[Deolum]

I actually was considering a THX AAA 789, but I was also considering a Fiio A5 just so I don't spend too much. Is the power output the only thing that matters in an amp or are there other factors? For example, a $100 amp outputs more than a $500 but the $500 sounds better in every other regard? The A5's can drive the HD800s and Auras properly, but I feel like it will make my setup sound noisy and like a $100 setup and render my DAC's conversion useless. To put it another way: would connecting a Chord Qutest to a $100 amp make the setup sound like a cheap $100 setup too? How much does the amp affect the sound quality? What's the difference between a cheap and expensive amp? Is the only difference power output and output noise (the A5 has very low noise and pretty powerful)? Are all amps the same?



Yeah but my DAC/AMP is the same price as the mojo and iDSD BL, so the DAC part is great. I don't need a dac, just an amp. How do I try before I buy? I've never done that.

They look nice, but I heard the Auteurs are a bit warm. I'm looking for more reviews for the Clears.


IDK, but if they're more expensive that means they have better quality sound components? If a $2000 amp is not better than a $100 amp why would it be more expensive?


Sometimes I just wish to get a Hugo with focal utopias and get it over with. One can only dream...

I have a 4k amp and a 200 Amp. The difference is minor when comparing headphones that can easily be driven. In some aspects like sensitive IEMs the 200 Amp is even better. I heard 500 € and 1000 € Amps before that were worse than the 200 € amp.

Like i said the best headphone i have today is a HD600 for 300 €. I have 1500 € headphones here that are outperformed by my 100 € AKG 702.

Price means nothing in terms of soundquality in this field.

You ask why a 2k amp is more expensive than a 200 € amp then?

There are two possibilities

A) it offers more versatility like in my case a lot more power, tubes, ability to drive stax, xlr etc.

B) it's basically the same like the 200 € amp. People like you who only look at the price think it has to be better and buy a 200 € amp for 2000 €.

 

[Seledor]

I actually was considering a THX AAA 789, but I was also considering a Fiio A5 just so I don't spend too much. Is the power output the only thing that matters in an amp or are there other factors? For example, a $100 amp outputs more than a $500 but the $500 sounds better in every other regard? The A5's can drive the HD800s and Auras properly, but I feel like it will make my setup sound noisy and like a $100 setup and render my DAC's conversion useless. To put it another way: would connecting a Chord Qutest to a $100 amp make the setup sound like a cheap $100 setup too? How much does the amp affect the sound quality? What's the difference between a cheap and expensive amp? Is the only difference power output and output noise (the A5 has very low noise and pretty powerful)? Are all amps the same?

Yeah a inferior DAC will effect a higher quality Amp and vis versa. Theres far more to an amp than THD and power. I went from a THX SP200 amp to the RNHP and the difference was surprising. The RNHP was a more colorfull, full and detailed than the SP200. If your gonna upgrade to that price range i would get a Schiit Asgard 200$. Its punches above its price and sounds pretty great. lots of power too. I hear its a much better amp. And you could get a r2r DAC in it or plug your old dac into it. But wait till you get your headphone. you may not need to upgrade your amp/dac at all. I dont know much about your amp/dac. it sounds expensive

 

[theaudiologist1]

You need to try things if you are just going on price. If you want a clean amp to go with your setup gou with a 789 or 887. After that you really have to amps out for the headphones you want.

Which one's better 789 or 887?

 

[llysender]

Maybe this tuning questions might help:
Do you want to keep the same level of bass as the r70x? If no do you want to increase/decrease the bass?

Is the bass hits too dull/drawn out? Do you prefer full hits or sharp hits?

Is the damping of the treble ok or too dull? Do you want sparkler trebble?

Do you feel that the vocals are just nice? Or do you want the vocals more pronouced/recessed?



Personally as a upgrade the zmf ekion even though its a slight V would be my choice. Or if you don't mind going closed back the ATH-AWKT is my current endgame.
889 on paper is better but monolith themselves said that there is no audiable difference and the 889 was made for figure chasers.

 

[etroze86]

Which one's better 789 or 887?

I actually haven't ever heard a 789. Specs between them are minimally changed so I would assume they will be very similar in sound.

