This amplifier is 25% off this weekend. Not as good as the previous deal, but if you missed out this is pretty good.
Don't forget to use the random referral link below to get $10 credit with Drop. That would take it down to ~AU$337 shipped.
DROP + THX AAA 789 Headphone Amplifier US$239 + US$15 Shipping (~A$350 Shipped) @ Drop
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Referee receives $10 on a new signup with referral link. Referrer receives $10 credit upon the Referee completing a purchase.
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If you have to ask, you're not the target audience.
that's a bit rough, maybe he will be part of the community if he finds out why he may need or want this.
because you don't know what the product is for?
Simply it is to give your headphones more power which makes it sound better clearer more defined
Thanks…
Any headphones?
I'm not the most knowledgeable on the subject but from what I know its for the headphones that need additional power to get the most out of it.
Your cheapie headphone most likely wont need it but any mid to high end headphones would see benefits.
Depends on your budget.
I’d suggest the open back cans of you don’t mind sound leaks. They’re great for sound staging.
Otherwise close back ones are still great
Not just more power, but with a cleaner signal that ramps voltage and current more responsively and evenly to minimise distortion and enhance harmonics of the driver (or add welcome harmonics to the signature, depending on the type of amp).
Been looking more into amps, and if the Schiit Asgard 3 were still $199 USD, it'd be an auto-buy over this.
Sadly, it's an extra $50 USD due to increased costs and a planned price increase on top of that, but even at around $400 AUD delivered from the US, I'd argue for it as being the better long term choice for most.
THX will be bring speedier, slightly more clear notes, but the Asgard has everything else going for it: timbre, soundstage, a touch of warmth, smoother presentation. The Asgard arguably has better class A-like performance (though neither are class A, it's overkill for headphones and runs hot), which is great for demanding high impedance headphones, such as the 6XX.
Where do people buy Schiit gear from? Is it the Schiit website in USA or is there a local distributor?
Schiit USA is typically the cheapest. It made my order $80 cheaper than addictedtoaudio
Shipping is an absolute killer though. I wanted to get a replacement power adapter for my stack (as my current one is broken) and they want 70-90 bucks to ship to me in Metro Melbourne.
A2A have the same unit for 40 bucks but don't know when theyre getting more in. Pretty annoyed tbh.
@Wally Simmonds: Shipping is a killer if you only want one <$200 AUD item. If you spend over $200 it's usually better.
Thanks
After some early hour research went all out and ordered a Schiit Lyr 3 with miltibit DAC.
~$200 cheaper than Addicted to audio, which is just shame. So ~$100 cheaper after import tax.
@myoda: If you can, I would probably cancel that order and buy a DAC separate to the Lyr as the combined implementation ruins the sound quality.
Plenty of great DACs around the $250 AUD level. Even the Schiit Modius - at roughly the same cost as the Lyr DAC upgrade - would sound better.
Khadas Tone:2 or the Soncoz LA-QXD1 would be my recommendations, especially during AliE or Amazon sales in November.
@jasswolf: I picked up an Asgard recently after buying the Modius. Very happy with the combo, and glad I didn't go with the Asgard with built in DAC - have heard similar things, that the DAC on board is pretty poor.
@wintermadness: Yeah, just the nature of an integrated DAC in the vast majority of cases, only exacerbated when it's shoe-horned into a desktop amp.
I wouldn't necessarily say that! A big component of amps in general is what they are being paired with. I have owned an Asgard and I would say its a stepping stone. I know its not in the same boat BUT it wasn't in the same leagues as my current SMSL SU9/SH9 stack when pushing higher end cans.
Which ones? Planars, or a DD that demands smooth voltage supply, like the HD 6XX?
I mean the new one may be better I had one of the original generations. Currently running 1990s and Hifiman Aryas though and the Aryas specifically require a really good clean signal.
Damn.. I just got the schiit stack….
Which ones
The modius and magnius stack.
I got the same. It should be better specd than this
From the reviews, the balanced output of the magnius looks as good as the THX, so no need for buyers remorse.
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/s…
This is cheap. Paid $100 more to bring one in last year. Was going to sell it because I have too many. Had one more listen to it and decided it's too good to get rid of. The power output is just fantastic.
It will make any headphones sound better, whether they are cheap or expensive.Personally I’m pretty happy with my Behringer UMC-HD.
It powers my 250 ohm DT 770 pro just fine, and as a benefit I can use it to play my bass.
It was a lot cheaper than these enthusiast products, and has 192khz output to boot.
Maybe it doesn’t sound quite as good, but it does sound damn good with its Midas pre-amps.
On a side note, how do these dedicated amp and/or DAC compare to AV receivers?
DAC & Amp should be all similar in spec and wattage?AV receivers generally have a cheap, crappy amplifier for the headphone output, so are no good for driving headphones. AV receivers are for amplifying speakers, not headphones.
This is speaking generally - the headphone output stage of most AV receivers is not as good as a dedicated headphone amp - they put all their design effort into the speaker output, and headphones out is basically a tickbox.
Sure you can pick up a second hand receiver off ebay for less than $50, but you may as well just use the headphone output of your laptop/pc or even one of the half-decent usb-c->3.5mm devices you can get for around the same price (e.g. https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/m…).
i.e. for a headphone setup, I'd skip the AVR and get something like a schiit stack, topping DX3 Pro+, topping EX5, or topping D10B+THX789
No, they are not like speaker amps. It's a silly amount of power for almost every headphone.
Secondly, there's DACs, headphone amps, and integrated headphone DAC/amps. This is a headphone amp, no DAC.
If you're wondering how your existing receiver performs as a headphone amp, that will come down to how that section of it is wired, the quality of the components, or alternatively how much you're willing to play around with wiring your headphones up into the speaker output terminals so it's safe.
If you opt for the latter, you'll be at risk of destroying the headphone when powering the amp on or off, at risk destroying it by sending too much voltage down the wire, you'll likely introduce a lot of noise, and you'll likely struggle to see benefits for high impedance headphones.
It's generally seen as a solution for low sensitivity planar headphones, or as a base for ribbon headphones, and a total non-starter for IEMs.
Thanks. So the engineering for dedicated amp/DAC is better than AV receivers because AVR focus on speaker output and the headphone output is subpar.
In the context of almost every headphone and earphone, that's 100% correct.
AV Receiver PHONES jack output surround as Dolby Headphone/DTS Headphone:X, HiFi DACs do not.
Very tempting but not sure when I'll get to use it …. must resist … must resist
Do Drop do deals for DACs?
Anything I should look out for to pair with this?
jv on 02/10/2021 - 00:54 Comment score below threshold.