DAC with MQA, balanced outputs and headphone amp

[pinkish]

No, there is balanced output in addition to the balanced input on the amp

Ohhh, so the balanced output on the headphone amp is for speakers?

Forget the signature stack and look at the Zen DAC which has a (pretty weak but maybe enough) headamp, rca for a future separate headamp and use the 4.4 to your speakers.

My Sony MDR-7506 phones have an impedance of only 63 Ohms. iFi DAC specs say:

4.4mm Pentaconn (BAL)
330mW@32 Ohm; 6.6V@600 Ohm;
16 Ohm - 600 Ohm Headphone

6.3mm S-BAL (SE)
230mW@32 Ohm; 3.3V@600 Ohm
16 Ohm - 600 Ohm Headphone

Will that work for my headphones?

 

[vlydog]

Matrix Audio Mini-i Pro3 DAC

 

[Racheski]

Matrix Audio Mini-i Pro3 DAC

Only $500 over budget!

 

[Jimbob54]

Ohhh, so the balanced output on the headphone amp is for speakers?


My Sony MDR-7506 phones have an impedance of only 63 Ohms. iFi DAC specs say:

4.4mm Pentaconn (BAL)
330mW@32 Ohm; 6.6V@600 Ohm;
16 Ohm - 600 Ohm Headphone

6.3mm S-BAL (SE)
230mW@32 Ohm; 3.3V@600 Ohm
16 Ohm - 600 Ohm Headphone

Will that work for my headphones?

The amp has balanced out on the front for headphones and on the back for speakers /poweramp

The Zen dac headphone out might be enough for your phones. If it isn't, you can add a topping L30 /jds atom etc for 100 - 150 E and still be quids in

 

[pinkish]

The amp has balanced out on the front for headphones and on the back for speakers /poweramp

The Zen dac headphone out might be enough for your phones. If it isn't, you can add a topping L30 /jds atom etc for 100 - 150 E and still be quids in

Cheers, now I got it!

All the guys that wrote on this thread helped me understand stuff and I can make an informed decision now. I've been on many forums over time, but never felt better than here - great advice and no 'eyes rolling' because of my newbie questions.

Thank you all!

 

[vlydog]

Only $500 over budget!

Go ahead and live a little!

 

[pinkish]

Go ahead and live a little!

Yep, go ahead and live a little... outside, because you had to sell the house

 

[vlydog]

Yep, go ahead and live a little... outside, because you had to sell the house

Damn that spousal approval factor

 

[netizen]

I apologize for interfering the topic but I am in the same lane.
Just need a DAC which can unfold MQA from Coaxial or Optical input and better than internal one of Bluesound Node 2i.

 

[technophreak]

https://store.hiby.com/products/hiby-r3-pro

Doesn't fully fill your requirements, and I haven't seen any measurements.

 

[Kerrnel]

I am trying to find a DAC to suit my needs. I was about to purchase the DacMagic 200M for my birthday until I saw it had A LOT of problems.

I want a DAC that has:
- MQA decoding
- balanced XLR outputs (for powered speakers - Adam T7Vs)
- headphone amp (for my Sony MDR-7506)
- 32bit/768kHz PCM, DSD, DXD
- USB (I will feed the audio from my computer)
- ground powered, not by battery

I've looked around for ages. The Schiits don't have MQA decoding, the 200M has issues, others are battery-powered and so on.

Maybe you guys can help me out, since I'm really a newbie. I'd very much appreciate it!

You write ”a LOT of problems”. What problems and where are they documented?

 

[pinkish]

I was all wrapped up in forum searching at the time. At this moment, I don't recall what exactly lead me to that statement, but there was something about it.

Anyway, in the meantime I got an iFi ZEN DAC v1 and I'm very statisfied with it

 

[BillyKueek]

I bought the V2 instead and loving it!