Headphone Amp / Combo DAC: $1000

[NipponHeadFi]

Want a desktop headphone system in my office. Prefer separates, but fine with a combo unit. Using Meze 105 AER. $1000 total if combo unit or split between an amp/dac if separates.

Some caveats (since I live in Japan):

1. The company needs an authorized distributor/retailer in Japan (or need some presence here). Don’t want to deal with orders or warranty issues where I have to always mail product back to the US/EU/ETC (Ex: Schiit) - it gets expensive.

2. Products need to be power rated for worldwide usage of 100v-240v. Not a fan of power converters. Those that I find here are either the junk on Amazon which stop working frequently or they are almost the same price (or more) than the unit they are powering.

Would love to hear your ideas and discuss.

- Schiit Audio is out for me because of the voltage issue. I love the Mimir and Midgard and would buy now, but I don’t want the converter mess or lack of a distributor here.

- I am not anti-Topping/SMSL/Etc (Chi Fi), but I do worry if their stuff is made to last past 1 year. A lot of people have complained about units dying after days, weeks, and months. Not looking for a system I have to replace yearly.

 

[westyjeff]

RME ADI2 DAC, Doesn’t get much better for desktop use.

 

[MAB]

I second the RME ADI 2.
It has PEQ, which your Meze need to sound neutral for most people. All of my headphones need some amount of EQ, I'm pretty sure if I owned your headphones I would want to EQ them.
It's one of the best performing units made. So much better than human threshold of hearing, the performance is more of a statement of fantastic engineering.
The company has great support, and a reputation for reliability.
It drives any reasonable headphones to unreasonable SPL, including your model. For example, the 32 Ohm Power vs. Distortion and Noise graph:

RME ADI-2 FS Version 2 DAC and Headphone Amp Review

This is a review and detailed measurements of the updated version 2 of the RME ADI-2 FS DAC and headphone amplifier. It was kindly sent to me by the company. The cost us US $1,149. The ADI-2 looks very nice in black with a bright, super responsive display (doesn't come out as well in the...

www.audiosciencereview.com

Nitpicks:
The physical interface is hard. But the software application fixes all of that and allows various EQ profiles and configurations to be saved.
The device has so many features. And a long and very detailed manual. This isn't really a problem.
I find the controls slightly close together and accidentally hit one of the pushbuttons while grabbing for the volume knob.
May be over your budget, I don't know the prices in your region.

 

[NipponHeadFi]

I second the RME ADI 2.
It has PEQ, which your Meze need to sound neutral for most people. All of my headphones need some amount of EQ, I'm pretty sure if I owned your headphones I would want to EQ them.
It's one of the best performing units made. So much better than human threshold of hearing, the performance is more of a statement of fantastic engineering.
The company has great support, and a reputation for reliability.
It drives any reasonable headphones to unreasonable SPL, including your model. For example, the 32 Ohm Power vs. Distortion and Noise graph:
View attachment 491582

RME ADI-2 FS Version 2 DAC and Headphone Amp Review

This is a review and detailed measurements of the updated version 2 of the RME ADI-2 FS DAC and headphone amplifier. It was kindly sent to me by the company. The cost us US $1,149. The ADI-2 looks very nice in black with a bright, super responsive display (doesn't come out as well in the...

www.audiosciencereview.com

Nitpicks:
The physical interface is hard. But the software application fixes all of that and allows various EQ profiles and configurations to be saved.
The device has so many features. And a long and very detailed manual. This isn't really a problem.
I find the controls slightly close together and accidentally hit one of the pushbuttons while grabbing for the volume knob.
May be over your budget, I don't know the prices in your region.

Unfortunately, it crosses the budget line.

I’m not seeking perfection, just a solid performer that I can count on not burning up at the 1 year mark.

If Schiit said they could tweak the Midgard and Mimir to work at 100v - sold.

It feels like every time I think I found the solution, either the voltage is a no-go, there’s a bunch of complaints about that model having not enough power, noticeable hiss, this, that or the other.

The JDS Labs stuff looks nice and good reviews - need step-up. No thanks.

Fiio K9 AKM, complaints about lacking power and some noise.

Burson Playmate 3 - think that was noise/buzz.

Topping has the A50III/D50III/P50 stack. That seems to work well with the Meze 105 AEG, but that has complaints. The A90/D90 stuff is sold out around here. I could be wrong but Topping seems to have a reputation for dead units before the 1 year mark.

Audiolab D7 - I don’t recall if their wallwart/brick is or is not 100v-240v. They have a distributor here but they said they don’t know if they will release that model here.

