Dac+Amp to go with HD6xx/58x

[gaku]

I'm in the search for a suitable Dac and Amp pairing for my HD6xx/58x combo. Looking to add a MrSpeakers Aen Flow Closed/Audeze LCD2C to that set in about a year's time.

Before I roamed this forum, I had my eyes on a Fiio K3, Schiit Modi3/Magni3 stack, a Bottlehead Crack, a Darkvoice 336, Aune XIs, or a CTH+Sdac.

Now, I have found all these new attractive alternatives: Topping D10, Khadas Tone Board, JDS Labs Atom, Topping DX3 Pro. SMS LU-8v2 /THX AAA are probably just out of my price category, but interesting for the future.

My best options, headphones out of the question, seem to be:

1. DX3Pro at 190 $ incl. shipping. 9 hours left on the drop. Could always upgrade the amp later, use it as a preamp and its inbuilt dac is shouldn't be the bottleneck in the rig for the headphone upgrades I'm considering, right?

2. Topping D10/Khadas Tone Board + JDS Labs Atom. 190$ inc. shipping. I hear people describe the Atom as slightly warmer/fuller than Topping's A30, is this a brand sound signature that also transfers over to the DX3Pro?

3. CTH+SDAC for 200$ incl shipping is an offer I have one more day to consider. Would have been a no brainer before I found the above options. Now I'm not sure, and hoping you'd give some food for thought here.

4: Aune X1S +X7S for 195$ incl. shipping from Massdrop.

I'm wondering whether my Sennheiser headphones change what is a good value amp/dac pair? I've heard magnificent things about the Darkvoice, Bottlehead and CTH when paired with a HD6xx. I assume they also will pair well with the 58x jubilee. For solid state amps, I've heard good things about the Aune XIs / Magni3/Mod3 paired on a general basis.

I just want to navigate my way around the uncertain terrain of audio mid-fi without drowning in unnecessary outlays, and find a dac/amp combo that will make me enjoy the HD6xx, hear them as they're supposed to be heard (currently running from an Aspire ES 15 laptop). Should I go for either of the time-limited options 1/3, or is something like option 2 to prefer?

Thanks for all the help,
G.

 

[flipflop]

1. DX3Pro

Wouldn't recommend this. Tons of problems are being discussed in the review thread.

2. Topping D10/Khadas Tone Board + JDS Labs Atom

This is the option I would go for. KTB might be a little bit better than D10, but it's a DIY project.

3. CTH+SDAC

CTH measures worse than the Atom in just about everything, maybe with the exception of power into low impedance loads. SDAC is another good $100 DAC.

4: Aune X1S +X7S

Both have high output impedance. Junk.

I hear people describe the Atom as slightly warmer/fuller than Topping's A30

Atom is transparent. I doubt they did the necessary testing to reach such a conclusion, but it can explained by the high output impedance of the A30. If they used IEMs with an impedance swing in the treble, going from a bright A30 to a transparent Atom will make the Atom sound relatively warmer in comparison.

 

[Roen]

I'm in the search for a suitable Dac and Amp pairing for my HD6xx/58x combo. Looking to add a MrSpeakers Aen Flow Closed/Audeze LCD2C to that set in about a year's time.

Before I roamed this forum, I had my eyes on a Fiio K3, Schiit Modi3/Magni3 stack, a Bottlehead Crack, a Darkvoice 336, Aune XIs, or a CTH+Sdac.

Now, I have found all these new attractive alternatives: Topping D10, Khadas Tone Board, JDS Labs Atom, Topping DX3 Pro. SMS LU-8v2 /THX AAA are probably just out of my price category, but interesting for the future.

My best options, headphones out of the question, seem to be:

1. DX3Pro at 190 $ incl. shipping. 9 hours left on the drop. Could always upgrade the amp later, use it as a preamp and its inbuilt dac is shouldn't be the bottleneck in the rig for the headphone upgrades I'm considering, right?

2. Topping D10/Khadas Tone Board + JDS Labs Atom. 190$ inc. shipping. I hear people describe the Atom as slightly warmer/fuller than Topping's A30, is this a brand sound signature that also transfers over to the DX3Pro?

3. CTH+SDAC for 200$ incl shipping is an offer I have one more day to consider. Would have been a no brainer before I found the above options. Now I'm not sure, and hoping you'd give some food for thought here.

4: Aune X1S +X7S for 195$ incl. shipping from Massdrop.

I'm wondering whether my Sennheiser headphones change what is a good value amp/dac pair? I've heard magnificent things about the Darkvoice, Bottlehead and CTH when paired with a HD6xx. I assume they also will pair well with the 58x jubilee. For solid state amps, I've heard good things about the Aune XIs / Magni3/Mod3 paired on a general basis.

I just want to navigate my way around the uncertain terrain of audio mid-fi without drowning in unnecessary outlays, and find a dac/amp combo that will make me enjoy the HD6xx, hear them as they're supposed to be heard (currently running from an Aspire ES 15 laptop). Should I go for either of the time-limited options 1/3, or is something like option 2 to prefer?

Thanks for all the help,
G.

2 - KTB if you like transparency