I’m in a quandary! Help me decide?

Soldato
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I’m looking for a DAC/AMP combo to sit on my desk. Don’t mind if it’s a stack or a combined unit, I would like it to look nice. Spdif or USB is fine. 3.5mm or other line out for my wireless senny RS170s would be nice.

I have the Schiit stack sitting in my basket, but I’m also torn between several other units, most notably the Mayflower Electronics ARC. But I’m open to any suggestions, just can’t make a decision.

It will be driving momentum 2.0s and Shure SRH480s, but I plan on picking up some pricier / harder to drive cans in the future.

My budget is around £230 landed, which I appreciate is limited but I’ve just spent a fortune on my new setup and the wallet’s feeling the burn.

Cheers!
 
Soldato
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It will be driving momentum 2.0s and Shure SRH480s, but I plan on picking up some pricier / harder to drive cans in the future.
Now both of those are likely in ludicrously low power requirement category.
So some kind gain control would surely be good for headphone amp/output to have any reasonable volume control range.
 
Soldato
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Now both of those are likely in ludicrously low power requirement category.
So some kind gain control would surely be good for headphone amp/output to have any reasonable volume control range.

Yep they both are! Momentum’s are 18ohm, and I think the Shures are 44ohm?

I used to run these off my AV setup, but that’s had to be retired so they’re being rehomed at my desk. WhereI don’t have a lot of space for a DAC & Amp.

Have you got any suggestions? Need some guidance.
 
Soldato
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So! Took a punt on the Yulong Daart DAC/Amp. Doesn’t have a gain switch, so we’ll see what it’s like on these lower impedance cans.

I think the price was pretty good, and the reviews I can find seem to like it. Fingers crossed!
 
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The Yulong Daart won’t be getting here till January, so with the money I saved I ordered an ES100 Bluetooth receiver for about £85, I hear they’re quite good. That should not only tide me over until the Daart arrives, but prove very useful for on the go listening.

So that’s me sorted for a little while. Thanks chaps.

If anyone has any experience with the ES100 I’d be interested to hear about it.
 
Associate
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Ive got the Magni 3 which is great for the money. The stack will do you good for the price performance you cannot go wrong the magni will drive your harder to drive cans also. Thing is you can always upgrade the Amp at anytime. The modi Multibit is a very good DAC. DAC AMP combo's are not always that great. Thing is with Schiit you can always go up a step when funds permit and there style is very desk friendly. PC audio is a fairly big thing now with the likes of tidal exc. (Tidal HiFi Master) which is only chrome browser or desktop app which i use is great for FLAC is really good. My HTPC desk in the bedroom is not very big so Schiit Audio is perfect for me a lot of Dacs and Amps can be very big rather long or to wide and not really desk friendly
 
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Soldato
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Ive got the Magni 3 which is great for the money. The stack will do you good for the price performance you cannot go wrong the magni will drive your harder to drive cans also. Thing is you can always upgrade the Amp at anytime. The modi Multibit is a very good DAC. DAC AMP combo's are not always that great. Thing is with Schiit you can always go up a step when funds permit and there style is very desk friendly. PC audio is a fairly big thing now with the likes of tidal exc. (Tidal HiFi Master) which is only chrome browser or desktop app which i use is great for FLAC is really good. My HTPC desk in the bedroom is not very big so Schiit Audio is perfect for me a lot of Dacs and Amps can be very big rather long or to wide and not really desk friendly

That’s for the input mate! The Yulong Daart Canary I’ve ordered can be used as a DAC, Amp, or DAC/AMP, so it offers some of the same versatility as the Schiit. While the Daart seems to be well regarded, I’m starting to question my decision.

What I really like about the Schiit is the look, and how compact it is. The midi and magni are really lovely, and I can’t seem to find a bad word about them.

By contrast, there’s a lot less info on the Daart. What I’ve found suggests its more powerful, and very clean for a combined DAC/Amp. It also details for about £15 more than the Schiit stack, and seeing it was on special (£95 off!), I couldn’t really say no.

Time will tell I guess.
 
Soldato
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PC audio is a fairly big thing now with the likes of tidal exc. (Tidal HiFi Master) which is only chrome browser or desktop app which i use is great for FLAC is really good.

I didn’t give this enough credence before. Is this a streaming service? You mention FLAC, can you download these and play them on your mobile device?

Sorry for the questions fella :D
 
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Soldato
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Yeah, Tital is a service like Spotify, but offers lossless music. There is a Tidal app for Android and iOS.

After a quick look, it seems nicknack is referring to master quality audio which Tidal offer a service for; I guess which can only be accessed via PC.
 
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