Recommend me a headphone AMP?

AMDPower

AMDPower

AMDPower

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24 Feb 2004
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Hi

I was wondering what others would recommend as a headphone amplifier used mainly for gaming and movies and some music. This amplifier is to work well with DT990pro(600ohm), Hifiman400, Sennheiser hd650, ultrasone 900 and for a possible future upgrade of audeze lcd-x.

I was looking at something from the Schiit line but don't really fancy spending £500 not right now anyway and wanted something in the £150 range if possible, I can squeeze a little more if required but only if its worth it.

I was thinking of buying either MAGNI 3 , FULLA2 or VALI2 for the life of I cant tell the difference between then as I am not an audiophile except that one comes with a DAC built in and one is tube amplified. I am assuming buying the dac separate is better idea. I also know that you can use the built in DAC on the sound card, he has a separate ASUS sound card so if its possible to use that temporary solution that might be preferred so I can use most of the money to buy a better AMP and DAC later time.

I am also open to suggestion

Thanks all
 
Schiit Magni 3, I think would be the best choice for that budget. Certainly that or the Vali 2.

As you have mentioned; the Vali 2 is a hybrid tube amp, which might be a better choice for the HD650's at least, because many people like the tube sound which compliments the HD650's very well. No idea how the tube sound will go with the other headphones mentioned though. Someone else will have to give some feedback on that.

Again as mentioned; the Fulla 2 is a DAC/headphone amp. It's a good DAC/amp combination, but doesn't have the power of the Magni or Vali. For the DT990 600 Ohm and the HD650's, it might not be the ideal choice. The Fulla 2, would be more an ideal choice for someone using a laptop, or maybe someone who doesn't need the extra power and uses headphones that are not overly demanding.

I think using a sound card as a DAC is a good idea until maybe a Modi 3 can be afforded.
 
Magni 3 would be what I would go for. Had one until recently and used it fine with those first three headphones you listed. Do use a tube amp now aswell and the HD6XX I have (exact same thing as HD650) and the combination sounds amazing. I do not have any plannar magnetic's but would read up how they work in regards to tube amps. Do not always play nice with one another.

Magni 3 is a solid little powerhouse that will work great with all those headphones listed for the price. Little schitt stack I had until recently consisting of the Magni 3 and Modi were absolutely steller for the price.
 
I'm probably going to upset a few people now..

I'm starting to think Schiit is more and more overrated the more I read about them. Poor assembly, poor measurement results (high jitter and distortion) etc etc. Bar Headfi (where schiit are a paying sponsor, and criticism has met with Admin disaproval) there is plenty of more "realistic" opinion out there.

My advice, read up and do a lot of research. For example a much cheaper Topping Dac out performs one of Schiits higher end. Some of Schiits dacs are also fairly low bit rate compared to others.

Edit - for clarity schiit can make some good performing kit. The modi 3 does get better tests /reviews. I'm just saying don't get hung up on the brand. There can be better (and sometimes cheaper) alternatives.

Edit 2 - on topic asr report the magni 3 as quite bright at the top end and more distortion present. I find asr quite good at non biased honest testing.
 
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I think you'll find that ASR are far from biased, they have been extremely anti-Schiit, even calling out their top of the line stuff, which really doesn't agree with what people are hearing for themselves. Marv from superbestaudiofriends debunked a whole chunk of ASR's results and if I recall, didn't find the Topping to be anything special compared with it's Schiit equivalents. Some people even believe the man behind it is none other than NwAvGuy, who is about as far from unbiased as it's possible to be.

I on the other hand am totally biased, I have a Modi Multibit and Magni 3 stack that powers my headphones (DT 1990, HD 650, HE 400i, MDR-1A) extremely well and am extremely happy with. :)
 
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rids57 said:
I think you'll find that ASR are far from biased, they have been extremely anti-Schiit, even calling out their top of the line stuff, which really doesn't agree with what people are hearing for themselves. Marv from superbestaudiofriends debunked a whole chunk of ASR's results and if I recall, didn't find the Topping to be anything special compared with it's Schiit equivalents. Some people even believe the man behind it is none other than NwAvGuy, who is about as far from unbiased as it's possible to be.

I on the other hand am totally biased, I have a Modi Multibit and Magni 3 stack that powers my headphones (DT 1990, HD 650, HE 400i, MDR-1A) extremely well and am extremely happy with. :)
Click to expand...
Their tests do indicate jitter and distortion on some of the high end stuff. Grounding issues on the casing of the jot too I think it was?

On the other hand they review the modi 3 with a positive outcome and recommend it. It's not just asr that have flagged poor build and test results.

But hey if it sounds good to you then great some of their stuff looks real nice, I'm just saying do a bit of research (finding unbiased views can be hard) because there can be better alternatives than just blindly following forum (buyer bias? :p) recommendations :)
 
I don't think Schitt is the end all period, more so once you start going above there mid range, plenty of competition, personally that new THX gear is interesting to me. But the basic Magni / modi stack is an awesome little combination. Never had any issues with assembly, very solid units, feel great and personally their industrial design is great.
 
