Can someone please help decide on this vs Magni 3 for HD 6xx? Getting the headphones soon and the source will be mobo output from ASUS Maximus VIII Gene (which apparently already has a built-in amp, so not sure if a separate amp is even needed?)
SpaceballsI'd go for the Magni 3. Its only a few dollars more and has a lot more power. The output on your motherboard will not have enough power to drive 300 ohm headphones.
kxrider85This is not necessarily true. There are plenty of higher/mid end motherboards nowadays that have a powerful enough amplifier for up to 600 ohm headphones. Looking at the spec sheet for the one OP referenced, his Mobo should be able to power them fine. It might not sound 100% optimal, but it will be most of the way there.
@Spaceballs
SpecteThe specs show TI RC4580 dual op amp and claim 32-600Ohms, but I could not find any reviews of how well it works in real life with something like hd650 and it's hard to tell if O2/Magni will bring a noticeable improvement worth the money. I guess I will go with Magni 3, otherwise I will never know if the sound could have been much better :)
Spaceballs I just thought I would follow up in case it is helpful to someone out there making a similar choice. Love my new 6xx, but the motherboard drives them just fine and I do not notice a difference with Magni 3. Need to do more testing to decide whether I want to keep Magni but if I went back I would not get an amp because the Asus mobo that I have is sufficient for 6xx.
SpaceballsYeah gotta second this - I'm contemplating getting an amp for the 6xx but with an ROG Strix B450i mobo which has the same built in amp, I think I'm going to pass.