[CareyPrice31]

I currently have the SR-71B as an amp.
 
Is this one of the best portable amps avail - what would be better?
 
Should I look at upgrading?
 
What is an afford DAC that I can get for it under $200 or perferably $150.. To be used with an iPod Classic

 

[CareyPrice31]

Bump - any advice?

 

[xanlamin]

Have you tried XM6? Or try MK III when it's out.

 

[AnakChan]

I don't think you're going to find any iDevice DAC for that budget (not portable at least). I don't know how others feel but for me I was actually disappointed by my SR-71B. I'm sure there's no fault but it just sounded dark to me. I actually prefer the Predator as an amp over the SR-71B.

Have you tried the Pico Slim? I personally think it's nice. Maybe harsh to others but not for me.

An alternative for you is to buy a used old iPod with the Wolfson DAC & diyMod it. With that budget you quoted, that's definitely doable. Then have that diyMod iPod with your SR-71B.

 

[xanlamin]

AnakChan, what cans are you using? I'm curious to know as I'm planning to buy the SR71B.

 

[CareyPrice31]

What if I moved my budget to $350ish.
 
Cant I connect my iPod to the XM6 then to the SR-71B?

 

[AnakChan]

@xanlamin, I have Ultrasone Ed8LEs, UM Merlins, and V-Moda M-80's.
 
@BNHabs, do you mean the Practical Devices XM6? Sorry cos I'm not so familiar with this but googling XM6 comes up with Practical Devices. If it's the same one, this is a USB DAC of which you won't be able to use with any of the iDevices in a properly supported manner. What I mean by this is that -possibly- you could use it with the iPad and it's CCK (Camera Connection Kit) adapter but it's not something that's officially supported and may change in the future. As far as I know, you can't use USB DACs with any other iDevices (i.e. iPod, Touch, iPhone, etc.). The CCK is only for the iPad and even then there's a 20mA limitation ever since iOS 4.2 and above. If you have iOS under 4.2 then you could use the iPad+CCK+USB DAC.

 

[CareyPrice31]

What if I wanted my set-up to just consist of a source + the SR-71B?
 
Is there any way to get a balanced connection from my source to the SR-71B?
 
I have balanced cables to connect to my headphones/IEM's

 

[AnakChan]

By source what do you mean? You mean your transport & DAC combined? I thought you have an iPod classic already?
 
There is a rather complicated way to get balanced into the SR-71B. you could use an iBasso DB2. It has a Hirose connector balanced out & I think you can find some cable makers who can convert the Hirose to a KobiConn connector (the balanced connector RSA uses). But the DB2 is a USB DAC too so if you want to use your iPod still, then you'll still need to have a CLAS or HP-P1. This starts to look big and expensive :-
 
iPod
Std iPod->USB cable ($??)
CLAS ($579) or HP-P1 ($617)
Coax or optical cable ($??)
iBasso DB2 ($300)
Hirose->KobiConn ($??)
RSA SR-71B
 
You can guess how big that stack's going to look already :-
 

 
Picture borrowed from http://www.head-fi.org/t/549750/cypher-labs-algorhythm-solo-discussion-and-impressions-thread/765#post_7843482