grado SR80i's 4 months ago, these are my first pair of real HiFi headphones, Im loving the grado sound signature. Now I am planning to get a DAC/AMP combo to improve the sound experience. (I mostly listen to 16 bit FLACs)
This device has to be good enough to drive higher end headphones, I should be upgrading to SR325i, HD600 or MS2 in a couple years. My budget is 200$

The candidate list:
HifiMan EF2A
FiiO E10
iBasso D2 Boa
iBasso D42 Mamba
NuForce UDAC

I'm getting really interested into iBasso DAC/AMP's. I've been reading that they are the best devices for ~200$

I must emphazise that I'm searching for a device that has a great DAC section. DAC is more important than the amp section for me because grado headphones are really easy to drive.

Any help and recomendation is welcome!

 

[jpalenzuela]

Help!

 

[FlyingPigman]

Hey, have you considered the fiio e7? You can use it on the go as an amp, and at home you can plug it I to your computer as a DAC. its also only $70

 

[jpalenzuela]

Hey, have you considered the fiio e7? You can use it on the go as an amp, and at home you can plug it I to your computer as a DAC. its also only $70

I will consider that too, thanks by the way. Does that device has the same DAC than the E10?

 

[greenkiwi]

What about the Schiit stack?
 
Modi DAC - $99
 
and either
Magni HP Amp - $99
or
Vali Tube HP Amp - $119
 
http://schiit.com/products
 
Or the Geek Out... 
http://mustgeekout.com/

 

[jpalenzuela]

What about the Schiit stack?

Modi DAC - $99

and either
Magni HP Amp - $99
or
Vali Tube HP Amp - $119

http://schiit.com/products

Or the Geek Out... 
http://mustgeekout.com/

They seem to be nice. The only thing I don't like is that i have to stack them up so its not really portable. Do they have usb Port? Will these drive a HD600 or sr325i in the future? Have you try them?
Thanks by the way

 

[jpalenzuela]

Anyone here have tested the iBasso models?

 

[jpalenzuela]

Can I use the D42 with bigger phones? (Not just IEMs)

 

[greenkiwi]

I listened to my friends system with the magni and modi... looked very nice.  It seemed to drive his HD650s w/o trouble.

 

[jpalenzuela]

I listened to my friends system with the magni and modi... looked very nice.  It seemed to drive his HD650s w/o trouble.

I'm going for this. That schiit looks awesome for its price. Which will fit better on grados, Vali/Modi or Magni/Modi?

 

[jpalenzuela]

Just read that ibasso units have better quality. Can't decide between iBasso and Schiit

 

[Ari33]

A bit above your budget but the Audio DG 15.32 with dual Wolfson WM's to add a tint of warmth to your grados would be my choice.

 

[jpalenzuela]

A bit above your budget but the Audio DG 15.32 with dual Wolfson WM's to add a tint of warmth to your grados would be my choice.

The ibasso has dual wolfson chip too, that means that it adds warmth?

 

[jpalenzuela]

Magni or vali? I heard that tube amps are better for grados

 

[Ari33]

The ibasso has dual wolfson chip too, that means that it adds warmth?

It can depend on the particular implementation (I'm not familiar with the Ibasso you have in min) but generally speaking yes, Wolfson's are generally considered to be slightly warmer sounding and more 'musical' than most others... and usually better suited to analytical headphones like Grados if you feel some warmth would improve things for you.

Tube amps will usually add add even more warmth.

Don't rush into things, just keep reading reviews, try and discern what sound sig you'd like, what amps are best suited to your headphones and Sound sig preferences and choose something accordingly.

Good luck!