DAC+AMP combo to power sensitive speakers (only needs 1W at 8ohm)

[338h10]

My speakers are highly efficient and only need <1W to fill my room -- think Altec A7. The speakers are 8ohm, with actual measurement at 6ohm. Is there a DAC/AMP combo that can output ~1W into 8ohm with minimal distortion? I think JDS Element II is close, but I am wondering if there is a combo with even better performance. The goal here is to have the shortest signal path, lowest distortion, and minimal unused power.

I prefer a low budget one, but can stretch my budget upwards if the performance warrants it.

 

[gvl]

6 ohm might be a bit low for a headphone amp to drive causing it go to protection mode and even if not there may not be whole lot headroom in terms of power. The latest Topping power amp looks good, pair it with the E50 DAC and it should be a sweet combo.

 

[338h10]

6 ohm might be a bit low for a headphone amp to drive causing it go to protection mode and even if not there may not be whole lot headroom in terms of power. The latest Topping power amp looks good, pair it with the E50 DAC and it should be a sweet combo.

I do already have good DACs and amps (for rather power-hungry speakers). But given my newly-acquired speakers that can fill a room with just 1W, I want to see if there is a combo that may work.

The speaker amps in the low-power category are typically tubes, which I am not interested in. Alternatively, is there an exceptional <5W solid state amp? I thought such an amp may very well be a "headphone" amp from a conventional marketing perspective.

 

[gvl]

Actually I’d be tempted to have a SET setup with such sensitive speakers. Headphone amps are usually designed with higher load impedance in mind so higher voltage and lower current, not to mention running them at 1w more or less consistently is not a typical headphone use case, so may not be good for longevity. That said, it doesn’t mean such an amp doesn’t exist. If you have a DAC with balanced outputs check out the recently reviewed Topping PA5. It’s class D but so what.

 

[338h10]

PA5 looks great. Wondering if it could work with a single-ended source. I do not currently have my balanced DAC with me.

I also wonder if someone has tried to short out the pot -- all my DACs have digital volume control, and I am very adverse to even the slightest unmatched channels.

 

[gvl]

It should work with a proper adapter with some loss of max output power and SNR, the power shouldn’t matter much in your case due to sensitive speakers, and SNR should still be pretty good.