Advice on an Amp / DAC combo for my budget?

[BraXzy]

I'm a complete amateur when it comes to audio stuff, but I've been looking into getting my set up improved with an Amp / DAC combo (whether it be an actual combo unit or a stack) and am struggling to settle on an option for my budget of £100-200 ish.

I'm currently running some Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro (80 Ohm)'s with a ModMic through a Xonar DGX soundcard. I want to improve my existing set up but also give myself flexibility for potential future headphones. I was hoping to get something simplified that'd take both headphone and mic input but realise that's not a common thing.

I've considered any and all of the following:

FiiO K3 - £90
FiiO K5 Pro - £160
Schiit Hel - £190 (Out of stock for months)
Schiit Fulla 3 - £90 (Out of stock for months)
JDS Labs Atom (DAC + Amp stack) - £200 (+ import and shipping)
Creative Sound Blaster X3 - £100
Topping DX3 Pro - £160

I've tried my best to find reviews / opinions on these but all have both good and mixed comments online, it feels impossible to know which is "best" or at least best value for money. Do I need the £200 stack if I won't notice improvement from the £90 / £100 alternatives for example.

Would just really appreciate some advice and opinions from people with a better understanding, thanks

 

[twsecrest]

Me, I think I would go for the Topping DX3 Pro.
Also I would replace the DT770 80-Ohm.

 

[A Surfer]

@BraXzy, you hit the nail on the head, there is no best where the subjective side of the hobby is considered. I don't know much about the soundcard you have, and I will admit to having a bias in favour of separate components over integrated cards, so with that disclosure I also agree that the DX3 Pro would be a pretty safe call.

I owned the exact same DT770 and the 880 so I am familiar with the signature you are building around. Without more information about what specifically you are trying to achieve or improve on it is hard to say whether or not the money would be better spent on a new headphone, but going by years of experience in the hobby I still feel if I was in your position I would get the DX3 Pro now and maybe down the road try out other headphones. Who knows, it may be that the 770 is perfect for your needs.

 

[BraXzy]

I owned the exact same DT770 and the 880 so I am familiar with the signature you are building around. Without more information about what specifically you are trying to achieve or improve on it is hard to say whether or not the money would be better spent on a new headphone, but going by years of experience in the hobby I still feel if I was in your position I would get the DX3 Pro now and maybe down the road try out other headphones. Who knows, it may be that the 770 is perfect for your needs.

Thanks for the responses

Out of interest, what makes the DX3 standout versus for example the FiiO K3 which is £70 cheaper? Just curious what the extra money is getting.

As for what I'm trying to achieve I'm not entirely sure. Having never owned decent headphones prior to these, and having never owned DAC's / Amps etc. I don't really know what I'm missing out on. But figured it was time to find out. I primarily use my headphones for gaming, a bit of music too. Less so movie watching etc. Open Back headphones are currently not in consideration due to sharing a space. So I'm not sure what if anything headphone wise would be a considerable upgrade in my low budget range.

 

[DeepFried]

I have a K3, its a nice little DAC/amp but it does have some issues. First its power is on the same USB cable as the input signal (the USB is the only input) and the K3 isn't very good at filtering noisy power on the USB, so if you have a noisy source power wise that will come right through to the K3.

There seems to be an issue with the driver, though possibly its just me doing something wrong, but with the ASIO driver you seem to be limited to 44.1khz. Finally its not very powerful, its fine for sensitive headphones up to about 80 ohm impedance but i'd recommend something more powerful for more power hungry cans. (this is kind of a deal breaker unless you're certain you'll never buy more demanding headphones)

What I really like about the K3 are its multiple output options, you can output simultaneously on toslink and coax, which is useful if you're connecting out to multiple devices (I am), the single ended headphone out also works simultaneously with the pre-amp out on the back, both controlled by the vol pot. Its very portable in size, so perfect to take if you're staying with family for a while or something.

Finally the vol pot is very nice, its digital so has perfect balance but it also feels great, a distinct click to turn on/off and a smooth turn with a nicely engineered knob.

As for what I'm trying to achieve I'm not entirely sure. Having never owned decent headphones prior to these, and having never owned DAC's / Amps etc. I don't really know what I'm missing out on. But figured it was time to find out. I primarily use my headphones for gaming, a bit of music too. Less so movie watching etc.

It really depends on what your current setup is like (presumably the PC onboard sound?), if it delivers good power and is free of noise like hum, crackle, pops, whine etc then that may be just fine and you will gain nothing by getting an external dac/amp. However its very hard to know how good or bad onboard sound is without having measurements for it, it could be really bad in in terms of distortion and output impedance, in which case you may notice a nice quality bump on going to an external dac/amp. Really you have to make the call as to if your onboard sound is 'bad' or not.

The other thing an external DAC/amp gives you of course is essentially an independent sound system that you can plug into various sources and get the same experience, which may or may not be useful to you.

 

[Sgt. Ear Ache]

Topping D10 dac
Shiit Heresy amp.

Very unlikely you'd ever need anything else...

 

[A Surfer]

Yes the Heresy sounds like a top notch choice. I am a big proponent of Bluetooth so for me, that would still tip me towards the DX3 Pro as while it certainly has less power than the Schiit, it has enough power for low z headphones. In complete agreement with Deep Fried as per the reasons the DX3 Pro, or the D10/Heresy is a better long term choice over the soundcard route.

 

[BraXzy]

I have a K3, its a nice little DAC/amp but it does have some issues. First its power is on the same USB cable as the input signal (the USB is the only input) and the K3 isn't very good at filtering noisy power on the USB, so if you have a noisy source power wise that will come right through to the K3.

There seems to be an issue with the driver, though possibly its just me doing something wrong, but with the ASIO driver you seem to be limited to 44.1khz. Finally its not very powerful, its fine for sensitive headphones up to about 80 ohm impedance but i'd recommend something more powerful for more power hungry cans. (this is kind of a deal breaker unless you're certain you'll never buy more demanding headphones)

What I really like about the K3 are its multiple output options, you can output simultaneously on toslink and coax, which is useful if you're connecting out to multiple devices (I am), the single ended headphone out also works simultaneously with the pre-amp out on the back, both controlled by the vol pot. Its very portable in size, so perfect to take if you're staying with family for a while or something.

Finally the vol pot is very nice, its digital so has perfect balance but it also feels great, a distinct click to turn on/off and a smooth turn with a nicely engineered knob.

Really appreciate the thoughts

I've actually just ordered a Creative Sound Blaster G6 (B-Stock) the price was too good to pass up at £69.99. Besides the software, I've read largely positive things on it. If it disappoints I can always send it back and look again. The DX3 Pro and FiiO K5 Pro are still probably top of the list.

I've really like a Schiit stack or the Hel even but there's just never any stock for the UK.

 

[DeepFried]

yes Schiit stock in the UK has been absent recently. I have a Heresy that I ordered from the US, so that is an option, though you have to pay the 20% VAT through customs and the courier is likely to charge a payment handling fee, so you have to factor all that into the price.

 

[BraXzy]

Me, I think I would go for the Topping DX3 Pro.
Also I would replace the DT770 80-Ohm.

Out of interest, for closed back cans, what would you consider an upgrade for them?