Best Portable DAC/AMP for HD600 (300ohms)

[fountain]

I'm between these two:​

TANCHJIM Space Portable Headphone Adapter​

TANCHJIM Space Portable Headphone Adapter Review

This is a review, listening test and detailed measurements of the TANCHJIM Space portable DAC and balanced headphone adapter. It was sent to me by the company and costs US $90. I like the transparent window so that you can see the insides. There is an LED that lights up there when you reach...

www.audiosciencereview.com

TempoTec Sonata BHD Pro Portable DAC & Amp​

TempoTec Sonata BHD Pro Portable DAC & Amp Review

This is a review and detailed measurements of the TempoTec Sonata BHD Pro portable DAC and headphone amplifier. It was sent to me by the company and costs US $70. I really like the fresh look of the BHD. There is a red LED that lights up the tiny ICs in there, giving it some elegance. There...

www.audiosciencereview.com

Any suggestions?

 

[IAtaman]

Tempotec Sonata seems to have a bit more power both at the 3.5mm and 4.4mm jacks. If you are going to use EQ to boost the bass, that extra power can come in handy. For that reason, I'd go for Tempotec. If you can spare another $20, I'd recommend Qudelix 5K which not only has a bit more power, but more importantly offers a lot of great DSP features, such as PEQ.

 

[IAtaman]

By the way, for the cost of HD600, you can get the HD6XX which is effectively HD650 and Qudelix 5K on drop.com. I think that is a much better deal if your objective is best bang for the buck. Check stock situation and delivery times before ordering though - Q5K might not be on stock.

 

[stalepie2]

If the Topping NX4 was still around, I'd suggest that, because it puts out more power (in single-ended, for 300 ohms), but the distortion measurements aren't as low. They have a newer device, the G5, but it costs a good bit more, and something battery-powered may not be what you're looking for anyway.

 

[Dunring]

I'd go with the Tanchjim Space for best performance, and for $15 you can get the balanced 4.4mm cable for it:

Amazon.com

I have some of these and they're light and non microphonic which is great for portable use. Never had one fail, and I've gotten 4-5 of these for Sennheiser and Hifiman. Buy with a credit card that doubles the warranty and you'll be all set.

 

[Deckard01]

I was looking for a FAAEL balance cable too from Aliexpress, but I have not buy again form this site so I do not know if I can use paypal or my card.

Moreover as I was thinking of a dongle capable to drive my HD600, I was thinking of Colorfly M1P or DC04PRO or UA4, but I do not see any review espesially for M1P which I think to prefer especially for it's cost.

 

[Dunring]

I was looking for a FAAEL balance cable too from Aliexpress, but I have not buy again form this site so I do not know if I can use paypal or my card.

Moreover as I was thinking of a dongle capable to drive my HD600, I was thinking of Colorfly M1P or DC04PRO or UA4, but I do not see any review espesially for M1P which I think to prefer especially for it's cost.

I've had a pair of HD6xx on the Apple USB to 3.5mm adapter and it was close to max volume, but it was loud enough to use. It's just the Tanchjim Space is the best USB dongle I've seen measured, Amirm mentioned he'd use it for travel, so would recommend it just from that. Youkamoo and Faael are on Amazon and I've got cables from both here, they work fine and won't melt down a credit card.

 

[Deckard01]

I've had a pair of HD6xx on the Apple USB to 3.5mm adapter and it was close to max volume, but it was loud enough to use. It's just the Tanchjim Space is the best USB dongle I've seen measured, Amirm mentioned he'd use it for travel, so would recommend it just from that. Youkamoo and Faael are on Amazon and I've got cables from both here, they work fine and won't melt down a credit card.

You are right the issue issue that for my country that belongs to EU when I click to buy the cable from Amazon I see that is not available. So my only other option is the Aliexpress.

 

[poxymoron]

I'd go with the Tanchjim Space for best performance, and for $15 you can get the balanced 4.4mm cable for it:

Amazon.com

I have some of these and they're light and non microphonic which is great for portable use. Never had one fail, and I've gotten 4-5 of these for Sennheiser and Hifiman. Buy with a credit card that doubles the warranty and you'll be all set.

Quite the markup in Europe, almost double the price:

https://www.amazon.de/-/en/Replacement-Sennheiser-Headsts-LC-OFC-OFC-Headphones/dp/B09GNHLHXF/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2YV7XV605NZ5H&keywords=FAAEAL%2BReplacement%2BAudio%2BCable&qid=1706531583&sprefix=faaeal%2Breplacement%2Baudio%2Bcable%2B%2Caps%2C84&sr=8-1&th=1

 

[Brian Hall]

Fosi Audio DS1​

$79 on Amazon. It drives my HD650 headphones with plenty of volume. I don't have the balanced cable to test with.