[CADCAM]

[size=medium]OK I am looking for a SS amp and I think, hope, believe I’ve narrowed it down to 3 possibilities, the Asgard 2, Objective 2 or the Matrix M-Stage. I have Beyerdynamics DT880 600ohm, Sennheiser HD598 and Superlux 668’s. I do have a LD MKIII that I use with the Beyer’s now but would like to try them with SS if possible. I am looking for SQ first for critical but enjoyable listening and versatility (headphone choices) second. Listening to actual CD’s from an audio CD player, no computer/DAC involved at this time. Thank you![/size]

 

[PurpleAngel]

My O2 (Objective 2) amp drives my DT880 Premium 600-Ohm headphones and I guess it's the cheapest of the three amps you listed.

 

[CADCAM]

Quote:

My O2 (Objective 2) amp drives my DT880 Premium 600-Ohm headphones and I guess it's the cheapest of the three amps you listed.

How do you like the sound?

 

[CADCAM]

Hello?

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

How do you like the sound?

DT-880 Premium 600-Ohm sound?
Great, currently listening to Heavy Metal-Takin' a Ride.

 

[chrislangley4253]

I definitely suggest the O2. I have compared it directly to the Matrix M-Stage and honestly couldn't pick them apart from each-other... The M-Stage is much larger and more expensive, so I sold it off a long while ago. No regrets.

No experience with schiit products, so I cannot compare.

 

[picopa]

There are also other SS amps options that may interest you if you like diy amps. From cheap to expensive: for example Cavalli Kan Kumisa, M^3, Beta22 ...

 

[GaryPham]

I don't know if the gain in my O2 was just set too low or something by the person who built it, but I personally felt it was underpowered for my 600ohm 880s. With high gain on, the knob would have to be at 100 percent to reach slightly higher than normal listening volumes. The Magni however, was a powerhouse.

 

[chrislangley4253]

Quote:

I don't know if the gain in my O2 was just set too low or something by the person who built it, but I personally felt it was underpowered for my 600ohm 880s. With high gain on, the knob would have to be at 100 percent to reach slightly higher than normal listening volumes. The Magni however, was a powerhouse.

Sounds like the gain was probably dropped. You kind of should find that out before you post impressions about listening volumes... 

 

[GaryPham]

Quote:

Sounds like the gain was probably dropped. You kind of should find that out before you post impressions about listening volumes... 

 
Note taken.  Unfortunately I no longer own the O2 so I cannot test for sure, but I suspected that the gain setting was set lower than stock when built, as I understand the O2 should be able to drive HD650s and DT880s without too much problem.  Volume wise though, should the O2 be comparable to the Magni?  The only specs I can find on the O2 is that it outputs 613mw at 32 ohm, while the Magni outputs 1200 mw at 32ohm.  I don't know how they scale with higher impedance headphones, but doesn't this suggeset that the O2 will be considerably less powerful than the Magni/E9?  Again I'm not an expert so this is an honest question since my personal experience with the O2 made me feel that it wasn't powering my 600 ohm beyers sufficiently. 

 

[chrislangley4253]

Quote:

 
Note taken.  Unfortunately I no longer own the O2 so I cannot test for sure, but I suspected that the gain setting was set lower than stock when built, as I understand the O2 should be able to drive HD650s and DT880s without too much problem.  Volume wise though, should the O2 be comparable to the Magni?  The only specs I can find on the O2 is that it outputs 613mw at 32 ohm, while the Magni outputs 1200 mw at 32ohm.  I don't know how they scale with higher impedance headphones, but doesn't this suggeset that the O2 will be considerably less powerful than the Magni/E9?  Again I'm not an expert so this is an honest question since my personal experience with the O2 made me feel that it wasn't powering my 600 ohm beyers sufficiently. 

The O2 certainly drives HD650s excellently on unity(1x) gain for me. I am not sure how the magni/O2 compare. I see the difference in the specs, but I do not know how that translates to be honest. I have no experience with the Magni, or E9 or any Beyers.

Hopefully somebody else can better help you figure out if your unit had the gain dropped or not.

 

[CADCAM]

  I definitely suggest the O2. I have compared it directly to the Matrix M-Stage and honestly couldn't pick them apart from each-other... The M-Stage is much larger and more expensive, so I sold it off a long while ago. No regrets.

No experience with schiit products, so I cannot compare.

 
Just wanted to say I did purchase the O2 amp and am thoroughly impressed! I have critically listened to music now for many years, spent weeks comparing speaker, speaker cables and interconnects in my main system (straight 2 channel audio). I've been through many amps and preamps and have to say the people who say this little headphone amp sounds lifeless or non musical are mistaken. I don't know what they are using for headphones or source equipment but this amp sounds insanely good for the price. There is a complete absence of any background noise and I find the sound remarkably clean, clear and balanced. Thank you for suggesting such an audio bargain! 

 

[chrislangley4253]

   
Just wanted to say I did purchase the O2 amp and am thoroughly impressed! I have critically listened to music now for many years, spent weeks comparing speaker, speaker cables and interconnects in my main system (straight 2 channel audio). I've been through many amps and preamps and have to say the people who say this little headphone amp sounds lifeless or non musical are mistaken. I don't know what they are using for headphones or source equipment but this amp sounds insanely good for the price. There is a complete absence of any background noise and I find the sound remarkably clean, clear and balanced. Thank you for suggesting such an audio bargain! 

 
I am thrilled you are enjoying it so much CADCAM!

 

[SunshineReggae]

   
Just wanted to say I did purchase the O2 amp and am thoroughly impressed! I have critically listened to music now for many years, spent weeks comparing speaker, speaker cables and interconnects in my main system (straight 2 channel audio). I've been through many amps and preamps and have to say the people who say this little headphone amp sounds lifeless or non musical are mistaken. I don't know what they are using for headphones or source equipment but this amp sounds insanely good for the price. There is a complete absence of any background noise and I find the sound remarkably clean, clear and balanced. Thank you for suggesting such an audio bargain! 

 
Time to leave head fi and never come back . Enjoy!

 

[jh4db536]

I just built an objective 2 oda style (I'll try powering it with a sigma22 later). Agree that it is impressive and even more so given it costs just a little more than a mini 3 (mainly due to the larger enclosure). It will probably replace my current "for fun setup" which is a mini3+sigma11. There's no comparison...this "portable o2" has an onboard ac bipolar psu which puts it in desktop territory. For fifty bucks diy in stock configuration it's hard to beat and it's amazing what you can do with an extra 15 bucks and inches sq of pcb real estate. It will probably remain a worthy competitor in bang for buck.

Based on the reviews, I thought the o2 was going to sound like a Gilmore lite (i didn't like it), but it doesn't. I think it sounds more lively and less congested than I remember my GLite+dps even with a analytical source dac1. The glite imo was my definition of wire+gain and it remains.

I've been out of the hobby a while, built a balanced beta22 as a college student. Always had the itch to build an m3 so id have the entire amb catalog but the objective fight thread caught my interest and I thought it would be more fun to try a different school of thought...so I checked out the dark side.