[Epicfailman]

Hello, Between the two hybrids listed here, which would be more suitable for driving some ATH-AD700s? Fro my budget, hybrid seems to the the way to go and I have heard good things about both amps, but the LD I+ seems to have quite a bit more popularity. Whichever I get, I will roll new tubes for it. Matched 408As for the LD I+ and I am unsure for the Q-2. Any thoughts? Thanks!

Edit: Ohh, I mostly listen to rock and play rts or fps games on occasion. I am looking for a moderate bass boost but I am not willing to compromise the mids and highs, so those would take priority. I am also running this out of an ASUS D2X if that makes any difference.

 

[ddoingwell]

Have you thought about one of these? Running a computer suggests a DAC would be in order....

"HOTAUDIO DAC DESTROYER GOLD" USB HEADPHONE AMPLIFIER - eBay (item 260374362767 end time Mar-15-09 16:53:31 PDT)


Just an idea.

Cheers, Don

 

[Epicfailman]

I don't really understand what the point of converting my digital to analog though if I already have decent analog ports...of course, I don't understand that much about it, but it just doesn't make sense to me. What makes DACs so good? Wouldn't a tube amp give a better boost for the price? Keep in mind this is all about price/performance. I have only been a part of this community for a couple of weeks so I am new to all this.

 

[Wenglish]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Epicfailman /img/forum/go_quote.gif I don't really understand what the point of converting my digital to analog though if I already have decent analog ports...of course, I don't understand that much about it, but it just doesn't make sense to me. What makes DACs so good? Wouldn't a tube amp give a better boost for the price? Keep in mind this is all about price/performance. I have only been a part of this community for a couple of weeks so I am new to all this.

I don't have my Xonar to compare with anymore, but just how good do those analog ports sound?

I know this is a huge apples to oranges--forgive me--but the headphone out on my D630 is just awful. Tons of distortion all over the place aside from the internal noise.

If you can't hear any internal noise (buzzing/clicking when a hard drive spins up, etc) and you're happy with how your MP3s/FLACs sound (I wouldn't worry about the games) then an amp might help you more than a DAC. But any imperfections in the signal will be, well, amplified by the amp.

Thus, for example, amping the HP out on my D630 is a bad, bad idea.

My suggestion? Do both and damn your wallet

I got a dac before I got an amp and iirc, the AD700s really don't need an amp. Either way you'll be fine--and if you're unhappy you can probably sell the dac or amp for a minimal loss.

As for your original question, I'd opt for LD I+. I haven't heard either, but tube + opamp rolling, along with it's popularity point to good signs.

 

[Epicfailman]

Well, the ASUS D2X has pretty great analog outputs as far as PCs go, so maybe down the road I will get a DAC. But as of right now, it makes more sense to stick with the tube amp because it seems like my sounds gains would be much higher than with a DAC with the current setup I am running. Anyone else have any experience with DACs on the D2X?