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ThePope
17
Dec 28, 2016
This is my first set of high end headphones, and I am wondering what you guys are using to drive these bad boys with. I need to pick out a headphone amp, and to my understanding, I won't want a tube amp as they are better paired with higher impedance headphones. I've been looking at the Rega Ear (my Rega Brio-R will be passing the signal to my headphone amp and I have heard there is a bit of synergy between Rega products), the Schiit Asgard 2, or a Burson Soloist MK II. Does anyone have experience with these? Would they pair well with a 25 ohm headphone? Any additional recommendations? Thanks guys!
thebrassthief
146
Dec 28, 2016
ThePope You really don't even have to go as far as the Asgard 2 if you want something from Schiit. The Magni 2 would definitely be enough for the X00, or the Fulla 2 if you want a simple combo amp/dac. The Fiio E10K is also a cheap alternative for a combo amp/dac. There are only 25 ohm heahphones, you don't need metric tons power for them.
ThePope
17
Dec 28, 2016
thebrassthiefYeah I know, but I'll eventually have more headphones. I don't really want to upgrade every time I get a new pair... At this low of an impedance I know I don't really need the amp for help driving them, more so to bring out the details... would the Asgard be too much?
sirkuttin
145
Dec 29, 2016
ThePope I personally am planning on modding mine for removable cables and making a balanced cable. For this, I went with the Jotunheim with internal DAC. Great price for a fully balanced amplifier. Gives a lot of headroom for any other headphones or in ears you would ever use. The amp surely is overkill for these but I am excited for balanced operation. If balanced isn't important, i would go with magni 2U to still have lots of headroom for most headphones. If you need a DAC and can afford the modi2 multibit. go for it. I will probably upgrade to this dac eventually but so far I am really impressed with the internal dac.
ThePope
17
Dec 29, 2016
sirkuttinI don't know if I'll be modding my first pair :-S That sounds terrifying knowing that I just dropped a small mint on them.
sirkuttin
145
Dec 29, 2016
ThePopeHaha. I surely understand that. Still, the Jotunheim offers a normal 1/4" headphone jack and a balanced xlr headphone input. That plus it's ability to drive most iems and the most demanding headphones means you won't have to upgrade the amp or get more amps pretty much ever.
ThePope
17
Dec 29, 2016
sirkuttinYou've got my wheels turning. Earlier I was almost sold on the Burson Soloist SL which lacks features for the price. Im going to put more thought into the Jotunheim. Do you think that with such low impedance I will be hearing a bit of the noise floor?
thebrassthief
146
Dec 29, 2016
ThePopeIf you're going to buy an amp then you should also get a DAC, and I recommended some combos but if you want something bigger, or bigger and still combo'd, then Schiit still has some good options. The Magni/Modi stack is incredible, and if you buy both Uber versions then you could very well consider yourself set for life as far as amps/dacs go. The Magni 2 Uber has enough power to drive any headphone into oblivion. I'm not recommending the Asgard because I haven't used it, but also because you can get a non-Uber Schiit stack for $50 less and still have great value, or an Uber Shiit stack for $50 more and have amazing value. There is also the Jotunheim, which is a really amazing package, but not super worth it imo unless you really know if you're going to be using balanced cables. It's also $200 more than the Uber stack if you get the integrated DAC, which you should. I went through the dilemma myself and ultimately decided on the stack instead of the Jot because I don't use balanced cables now and I probably won't in the neat future.
On the non-Schiit side of things, you can also get something like the Audio-GD NFB-11. I haven't used it but for $325 and how people talk about it (and Audio-GD in general), it seems like an incredible package. And it's a combo amp/dac. But it's also shipping from China so shipping cost will be a little up there.
There are plenty of other options for amps and dacs, but if someone tells me that they don't have either then those are my first recommendations. I am also not a headphone doctor.
sirkuttin
145
Dec 29, 2016
ThePopeI am running it with 50ohm over ears and 16ohm in ears and haven't noticed noise yet. The in ears are not the most sensitive , but you get my point. Both are run on the low impedance setting on the amp and use about 1/3 of the volume pot for the 50ohm headphones.
sirkuttin
145
Dec 29, 2016
sirkuttinWell for some classical music I do have the volume pot a little over half and still no noise
DenonFanboy
825
Dec 29, 2016
ThePopeThe Asgard 2 is one of if not the best amp u could buy for the Fostex, plus it musters more then enough juice to power harder to drive headphones like the hd650.
jxliu
1261
Engineer
Dec 29, 2016
ThePopeYo, just wanted to caution against the Asgard 2 if you're planning on eventually using it with the Sennheiser HD 650 or HD 800. I have an Asgard 2 at the office and while it sounds great with my TH-X00 Mahogany, it does not sound good with my HD 650s or with HD 800s that I tested with.
ThePope
17
Dec 29, 2016
thebrassthiefHonestly I typically just use CD's, Vinyl, or a Chromecast as sources so I don't have much use for a DAC. I am seriously considering the Jotunheim and if I stick with it, I'll probably get the version with the DAC.
sirkuttin
145
Dec 29, 2016
ThePopeJust saw your last message about mostly using cds and vinyl. Now, if you already have decent preamps for the cd player and vinyl, the Jotunheim is still a good choice. It looks like you are already set on the preamp side of things. So without a DAC that is $400. If you feel like you will end up with some balanced headphones, this is a good deal.
It seems like getting the integrated DAC for you is not an ideal situation. you woudl be running cables from your main amp to the Jot. Then if you wanted to play music from your computer on your main speakers, you woudl have wires running back from the Jotunheim back to your main amp. Seems annoying. I would rather think you having a DAC hooked up to your speaker amp directly makes the most sense.
However, here is what I would have done if I had CDs and Vinyl. I would get the Jotunheim with the vinyl preamp inside and then I would get the modi 2 multibit. Hook up the cd player and pc to the modi and hookup the record player to the jotunheim.
ttrevs1
0
Jan 3, 2017
ThePopeI use mine with a little dot 1+ fantastic sound, and the tube rolling is fun
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