Setup: I bought THX 789 for the massive output of idk 6W/32ohms, but whenever I try to use my Sundara/Modhouse Argon/HD600/Arya V2/...whatever, I cannot reach decent listening levels in terms of db without getting this scratching/hissing noise in the background ... I think it's distortion. (DAC I use: Geshelli labs - J2, set to max volume) Settings: With an XLR output, gain setting level at 2/3 and the volume knob set to 2-4 o'clock, hearing distortion from a 250-350$ THX amp shouldn't be a thing, should it? With somewhat hard to drive headphones, I'm not reaching 70db, but I can already hear this godforsaken noise on all tracks without a constant stream of sound. If you dare to up the volume past 4 o'clock, or past 12 on gain setting 3/3, this noise becomes so loud, it might as well be an additional instrument Music: The tracks I usually listen to involve so few instruments, that you don't have a constant stream of sound. (e.g. Creep - Lena Hall) I'd love to get some feedback!...
Jun 5, 2024
Get the Schiit Stack and be done with it, or a Jotunheim. Then the headphone itself is by far the most important part of the chain. HD6XX is a great one to have. It's probably around the point of major diminishing returns, you can be perfectly happy with just that and the Stack as your endgame, and the whole thing will cost you under $500. I think it's closer to $400 actually.
If you want to color the sound, still get a DAC, the Schiit Modi is fine, and then get a tube amp, Bottlehead Crack with Speedball is a fantastic choice, and will cost you around $500 or so total. So around $800 total with these headphones for your end game.
Take for example from this spec sheet ( http://www.fiio.net/en/products/65/parameters ), if it stated power output as " ≥28 mW(300Ω / THD+N<1%) ", will this suffice?
The other interesting observation is the Balanced out power output of ≥26 mW(300Ω / THD+N<1%) but Output impedance at <3Ω (32Ω loaded) , is this worst off? This means more noise for higher sensitivity IEMs (with ideal being 1Ω), but won't affect lower sensitivity headphones like HD6XX?
Fulla 2 Specs from Schiit's Website: Maximum Power, 16 Ohms: 550mW RMS per channel Maximum Power, 32 ohms: 360mW RMS per channel Maximum Power, 50 ohms: 230mW RMS per channel Maximum Power, 300 ohms: 40mW RMS per channel