Buying advice: Topping L50, A30 PRO or L70 - but what about passthrough?

[ranXerox]

I'm in the process of buying a headphone amplifier, my headphones are the HifiMAN HE400se Stealth Edition.
The Topping L50, A30 PRO or L70 are currently on the short list.

My signal chain looks like this: RME Baybface PRO FE -> headphone amp -> GENELEC 8030C

The A30 and L50 have pass-through, but what about the L70? Does it have to be powered on to pass the signal to the Genelecs? That would be a deal-breaker for me, as much as I like the L70.

Thanks for your help and advice.

 

[Mort]

Yeah it has a pre-amp mode and passthrough.

 

[jkim]

If you need pass-through, just go with the L50. Its HP output is transparent and has far more than enough power for the HE400SE.

 

[Roland68]

I'm in the process of buying a headphone amplifier, my headphones are the HifiMAN HE400se Stealth Edition.
The Topping L50, A30 PRO or L70 are currently on the short list.

My signal chain looks like this: RME Baybface PRO FE -> headphone amp -> GENELEC 8030C

The A30 and L50 have pass-through, but what about the L70? Does it have to be powered on to pass the signal to the Genelecs? That would be a deal-breaker for me, as much as I like the L70.

Thanks for your help and advice.

I haven't noticed any passthrough on my L70 yet, and it would be news to me if it did.
But what's wrong with controlling the volume of the Genelecs via the L70, just like with headphones?

Just a quick comment: when you switch between the Babyface (Genelec 8030C) and the L70 (HP) volume controls, how long does it take with a headphone amp with passthrough before you accidentally run your Genelecs at 0 dB/full volume?

 

[jkim]

Just a quick comment: when you switch between the Babyface (Genelec 8030C) and the L70 (HP) volume controls, how long does it take with a headphone amp with passthrough before you accidentally run your Genelecs at 0 dB/full volume?

Excellent point.