 

[descloud]

Is the power output the only thing that matters in an amp or are there other factors? For example, a $100 amp outputs more than a $500 but the $500 sounds better in every other regard?

It is not. The main objective factors you should look for in an amp are the THD+N, SINAD, SNR, Max VRMS and also power output at different impedance levels. What you perceive to sound better is where the subjective preference comes in. Amps that measure excellently will have minute differences, but whether those differences are noticeable is up to the person doing the comparison. More often than not, it is difficult to distinguish two excellent measuring amps on a blind test.

It has been proven that $100 amps can perform better than amps that cost multiple times that cost. If you wanted to understand more about how these objective measurements are conducted and what they mean, you can read more about it here: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...derstanding-digital-audio-measurements.10523/

The A5's can drive the HD800s and Auras properly, but I feel like it will make my setup sound noisy and like a $100 setup and render my DAC's conversion useless

You're making incorrect assumptions here. For one, the Fiio A5 (if I were correct in that model you're referring to), performs admirably for its form factor, as can be seen from its measurements here: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/.../fiio-a5-portable-headphone-amp-review.10468/

Unless you max out the volume levels of the A5 with your HD800, you will not be able to detect noise from the A5.

To put it another way: would connecting a Chord Qutest to a $100 amp make the setup sound like a cheap $100 setup too?

As long as I've been around in these forums, there is no such description as a 'cheap $100 setup', if you mean that such setups are garbage. There are $100 amps that have already shown to provide clean output up to ear-bleeding levels that any noise or distortion you hear is because of either your DAC, analogue source, or digital file used. Of course, this is not to say that there are sub $100 amps that are subpar in performance, because there are. But there are also subpar performing $500 and even $2000 amps.

How much does the amp affect the sound quality?

The amp can either output whatever your DAC outputs without colouration/distortion/noise, or it can introduce colouration/distortion/noise from the DAC output signal to your headphones.

What's the difference between a cheap and expensive amp?

The difference between cheap and expensive amp is mainly price, brand recognition, marketing, build quality, and probably features. Price is not always correlated to good performance.

Is the only difference power output and output noise (the A5 has very low noise and pretty powerful)?

No. I've answered that in your previous question and in my first answer above.

Are all amps the same?

Of course not. You can see the differences I've mentioned in my answers above.

IDK, but if they're more expensive that means they have better quality sound components? If a $2000 amp is not better than a $100 amp why would it be more expensive?

It does not. Higher price is not always correlated to better performance. I've addressed such questions above.

 

[theaudiologist1]

It is not. The main objective factors you should look for in an amp are the THD+N, SINAD, SNR, Max VRMS and also power output at different impedance levels. What you perceive to sound better is where the subjective preference comes in. Amps that measure excellently will have minute differences, but whether those differences are noticeable is up to the person doing the comparison. More often than not, it is difficult to distinguish two excellent measuring amps on a blind test.

It has been proven that $100 amps can perform better than amps that cost multiple times that cost. If you wanted to understand more about how these objective measurements are conducted and what they mean, you can read more about it here: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...derstanding-digital-audio-measurements.10523/



You're making incorrect assumptions here. For one, the Fiio A5 (if I were correct in that model you're referring to), performs admirably for its form factor, as can be seen from its measurements here: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/.../fiio-a5-portable-headphone-amp-review.10468/

Unless you max out the volume levels of the A5 with your HD800, you will not be able to detect noise from the A5.



As long as I've been around in these forums, there is no such description as a 'cheap $100 setup', if you mean that such setups are garbage. There are $100 amps that have already shown to provide clean output up to ear-bleeding levels that any noise or distortion you hear is because of either your DAC, analogue source, or digital file used. Of course, this is not to say that there are sub $100 amps that are subpar in performance, because there are. But there are also subpar performing $500 and even $2000 amps.



The amp can either output whatever your DAC outputs without colouration/distortion/noise, or it can introduce colouration/distortion/noise from the DAC output signal to your headphones.



The difference between cheap and expensive amp is mainly price, brand recognition, marketing, build quality, and probably features. Price is not always correlated to good performance.



No. I've answered that in your previous question and in my first answer above.



Of course not. You can see the differences I've mentioned in my answers above.



It does not. Higher price is not always correlated to better performance. I've addressed such questions above.

