[hseldon]

I need a portable DAC/AMP to use with my Hifi-man 400i, Sennheiser 598 and Senn 650 (soon to buy).

I was advised to buy iFi Hip-dac Portable DAC Headphone Amp, but a few users say sound is warm and it doesn’t go well with headphones that have already warm sound signature like Senn 598,600,650.

Also, audiosciencereview found ifi models below mediocre , AFAIK this site is one of the most reputable ones. He gave very high points to Topping NX4 DSD. Which is a brand I don’t know much about. I don’t see much recommendation either.

I need something in the 100-150 usd budget. Which one would you prefer? Would you recommend any other DAC/AMP?

 

[bland125]

Hello! I own both the hip DAC and the HD58X and its a good match. The hip DAC is your usual iFi sound, on the warm side without overly doing it, I find it quite enjoyable and is easy to listen to for long periods. I use the 4.4mm on the hip DAC, the 3.5 is fine too.

I have a set of old murder treble IEMs from Beyerdynamics and they still want to murder me on the hip DAC, nothing will ever fix those it seems.

Take the ASR graphs with a grain of salt an trust your ears first and out of everything/anybody else. Your money, your taste, your choices.

They are both great products, get the one that has the functions you need the most.

 

[mono-type]

Dunno if you've already decided on what to buy since I just saw this now 2 weeks after you made this thread, but I'll still post here for the benefit of others who also are in a dilemma on what to buy.

Don't go for Topping NX4 DSD. Sound-, price-, and features-wise, it's great. Durability-wise and overall value for money, not so.

Bought it last year, and the micro-USB port for the DAC function didn't even lasted for a year; mine got broken after around 8 months. Such horrible build quality. Can't return it for warranty/repair yet due to the COVID-19 lockdown in my area, so that adds to my frustration.

While I don't have the ifi hip-dac yet (I ordered mine already, though. Waiting for it), with all the positive reviews I've read so far (and I've heard ifi products have better build quality (yes, emphasis on "heard", since I've yet to use any ifi product), save yourself from frustration and go for that instead. They are in the same price range after all, only the hip-dac is slightly a bit pricier.