It feels like if I want to avoid Chi Fi (for longevity reasons), there’s not many choices unless I want to start pricing things at $1000 per unit minimum.

Which feela odd to me coming from hi-fi systems where there’s unlimited brands with varying budgets, none of which are from China. I feel like I would have to actively seek out Chi Fi brands if I want to build a new hi-fi system.

 

[NipponHeadFi]

Does anyone here recommend the Geshelli stuff? The esthetics isn’t my ideal cup of tea, but it might be a case of the world’s ugliest dog being so ugly that he/she are cute.

 

[Georgrig]

FIIO K17 or K15 (the K9 you mentioned is discontinued); Luxsin X9; Aune S9C; JDS Labs Element IV; D&A Alpha Pro and many others I can't remember right now...

Some of the equipment I mentioned have been reviewed here, so look it up. I don't think you should worry about Chinese made stuff, given your geographical proximity. I believe some companies (e.g., FIIO) have a good presence in the Japanese market.

Edit: I'd personally go with either the FIIOs, Luxsin (aka. Eversolo) or JDS. These are all good brands, that have been around for some time.

Second Edit: To people recommending the RME because of PEQ: All recent units offer PEQ, and web-based at that. And also measure just as well. It's not the advantage you think it is.

 

[NipponHeadFi]

FIIO K17 or K15 (the K9 you mentioned is discontinued); Luxsin X9; Aune S9C; JDS Labs Element IV; D&A Alpha Pro and many others I can't remember right now...

Some of the equipment I mentioned have been reviewed here, so look it up. I don't think you should worry about Chinese made stuff, given your geographical proximity. I believe some companies (e.g., FIIO) have a good presence in the Japanese market.

Edit: I'd personally go with either the FIIOs, Luxsin (aka. Eversolo) or JDS. These are all good brands, that have been around for some time.

Second Edit: To people recommending the RME because of PEQ: All recent units offer PEQ, and web-based at that. And also measure just as well. It's not the advantage you think it is.

1. The FIIO K9 AKM is easy to get everywhere in Japan. But the main issue I read about it was not very powerful.

2. The FIIO K17/15 are also easy to find here. I’ll have to check out the differences. Also the K15 is close in price to the K9 AKM, don’t know the difference between them off top of my head.

3. Luxsin S9 and Aune S9C are on my radar.

4. JDS Labs is a no-go for the same reason as Schiit - they need step-up to work here.

5. D&A, I just can’t. Makes my eyes hurt, haha.

Do you any thoughts on the Audiolab D7 or the Burson Audio Playmate 3?

 

[Georgrig]

1. The FIIO K9 AKM is easy to get everywhere in Japan. But the main issue I read about it was not very powerful.

2. The FIIO K17/15 are also easy to find here. I’ll have to check out the differences. Also the K15 is close in price to the K9 AKM, don’t know the difference between them off top of my head.

3. Luxsin S9 and Aune S9C are on my radar.

4. JDS Labs is a no-go for the same reason as Schiit - they need step-up to work here.

5. D&A, I just can’t. Makes my eyes hurt, haha.

Do you any thoughts on the Audiolab D7 or the Burson Audio Playmate 3?

The K17 is the replacement to the K9 Pro, while the K15 is the replacement to the K9. The differences between the two units (K17 vs K15) are shown in the table:

The FIIOs and Luxsin have some pretty advanced PEQ implementations offering community frequency profiles for a large collection of headphones/IEMs that you can download at will.

The Luxsin has been reviewed and recommended by Amir (here). I know that the company is quite active pushing firmware updates.

I have not heard much about the Audiolab one; with regards to Bursons I always had the impression that their products are overpriced given their feature set.

 

[nagster]

Want a desktop headphone system in my office. Prefer separates, but fine with a combo unit. Using Meze 105 AER. $1000 total if combo unit or split between an amp/dac if separates.

Some caveats (since I live in Japan):

1. The company needs an authorized distributor/retailer in Japan (or need some presence here). Don’t want to deal with orders or warranty issues where I have to always mail product back to the US/EU/ETC (Ex: Schiit) - it gets expensive.

2. Products need to be power rated for worldwide usage of 100v-240v. Not a fan of power converters. Those that I find here are either the junk on Amazon which stop working frequently or they are almost the same price (or more) than the unit they are powering.

Would love to hear your ideas and discuss.

- Schiit Audio is out for me because of the voltage issue. I love the Mimir and Midgard and would buy now, but I don’t want the converter mess or lack of a distributor here.