I spent a lot of time reading and researching when I replaced my Asus Xonar STX. I didn't want to spend the earth and ended up with a Magni 3/Modi 2 Uber stack.

I looked at plenty of other options and was even aware of of the some of the negative / unfavourable test results. Bottom line overall was a positive steer towards the Schiit equipment. That being looks, build quality (which I think is excellent), performance, price, availability etc.

I'm very happy with the Modi 3. I wasn't blown away but I was already into diminishing returns coming from HD650s on the STX which is actually rather capable.
 
AMDPower said:
I was wondering what others would recommend as a headphone amplifier used mainly for gaming and movies and some music. This amplifier is to work well with DT990pro(600ohm), Hifiman400, Sennheiser hd650, ultrasone 900 and for a possible future upgrade of audeze lcd-x.


I also know that you can use the built in DAC on the sound card, he has a separate ASUS sound card so if its possible to use that temporary solution that might be preferred so I can use most of the money to buy a better AMP and DAC later time.
Click to expand...
While certainly not the easiest headphones, those are neither any record level demanding loads for output.
600 ohm DT990 needs some above typical voltage, especially if you aren't precise in staying inside hearing safe dBs. But it draws only little current and has only average power need.
(should be Edition/Premium, because haven't seen Pro-version with other than 250 ohm driver sold anywhere)
And while some earlier Hifimans needed almost as much power as small speakers, HE-400 has quite normal efficiency.
(now that's some really wonky square wave response in Ultrasone)


What's that sound card?
As for listening of stereo music that's really rather simple thing for modern tech if wanting nothing more than that signal converted to analog form.
This was really surprising considering that Realtek chip is at level of budget sound cards.
"I sank $2000 of my own money into the DAC2 HGC last December, so I subjectively wanted it to sound better than everything else. Tests have shown that it doesn't. I was surprised, but, having been personally involved in the evaluation and believing in the integrity of what we set up, I rationally accept the findings...
Using world-class headphones, a $2 Realtek integrated audio codec could not be reliably distinguished from the $2000 Benchmark DAC2 HGC in a four-device round-up. Again, all four devices sounded great."
https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/high-end-pc-audio,3733-19.html​

Especially when it comes to audio any medias in general heavily sponsored/dependant on advertising of tested type products can be said to have major conflicts of interest clouding absolute credibility.
Of course also scientific methods following blind testing is rarely done by them.
Otherwise psychological biases created by marketing and price stickers might go to "waste"...


And for gaming and movies with headphones you'll likely want also other features not given by just some DAC and amplifier:
We hear in 3D with two ears, because head causes direction dependant changes to signal received by both ears from sound source.
Those binaural cues can be simulated by mathematical algorithms when having surround sound (5.1/7.1) as input.
If listener's head shape is close enough to average and headphones are accurate enough, besides directionality that gives even feel of distances.

If signal doesn't have any of those spatial cues, like in case of speaker stereo mix, sounds will stay accurately positioned inside either left/right ear, or in center of head:
https://youtu.be/Y6ROujJ8Ae8?t=50s
Because brain simply doesn't know what else to do with those sounds.

First minute of this is excellent quick test for headphones:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1_20T8x_OI
(listen without any sound effects/processing, because those break binaural cues)
 
I use the Magni 3 for my Audeze LCD2-C and runs them very well. Was thinking on changing my Musical fidelity v90 dac for the Multibit but not sure if it will be much of an upgrade?
 
Just wanted to say thank you all for taking the time to write a reply and for the help. There is a lot of information that i have been trying to digest in your detailed replies so apologies for the late reply.

I know my budget is rather miniscule in terms of requiring anything audiophile but this purchase would rather be a introduction and reading online about these matters can be rather confusing as many have conflicting views on a similar product. I don't expect much from my budget and I have a feeling that I really need to buy and see if it meets my requirements and if not try something better.

I appreciate there my be better equipment out in a similar price bracket but I have to start somewhere.

I have decided to give the MAGNI 3 a try and see what happens, if its disappointing then i will try another product. There is so much out there it become hard to distinguish features that would skew my decision on competing products.
 
rids57 said:
I think you'll find that ASR are far from biased, they have been extremely anti-Schiit, even calling out their top of the line stuff, which really doesn't agree with what people are hearing for themselves. Marv from superbestaudiofriends debunked a whole chunk of ASR's results and if I recall, didn't find the Topping to be anything special compared with it's Schiit equivalents. Some people even believe the man behind it is none other than NwAvGuy, who is about as far from unbiased as it's possible to be.

I on the other hand am totally biased, I have a Modi Multibit and Magni 3 stack that powers my headphones (DT 1990, HD 650, HE 400i, MDR-1A) extremely well and am extremely happy with. :)
Click to expand...

By far the most biased pro-schiit forum I have ever seen. superbestaudiofriends is an awful embarrassing audiophile forum.

Magni 3 is by all accounts a good bit of kit. SMSL/Topping have some really nice kit as well.
 
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