Thank you very much for the explanation. So am I good enough with the A5, and would you recommend it? And can it drive 600 ohms (just asking, don't have 600ohm cans).

 

[theaudiologist1]

The amp can either output whatever your DAC outputs without colouration/distortion/noise, or it can introduce colouration/distortion/noise from the DAC output signal to your headphones.

How can I tell of it's the former or latter? By the flat frequency response? The A5 has a very flat frequency.

Maybe this tuning questions might help:
Do you want to keep the same level of bass as the r70x? If no do you want to increase/decrease the bass?

Is the bass hits too dull/drawn out? Do you prefer full hits or sharp hits?

Is the damping of the treble ok or too dull? Do you want sparkler trebble?

Do you feel that the vocals are just nice? Or do you want the vocals more pronouced/recessed?



Personally as a upgrade the zmf ekion even though its a slight V would be my choice. Or if you don't mind going closed back the ATH-AWKT is my current endgame.
889 on paper is better but monolith themselves said that there is no audiable difference and the 889 was made for figure chasers.

Maybe make the bass a bit punchier, but it's still good. I have no other headphone in the tier of R70x so I can't compare much. The trebles and vocals are nice IMO. I'll check the ekion's.

 

[descloud]

Thank you very much for the explanation. So am I good enough with the A5, and would you recommend it? And can it drive 600 ohms (just asking, don't have 600ohm cans).

No worries! And yes I can recommend the A5, especially if you're using it as a portable DAC/AMP set. It can drive Beyerdynamic with 600 Ohms because they're relatively efficient. If you're usually stationary, you can get a desktop dac/amp set instead (something like the JDS Atom DAC/AMP or Schiit Modi 3/Heresy for example.

How can I tell of it's the former or latter? By the flat frequency response? The A5 has a very flat frequency.

Usually I refer to ASR's first two graphs of a DAC, the Sine Waveform graph and FFT graph. If the Sine wave (which is in the time domain) has a clean output at 1kHz, paired with the FFT graph avoiding jitter spikes that reach something like 90 dB. The linearity test (which you mentioned) is also another good indicator if what you're getting is a corresponding 1:1 conversion, but most DACs nowadays perform great on the linearity test that it's not as relevant as the first two I mentioned.

You can read more about how to read the graphs here: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...derstanding-digital-audio-measurements.10523/

 

[techboy]

I can bet a HD 600 with a Schiit Stack (Magni 3 + Modi Multibit) will beat his setup. Forget the the headphones, just get a proper DAC and amp.

If I were him, I would get the Ember with NOS TDA 1387 (find it as good as Mimby).

 

[theaudiologist1]

I can bet a HD 600 with a Schiit Stack (Magni 3 + Modi Multibit) will beat his setup. Forget the the headphones, just get a proper DAC and amp.

If I were him, I would get the Ember with NOS TDA 1387 (find it as good as Mimby).

Headphones are the most important part of the setup. I already have a good DAC and OK amp, and if I wind up getting a high impedance headphone then I will get a Fiio A5 or the Heresy.

 

[techboy]

Headphones are the most important part of the setup. I already have a good DAC and OK amp, and if I wind up getting a high impedance headphone then I will get a Fiio A5 or the Heresy.

You are too new to this hobby to make this comment.

You don’t have an OK DAC/AMP. I now have a USD 40 DAC that blew away a well reviewed and awarded USD 900 DAC/amp.

 

[llysender]

You are too new to this hobby to make this comment.

You don’t have an OK DAC/AMP. I now have a USD 40 DAC that blew away a well reviewed and awarded USD 900 DAC/amp.

Im pretty new to the source game myself. Currently have a sonata hd pro into caryin iha6 into r70x. Any recomended dacs?

 

[techboy]

Im pretty new to the source game myself. Currently have a sonata hd pro into caryin iha6 into r70x. Any recomended dacs?

I haven’t heard anything from your setup. So I have no clue what to suggest to you. But look at R2R/MB/Nos DACs, even super cheap ChiFi ones.

 

[Nostoi]

You're approaching this the wrong way with your focus on cost, and your current amp/dac is likely bottlenecking any headphones you use. My advice is simple - get a decent dac/amp combo like an RME or a Hugo and pair it with some Focal Clears. It'll give you everything you want.