Hey everyone,
I'm looking for a headphone amp to use with my Focal Clear MG Pro headphones and JBL LSR305P MKII active monitors.
So far I have been using this setup:
SMSL M8A DAC
Schiit Magni (not sure which version, got it in 2018) for headphones.
I'm manually switching cables out of the DAC depending on what I wanna use - headphones or speakers.
You ask why - I believe the Magni pre-out when connected to the JBLs is colouring the sound in an unpleasant way, compared to when I connect the JBLs directly to the DAC and use the volume control on the back of the speakers. It could be placebo, because I had tested the Magni in the past as a pre-amp in my other stereo setup and it sounded worse than all other pre-amps I had back then. But yeah, in general I don't think I'm satisfied with the Magni as a pre-amp.
But another big reason to look for a new amp is that the Magni will go in my 2nd headphone setup, so I need a main headphone for my Focal Clears.
I also got a Gustard H10 which sounded great, but is now sent for repair because of cracking noises (1st technician I sent it to wasn't able to repair it).
So now I'm looking for (preferably a budget) headphone amp and I still wonder if I should go with one that has passthrough so that I can continue using the volume control on the speakers. But that is not super convenient tbh and in the future if I decide to switch to other active monitors that don't have volume control it obviously wouldn't work. (unless I got for a DAC with a pre-function, but I don't want to consider this option right now)
So ideally the headphone amp would have some/most of these features:
- measure well
- be powerful enough so that I'm future proof for potential hungry planars
- have balanced input now (in case I switch to a DAC with balanced output)
- has balanced headphone output
- has transparent pre-amp functionality that doesn't colour the sound when used with active speakers
- has balanced pre-map output
- remote control
- stepped relay volume control
- separate/flexible volume control for headphone out vs pre-amp out
There are so many options out there that I'm a bit lost at this point.
My main worry is the pre-amp functionality and if it would be really transparent. What are your thoughts on this matter?
I'm willing to compromise, since I still wonder how much should I spend and obviously I can't meet all of the requirements from my list in a lower budget.
So I'm considering Topping L50, A30 Pro, Monoprice THX 887, Drop THX 789 as passthrough no pre-amp options and Topping L30, A50, L70, A90, Sabaj A10h, JDS Labs Atom+ and Schiit Magnius as pre-amp ready options. I'm sure there are some good options from SMSL as well, so I would probably investigate them as well.
Advice would be most appreciated.
I'm looking for a headphone amp to use with my Focal Clear MG Pro headphones and JBL LSR305P MKII active monitors.
So far I have been using this setup:
SMSL M8A DAC
Schiit Magni (not sure which version, got it in 2018) for headphones.
I'm manually switching cables out of the DAC depending on what I wanna use - headphones or speakers.
You ask why - I believe the Magni pre-out when connected to the JBLs is colouring the sound in an unpleasant way, compared to when I connect the JBLs directly to the DAC and use the volume control on the back of the speakers. It could be placebo, because I had tested the Magni in the past as a pre-amp in my other stereo setup and it sounded worse than all other pre-amps I had back then. But yeah, in general I don't think I'm satisfied with the Magni as a pre-amp.
But another big reason to look for a new amp is that the Magni will go in my 2nd headphone setup, so I need a main headphone for my Focal Clears.
I also got a Gustard H10 which sounded great, but is now sent for repair because of cracking noises (1st technician I sent it to wasn't able to repair it).
So now I'm looking for (preferably a budget) headphone amp and I still wonder if I should go with one that has passthrough so that I can continue using the volume control on the speakers. But that is not super convenient tbh and in the future if I decide to switch to other active monitors that don't have volume control it obviously wouldn't work. (unless I got for a DAC with a pre-function, but I don't want to consider this option right now)
So ideally the headphone amp would have some/most of these features:
- measure well
- be powerful enough so that I'm future proof for potential hungry planars
- have balanced input now (in case I switch to a DAC with balanced output)
- has balanced headphone output
- has transparent pre-amp functionality that doesn't colour the sound when used with active speakers
- has balanced pre-map output
- remote control
- stepped relay volume control
- separate/flexible volume control for headphone out vs pre-amp out
There are so many options out there that I'm a bit lost at this point.
My main worry is the pre-amp functionality and if it would be really transparent. What are your thoughts on this matter?
I'm willing to compromise, since I still wonder how much should I spend and obviously I can't meet all of the requirements from my list in a lower budget.
So I'm considering Topping L50, A30 Pro, Monoprice THX 887, Drop THX 789 as passthrough no pre-amp options and Topping L30, A50, L70, A90, Sabaj A10h, JDS Labs Atom+ and Schiit Magnius as pre-amp ready options. I'm sure there are some good options from SMSL as well, so I would probably investigate them as well.
Advice would be most appreciated.
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