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1-2k option to stream, decode and properly drive Meze Empyrean

Rémi

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Hello,

I am new here, thank you all in advance for sharing advise or redirecting me to another topic if I am at the wrong place! Also, it is been only two years since I’ve entered the audiophile/hifi world, so please forgive me if you see any non-sense thoughts here.


I am looking for a 1-2k $ option to stream, decode and properly drive a pair of new coming Meze Empyrean, but with a few constraints :

  1. The smaller, the better, I intend to move this setup from a room to another.
  2. Tidal Connect and/or Roon readiness. My only audio source is streaming. So a Wifi connected device is absolutely mandatory.
  3. Loss less from the source to headphones, forget about bluetooth. MQA full decoding appreciated.
  4. I cannot afford a Naim Atom HE.
  5. Shanling EM5 is (IMO) a total disaster in terms of user interface, built-in android, and is not even impressive in terms of sound, especially in the mid-range. I am bringing it back to my local retailer after a week of testing.
  6. Shipping to canda.
  7. I wish not to play with a chromecast nor a Rasp.

About the sound, I like natural yet detailed and warm signatures. I think I am more on the ‘naturalistic’ side than an analytical listener. My home stereo set-up is a Hegel H90, sourced by either vinyl (Rega P3 into Moon audio phono preamp) or ifi zen stream via tidal / Roon into B&W 603 AE. I really enjoy the atmosphere, detailed and natural sounding from this set up and somehow wish to get that type of musicality with my coming Empy.


Here is a list of a few tracks on which I usually judge the hardware sound rendering and which quite well represent my music taste spectrum for now :


  1. Pink Floyd, Shine on you crazy diamond
  2. Mike Oldfield, Tubular bells
  3. Harmonium, Comme un fou
  4. Rush, La Villa Strangiato
  5. Emancipator, Time for space
  6. Chick Corea & Hiromi, Duet/ Spain

I have been looking at A LOT (I lost myself several times) of DAC/amp reviews, and so far here are the options I am considering :

Streamer source + DAC : Matrix audio mini i3 pro. From what I’ve been able to find online, it is quite the only option for my streaming requirements. Any other suggestion? I think the price (around 1k) is a little to high especially since it needs a stacked amp to properly give credit to the Empyrean.

Amplifier : Here is my problem, I feel like I am attracted by tube amp (which btw, I’ve never heard from) warmth, but yet natural and detailed. And tube amplifiers are not meant to drive planars, are they? Does this also apply to the Empyrean? So far, I have considered :
  • Cayin HA-1A MK2,
  • Monolith Liquid Platinum
  • Tor Roger (however, I’ve read it cannot really drive the Meze)
  • On the solid-state side of things, Drop THX AAA 789 or any comparable alternative?

Any perfect fit? :D Of course, an all-in-one device such would be much appreciated but I doubt it exists in my price range.
Apologies for this long trend introduction and for my rough English.
Cheers


Remi
 

charleski

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Streamer source + DAC : Matrix audio mini i3 pro. From what I’ve been able to find online, it is quite the only option for my streaming requirements. Any other suggestion? I think the price (around 1k) is a little to high especially since it needs a stacked amp to properly give credit to the Empyrean.
Where did you get this from? Amir measured the Matrix as putting put 2.3W into 33ohms, more than enough for the 31ohm Empyrean, which doesn't need that much power anyway. If you want a high-quality single-box non-Pi solution this seems the perfect choice. For the vast majority of headphones adding an amp to the Matrix is just spending money for the sake of it.
 
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Rémi

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Where did you get this from? Amir measured the Matrix as putting put 2.3W into 33ohms, more than enough for the 31ohm Empyrean, which doesn't need that much power anyway. If you want a high-quality single-box non-Pi solution this seems the perfect choice. For the vast majority of headphones adding an amp to the Matrix is just spending money for the sake of it.
Im a not saying it does not drive it, but I am wondering if Matrix does it well enough, not in terms of impedance but 'musically' speaking. As Empyrean are not 'the vast majority' of headphones and are appreciated for their natural sounding; is the Matrix mini i3 pro amp section a good fit in that regard?
Two sources (links below) tend to answer yes to that, especially when using balanced out, but still with mentioning that Matrix as a pre-amp coupled with a stacked warmer amp does a better job.


