stv014
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Jul 17, 2011
- Posts
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Quote:
More power does not equal better quality, unless it is necessary to avoid clipping. The O2 was designed to have enough power for almost every headphone, with the exception of a couple of extreme ones like the K1000 or HE-6, at any sane listening volume, but not more. The designer obviously viewed (and this is a view I share) the alleged benefits of vast amounts of unused extra headroom as an audiophile myth, just like all-discrete (or even tubed), single ended, class A, no feedback, or other exotic or outdated designs - such as the Asgard. Obviously, many do not agree with this, but then the lack of any other snake oil features makes the amplifier a non-starter for those anyway.
Excessively high maximum power output can also be a disadvantage, as evidenced by a number of people getting their expensive headphones damaged by faulty Schiit products.
Duh, I have heard and compared them of course. The fact that the Asgard can swing more voltage and pump out more current is already doing the O2 a lot of disfavor.
More power does not equal better quality, unless it is necessary to avoid clipping. The O2 was designed to have enough power for almost every headphone, with the exception of a couple of extreme ones like the K1000 or HE-6, at any sane listening volume, but not more. The designer obviously viewed (and this is a view I share) the alleged benefits of vast amounts of unused extra headroom as an audiophile myth, just like all-discrete (or even tubed), single ended, class A, no feedback, or other exotic or outdated designs - such as the Asgard. Obviously, many do not agree with this, but then the lack of any other snake oil features makes the amplifier a non-starter for those anyway.
Excessively high maximum power output can also be a disadvantage, as evidenced by a number of people getting their expensive headphones damaged by faulty Schiit products.