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FrancoisMcGill
3
Feb 21, 2019
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Hey guys. Best headphone amp for the 58X, bang-for-buck?
Bonus Qn (unlikely): have you heard of any which have built-in players from SD cards/USB sticks?
NeoTheLizard
108
Feb 22, 2019
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FrancoisMcGillPretty sure this depends on what you want out of your amp. For solid state, probably something like the Schiit Magni. At least, I almost only hear good things about price/performance on that.
Sound is supposedly bright on that one.
For hybrid tubes, probably something like a Little Dot 1+ or Loxjie p20.
Little Dot has a bit more modding potential, I think, but Loxjie has balanced XLR.
Sound is going to vary depending on which tubes you roll them with, and in the case of the Little Dot, which opamp.
For full on tubes, not sure. I suspect this area is more the ball park of the hd6xx's, so this is not something I looked into myself. I'm not sure how the hd58x's would take a pure tube amp, it might not work well.
FrancoisMcGill
3
Feb 23, 2019
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NeoTheLizardSuperb suggestions, Neo. I've read a bit about the Little Dot 1+ and Loxjie p20 before. Nice to have those considerations confirmed.
Twin mono block valve amps have given me the best sound I've owned (driving Mission 753s) but they kept blowing the tubes and/or power supply. That said, it always happened when pushing them fairly hard. And the sound was remarkably warm and delightful ...when they worked (which was about 30% of the time). I've gone with QUAD solid state since, but without the same joy level.
Never had an issue with my hybrid pre though. I suspect for a dedicated headphone amp, I'd go deaf before driving it hard enough to blow the tubes. Not that I've got any real basis for that suspicion, TBH.
Anyhoo. Thanks again man. Big appreciation for the well considered response.
adtrisno
34
Feb 26, 2019
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FrancoisMcGillI think my xDuoo TA-02 is nice. It is really similar to the Little Dot 1+. A HD58X is really easy to drive anyways that an amp isn't totally neccesary, unlike the HD6XX. Amps with 6J1 tubes are nice since they're pretty light on the wallet to play with. For a warm sound, Mullards NOS would cost you $25ish a pair. I've moved on to the TA-20 and it uses 12AU7 tubes. It's getting brutal. A non reissue Mullard NOS is gonna cost me $180+ a pair...
By the way, are we talking desktop amps or portables?
adtrisno
34
Feb 26, 2019
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FrancoisMcGillOh and for the bonus question, are you talking about a DAP with built in amps that play off SD cards? That would be a pretty standard DAP :P...
www.onkyousa.com/Products/model.php?m=DP-X1&class=Portable
www.xduoo.com/xduoo/En/ProductList.asp?SortID=1
www.xduoo.com/xduoo/En/ProductList.asp?SortID=1
FrancoisMcGill
3
Feb 27, 2019
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adtrisnoBoth very salient posts, adtrisno. I went for the 58X over the 6XX primarily because they are easier to drive on portable devices, so I may get a lot more use out of them. (Plus reviews say it delivers more bass - I'm yet to receive mine, so I'll be interested to hear that).
I've never owned a dedicated headphone amp, and would be keen to "feel" as well as great the difference. Especially because it's not a big dollar outlay.
My current thinking is exactly at "maybe I'd be better off with a DAP". I can use that at home just as easily as when traveling. So much simpler. And there are surprisingly impressive budget ones around. Here's one I'm considering - apparently it's drivers a lot in the bass department which others simply don't: https://headfonics.com/2018/08/hidizs-ap80-review/
If it had wifi, so I could use Tidal, Deezer, Spotify, internet radio and whatever may assist next, it'd be an easy buy-decision. It'd be a buy-now! decision if it also had a remote, so I could set up a one button "play music" Activity on my Harmony remote.
Now you know a little more of my thinking, any other thoughts/suggestions?
Really do appreciate your input, guys.
adtrisno
34
Feb 27, 2019
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FrancoisMcGillMy 58X has gotten maybe twice the mileage as my 6XX but that because I prefer a slight V-shaped sound for daily listening. Depends on the type of music you listen to really. I don't really put much emphasis on portability because both are open backs and 99% of the time I will just grab my 4.50 anyways for convenience sake. A 1 year old will do that to you :P...
I was looking at DAPs a while back that would do WiFi/Android. The Onkyo I posted earlier does this but is around $450. It has a Sabre 9018 and a Sabre 9601 amp. The less pricier option would be something like an LG V10 used, which around Indonesia, goes for $100-120ish mint/near mint used. That uses a Sabre 9018 and a Sabre 9602 amp. I have no idea how they sound since I haven't heard either but my Topping DX7s uses a Sabre 9038 as a DAC and that sounds good and people generally like Sabre DACs. The DAP you posted uses a Sabre 9218. Keep in mind Deezer on android doesn't do FLAC, only the desktop version. Spotify has no FLAC option altogether. Tidal isn't available here so I can't comment.
If it was your primary system, I'd still go desktop. It's just cheaper and more versatile. You can get an amp first or a DAC/amp combo, depending if you're thinking of upgrading. You can even play around with tubes. Depends on how much you travel I guess. Portability is always going to come with a cost...
FrancoisMcGill
3
Feb 27, 2019
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adtrisnoIn terms of players, there's nothing I've really seen that can shuffle play say 5,000 tracks from an SD card for a home system. Unless you're talking about a computer with an Audigy-type sound card. I've already got that, but it's clunky, and no remote. I could get aFlirc and program it, but it's a pain in the arse. Plus I'd still need to get a headphone amp. I could run out through the DAC in my HK CD player which produces amazing sound, but that's all pretty cumbersome. But it is doable, given that's it's very similar to how I listen to music at home generally.
Guess I'm attracted to the all-in-one option of a DAP for its simplicity as well as portability.
I've no problem spending money on something that I know is going to be exactly what I want. I'm looking at the budget options because it's experimental territory. There's many options which seem good on paper, but suddenly doesn't have a feature you'd desperately need. Like some devices will take a 250gb to 1TB card, but only recognise 1,000 tracks. Or will take 30,000 tracks, but doesn't have a search option. Or can play at "random", but only by album folder, or always in the same order.
It'd piss me off if I committed to "doing it properly" and something like the above annoyed me enough that I just wouldn't use it and resent the money I'd spent on it. Whereas if I spend $150-$200 and it had issues, I'm not going to be too upset about it.
adtrisno
34
Feb 27, 2019
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FrancoisMcGillA PC or a laptop. It's pretty intuitive to run Deezer Hi-Fi, Spotify, any mp3/aac/flac/ogg/whatever player and even DSD through Foobar if you wanted to. System wide EQs like Equalizer APO is free and really important depending on your gear. My iSine 10 without any EQ sounds like absolute garbage. You don't need a soundcard since you should be doing all your audio processing outside your PC through a DAC or a DAC/amp combo. It really depends on your space...
For $150-200, I'd stick with my PC and I'd check out a small DAC like a Topping DX10 or a Schiit Modi + xDuoo TA-02 or any 6J1 amp. Then you can check out if you feel that it makes enough of a difference. This way you can always upgrade if you want by getting a better DAC, probably not needed with a 58X, or a better amp, again probably not needed with a 58X. Good to have options though. Or you can always swap the PC for a laptop or a smartphone or a DAP, depending on how much portability. A smartphone or a DAP is never going to be as flexible or as good as a PC/laptop.
My setup is a laptop >USB> Topping DX7s >Balanced> xDuoo TA-20 or >RCA> xDuoo TA-02 > headphones. It's a pretty simple setup. I could move the setup if I was travelling somewhere but I can't like take it and move around the house with it though.
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