I also wonder what would best fit above mentioned needs between Matrix Mini i3 pro and Matrix Element-I? and if MiniDSP SHD could be an alternative?
 

charleski

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Both the links you cite contain perfect examples of people stuck in the delusion that throwing more money at their gear will yield mystical results. You won't find much support for that sort of magical wibble here.

Tube amps achieve 'warmth' by rolling off the top end and adding some distortion through the midrange, you can do the same thing better by using EQ. I have a tube headphone amp that I sometimes use if I feel like hearing something different, but it's not as good as my main sold-state system (though frankly the differences are pretty subtle).

The Mini i-3 won't be enough to power really insensitive headphones like the Susvara, but for everything else it's fine. the Element-I would fit your needs as well, but has less power (though still enough). The SHD would need an amp and is really aimed at a those using speakers and wanting Dirac room compensation.
 

ZolaIII

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See if HiBy R3Pro (CS43131) fits your needs and bill and if you still can find one. Try the software first (HiBy Music) to see it's advantages/disadvantages first (limited DLNA and Airplay support, no PEQ...) and don't blame me if you for some reason don't like it.
Disclaimer: there are no any objective measurements for this DAP (it's predecessor R3 did bad in WolfX-700 measurements), only my subjective opinion that it should be good for a DAP.

Nice hedaphones but not the easiest one to provide regarding amplification (32.5 Ohm's 114 LPS/V) basically needs the high SINAD at lo gain amplifier which is not a easy thing to find (even plane wired one).

 
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Rémi

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Both the links you cite contain perfect examples of people stuck in the delusion that throwing more money at their gear will yield mystical results. You won't find much support for that sort of magical wibble here.

Tube amps achieve 'warmth' by rolling off the top end and adding some distortion through the midrange, you can do the same thing better by using EQ. I have a tube headphone amp that I sometimes use if I feel like hearing something different, but it's not as good as my main sold-state system (though frankly the differences are pretty subtle).

The Mini i-3 won't be enough to power really insensitive headphones like the Susvara, but for everything else it's fine. the Element-I would fit your needs as well, but has less power (though still enough). The SHD would need an amp and is really aimed at a those using speakers and wanting Dirac room compensation.
Thank you for the honest state of mind. It helps me being confident that Matrix mini is a good fit. I may still try to stack it with a special product, but in the future
 
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Rémi

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Mini-i pro 3 is ordered! Thanks for the feedback.
For a future investment, I cant' decide between Xduoo TA-20 and Little Dot Mk3, two hybrid class-A + tube balanced amps. Since Mini-i pro 3 has balanced XLR outputs, these two options sounds like goods fits, at an equivalent price tag.

Xduoo may have a little more power, but which one would better give the Meze a natural yet warm sound and wide soundstage?
 

charleski

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The Little Dot Mk3 can’t drive low impedances at all, so the xduoo would be the only choice. The xduoo has lots of power and enough distortion that you should be able to hear it.
 

Firefly00

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The Emperyean already sounds under resolving, so a tube amp that smears the detail out is a really bad idea*

The Matrix I3 is a good choice, very futuristic device with that screen!

*this is how I subjectively experience tube sound, ymmv
 

ZolaIII

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See if HiBy R3Pro (CS43131) fits your needs and bill and if you still can find one. Try the software first (HiBy Music) to see it's advantages/disadvantages first (limited DLNA and Airplay support, no PEQ...) and don't blame me if you for some reason don't like it.
Disclaimer: there are no any objective measurements for this DAP (it's predecessor R3 did bad in WolfX-700 measurements), only my subjective opinion that it should be good for a DAP.

Nice hedaphones but not the easiest one to provide regarding amplification (32.5 Ohm's 114 LPS/V) basically needs the high SINAD at lo gain amplifier which is not a easy thing to find (even plane wired one).

Update there are objective measurements conducted by WolfX-700 and it did perfectly fine.
Disclaimer: R3Pro has a rather limited BT range.
 
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