Amp and Dac recomendations

[Zensō]

I am leery on EQ's. I use them to correct reflections and spikes due to poor room setup etc. however, I have not EQ'd my HP's, cause I haven't felt the need to. I like my studio HP's for really digging into my albums, also for helping my friends mix and master their tracks, and my other HP's for actual musical enjoyment, I like what certain HP's do, on certain albums etc.

That being said, I have looked into EQ's like APO etc. just never felt the need to use them

I was skeptical until I tried some of Oratory’s presets. I think you might be pleasantly surprised. But I’m getting off topic here, good luck with your purchase.

 

[Deleted member 26288]

Thanks for the info, I'm actually going through as I type this

 

[Deleted member 26288]

So it's been a little while, and I am still considering new stacks. I have a question though, the Topping A50s, and L30 amps, they claim some really impressive power output, however, when tested on this forum, L30 came now where near it's claimed output power, and the A50s only achieved it's claimed power with a really high input voltage, which you wont find in a DFAC in the comparable price range. My question is why are they so recommended, even though they don't do what they claim? (sorry if this comes across as a dick question, it's not meant as such)

 

[highpurityusbcable]

My question is why are they so recommended, even though they don't do what they claim? (sorry if this comes across as a dick question, it's not meant as such)

L30 has more than enough power for the majority of existing headphones.
No alternative budget options with great specs for many people due to location, shipping costs and availiability.

 

[Deleted member 26288]

I can understand that to a degree, but, it seems like for such a measurement focused forum, "points" would be taken away for not actually hitting all the claimed specs, especially with amps like Atom etc. that do. Just a thought.

 

[3125b]

for not actually hitting all the claimed specs

But it does. The high gain is +9.5dB (3x) of course, so the input sensitivity is 3Vrms.

especially with amps like Atom etc. that do.

The Atom actually exceeds its specs by a fair margin, wich is nice to see.

 

[Deleted member 26288]

So, it's been a while. I ended up going with the JDS EL Amp II/DAC stack for a while. Changed my whole desk layout so I could have easy access to the volume control, and really enjoyed it.... for a while.... A friend also hooked me up with a modius and an Asgard 3 for cheap, unfortunately he needed to sell due to lack of employment. And I actually enjoyed using both stacks, aside from some small quirks with the Asgard and the Modius, everything worked great.

Then one day something popped up on my Amazon recommended deals for a really, really nice price... so I am now a proud owner of the RME ADI-2 DAC FS. I waited 3 days for it to get here, so I downloaded the manual, got familiar with the settings and layout, had the new firmware downloaded ready to go, and of course, went through these forums to see if there might be anything of interest to me regarding the unit.

Needless to say, setup took about 10-15 mins, and I am currently listening to my Sundara's as I type this, and enjoying the features I get to play with, the desk space I got back, and of course, the music. Just as an aside, according to my serial number, I have actually received the AKM 4493, and not the ESS version, RME have said there is a letter following the serial number that will indicate which unit is which, A - for 4490, B - for 4493, and C - for ESS, if anyone was curious.