[ClieOS]

Mmm ok
I try to change the Source
One greath Source whit Ware and detailded sound under 500 $ ?

 
Unfortunately $500 won't really give you to the top end level DAP, but X5II is still a very solid choice. If you need more power in the future, you can always get a E12A.

 

[simonecosta75]

X5 is greath but i need a gear for tidal streaming..
Under 500 used?

 

[golov17]

X5 is greath but i need a gear for tidal streaming..
Under 500 used?

http://www.echoboxaudio.com/explorer.aspx
http://echobox-audio.myshopify.com/products/explorer

 

[simonecosta75]

Nice ..
But the pioneer or the onkyo dp ?

 

[golov17]

Nice ..
But the pioneer or the onkyo dp ?

POWER

TEXAS INSTRUMENTS TPA6120A2 300MW/CHANNEL @ 32 OHMS, SNR 128DB inside Explorer DAP

 

[simonecosta75]

Wow .. but i want quality over quantity
I have a pair of audiotechnica m50x ..
Sony zx100 ? Fioo x7?
Thx

 

[golov17]

Wow .. but i want quality over quantity
I have a pair of audiotechnica m50x ..
Sony zx100 ? Fioo x7?
Thx

prices..

 

[sennheiserhd485]

ClieOS,

Would you happen to know how the OBJECTIVE2+ODAC REV B sounds when paired with HD600? I am wondering if the synergy is optimal there. I'm also wondering if the amp has enough power to cure HD600s slow and veiled nature.

 

[ClieOS]

  ClieOS,

Would you happen to know how the OBJECTIVE2+ODAC REV B sounds when paired with HD600? I am wondering if the synergy is optimal there. I'm also wondering if the amp has enough power to cure HD600s slow and veiled nature.

 
No idea.

 

[marcuscmy]

Anything with power components inside the same casing is capable of hissing due to electrical interference if not properly dealt with.

 

[Roen]

I'd also like to say, unless you're sure you like reference or neutral amps, getting an amp with slight sound colouring isn't the end of the world. In fact, you might actually like it.

I personally like reference DAC and reference Amp, because that lets me worry about coloring the sound with the speaker only, instead of the interaction of DAC + Amp + Speaker.

 

[eyal1983]

Did someone try the Liquid Spark?

 

[somshankar]

I am buying the Monolith M1060 from Monoprice. getting it from someone on head-fi. I am looking for a good headphone amp that best fits it. I am looking for a budget amp not exceeding 150$ . I use a Fiio x5 2nd gen for source. I mostly play FLAC,DSD on the player. It will be good if it can also run off laptop USB without external power. But if needs be i can adjust.

 

[kmhaynes]

I am buying the Monolith M1060 from Monoprice. getting it from someone on head-fi. I am looking for a good headphone amp that best fits it. I am looking for a budget amp not exceeding 150$ . I use a Fiio x5 2nd gen for source. I mostly play FLAC,DSD on the player. It will be good if it can also run off laptop USB without external power. But if needs be i can adjust.

I have the Liquid Spark. It has / needs a dedicated power source, but it is a very nice amp with just a hint of warmness. I run it out of my laptop headphone jack into the Liquid Spark RCA to my Grado RS2e. Plenty of power. I need to buy a USB to RCA adapter to see if I can bypass the headphone jack and get a fuller audio signal from the USB driver.

 

[Evshrug]

I’ve always been curious about the Liquid Spark, but I haven’t been able to try it yet. The benefit of externally powered amps is that they do usually have more power to supply to a wider range of headphones, so it continues to be useful even with harder to drive full-size headphones, but even so the dimensions of the Liquid Spark seem like they would be compact enough to go into a backpack and be a transportable amp, even if it isn’t fully portable like a battery powered amp.

Just so you know, with a digital output like USB and an analog input to your amp like RCA, an adapter like you mentioned will have a DAC built in-line with the cable. Nothing wrong with that! An Apple USB-C to 3.5mm dongle, Audioquest Dragonfly, Apogee Groove, and many many more options exist for you to choose at all price levels!

@somshankar the FiiO X5 itself should have an option to plug into a laptop and act as a portable DAC/amp, to get you started! And then when you’re near power, you can use the X5’s line-out mode instead of the headphone out so that the FiiO just acts as a DAC with a clean output to the amp of your choice.