Royal Amethyst
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Jan 5, 2012
- Posts
- 173
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- 18
So I recently dropped a couple hundred on a small low-to-mid end headphone collection, just so I can listen to, enjoy, and categorize different sound signatures, and I'm going to set up a sort of audio battlestation with my PC. Right now my PC has a Xonar Essence STX, which does have a good DAC and a powerful enough amp to drive what I'll be using with it. However, since I'm going to be working with around 6 headphones on this same machine, I kind of wanted to be able to set it up so I can unplug and plug in different headphone cables right from my desk rather than going behind my PC chassis every time.
Here's what it'll be driving:
Sennheiser HD 598
Sennheiser HD 518
beyerdynamic DT 770 PRO 250 Ohm
AKG K240
Superlux HD 681 (Just for funsies)
Now, I'm currently looking at a few options:
$70 - Fiio E10K - Should theoretically work fine, but will it really bring out all the best sound from the HD 598 and DT 770?
$89 - Schiit Fulla - Ditto with above
$119 - Schiit Magni 2 - I could just connect this amp to my STX and use the STX's perfectly fine DAC, though now we're getting a bit more expensive and possibly needlessly so.
$119 - Bravo Ocean - Ditto with above, plus tube amps might color the sound, which could be nice, but not for the objective purpose of this battlestation
$10 - Essence STX - Stick with the sound card and just invest in an extension cable up to my desk where the plugging will happen. Will need to make sure it's quality to ensure no distortion.
Now to be completely honest here, the reason that I'm looking into more powerful amps as well as the portable ones is that I also own Sennheiser HD 600 and beyerdynamic T1 headphones. Those are currently being driven by a Schiit Valhalla 2 and Modi 2 Uber setup, elsewhere. But I can't preclude the possibility that I'll want to bring in those heavy-hitters to play with this new battlestation for fun sometime, which is why the Magni 2 is looking good, despite my generally cautious, frugal nature.
My desired price is under $100, but as you can see, with good enough reasons I may fudge that line a bit. Please offer any and all opinions, thank you!
Here's what it'll be driving:
Sennheiser HD 598
Sennheiser HD 518
beyerdynamic DT 770 PRO 250 Ohm
AKG K240
Superlux HD 681 (Just for funsies)
Now, I'm currently looking at a few options:
$70 - Fiio E10K - Should theoretically work fine, but will it really bring out all the best sound from the HD 598 and DT 770?
$89 - Schiit Fulla - Ditto with above
$119 - Schiit Magni 2 - I could just connect this amp to my STX and use the STX's perfectly fine DAC, though now we're getting a bit more expensive and possibly needlessly so.
$119 - Bravo Ocean - Ditto with above, plus tube amps might color the sound, which could be nice, but not for the objective purpose of this battlestation
$10 - Essence STX - Stick with the sound card and just invest in an extension cable up to my desk where the plugging will happen. Will need to make sure it's quality to ensure no distortion.
Now to be completely honest here, the reason that I'm looking into more powerful amps as well as the portable ones is that I also own Sennheiser HD 600 and beyerdynamic T1 headphones. Those are currently being driven by a Schiit Valhalla 2 and Modi 2 Uber setup, elsewhere. But I can't preclude the possibility that I'll want to bring in those heavy-hitters to play with this new battlestation for fun sometime, which is why the Magni 2 is looking good, despite my generally cautious, frugal nature.
My desired price is under $100, but as you can see, with good enough reasons I may fudge that line a bit. Please offer any and all opinions, thank you!
The other issue is that the battlestation as I've been calling it is a testing PC for trying out Linux distros and Windows versions before upgrading my gaming PC. I have had some issues getting the Essence STX software and drivers working on all settings, so a plug'n'play USB dac/amp would be nice for that too.