- I am not anti-Topping/SMSL/Etc (Chi Fi), but I do worry if their stuff is made to last past 1 year. A lot of people have complained about units dying after days, weeks, and months. Not looking for a system I have to replace yearly.

It would be a shame to give up on the RME ADI-2 DAC just because it's $12 over your budget. It looks like there will also be a sale period coming up.
From now on, the time you would spend searching, worrying, and agonizing will be spent enjoying music in the best possible environment.
That being said, if you try it out and don't like it, please feel free to return it. You can do so until January 31st of next year.

 

[DVDdoug]

Do you even need a DAC or headphone amp? If your computer's headphone output goes loud enough for you with your particular headphones and you aren't hearing background noise, you shouldn't need anything else!

Or maybe the Apple Dongle unless your headphones need more voltage to go loud enough.

 

[Multicore]

Unfortunately, it crosses the budget line.

No it doesn't.

ADI-2 DAC | High-end USB Audio Converter & Headphone Amp - rme-usa.com

RME Audio Professional Live, Studio, Recording and Broadcast Solutions. Unrivalled Quality, Performance & Stability MADI Interfaces, Converters & Preamps.

www.rme-usa.com

 

[MAB]

No it doesn't.

ADI-2 DAC | High-end USB Audio Converter & Headphone Amp - rme-usa.com

RME Audio Professional Live, Studio, Recording and Broadcast Solutions. Unrivalled Quality, Performance & Stability MADI Interfaces, Converters & Preamps.

www.rme-usa.com

It's ~$1010 USD in Japan.

 

[Burki]

I know that the company is quite active pushing firmware updates.

really?
Also with Luxsin, you've
the same problem as with Fiio, Eversolo,...
The first time you'll get very fast fixes, but then the support stops, because R&D is busy in development the next product.

Nethertheless, I would take a look into the X9, because the DAC and also the headphone implementation is great. Also it's very easy to choose a new filter for your headphone, if (and that' currently a problem) the wifi is working.
If you need really good software support, then take from the Germans (RME), but here the handling is much more complex and I prefer the headphone amp in the X9.

 

[Multicore]

It's ~$1010 USD in Japan.

maybe we can do a whip round and put together the difference. i'll chip in 50¢.

 

[Peterinvan]

My FiiO/Schiit stack driving the FiiO FT7 planars is my current reference desktop system…

 

[NipponHeadFi]

It would be a shame to give up on the RME ADI-2 DAC just because it's $12 over your budget. It looks like there will also be a sale period coming up.
From now on, the time you would spend searching, worrying, and agonizing will be spent enjoying music in the best possible environment.
That being said, if you try it out and don't like it, please feel free to return it. You can do so until January 31st of next year.

You’re not wrong in any way, thank you.

As for the last point, there would be no “just return it” here in Japan. There is no liberal return policy here like in the US, for example. Whatever I buy, if I don’t like it, I’m stuck with it. And to be honest, for those who say I can just sell it, whether it’s another audio enthusiast or a shop, even if I offered it as “used for 5 minutes”, they would expect 50-80% discount off the price.

 

[NipponHeadFi]

It would be a shame to give up on the RME ADI-2 DAC just because it's $12 over your budget. It looks like there will also be a sale period coming up.
From now on, the time you would spend searching, worrying, and agonizing will be spent enjoying music in the best possible environment.
That being said, if you try it out and don't like it, please feel free to return it. You can do so until January 31st of next year.

On a side note - Google’s exchange rate is definitely not what you get in reality. It means is USD, the price will be higher. The yen is really bad and has been for some time. - just saying.

 

[nagster]

There is no liberal return policy here like in the US, for example.

I'm sorry. I wasn't forcing you to return it. Amazon.co.jp says you can return it until January 31st, but it's up to you whether you do or don't want to.

On a side note - Google’s exchange rate is definitely not what you get in reality. It means is USD, the price will be higher. The yen is really bad and has been for some time. - just saying.

I mistakenly assumed you would pay in Japanese yen. I've attached an image of what it would look like if you paid in dollars.

If you want to exchange your currency, that's a different story. The currency exchange company will determine the exchange and handling fees.

 

[NipponHeadFi]

I'm sorry. I wasn't forcing you to return it. Amazon.co.jp says you can return it until January 31st, but it's up to you whether you do or don't want to.


I mistakenly assumed you would pay in Japanese yen. I've attached an image of what it would look like if you paid in dollars.

If you want to exchange your currency, that's a different story. The currency exchange company will determine the exchange and handling fees.

No worries. Just explaining the differences between Japan and not Japan. They don’t allow returns based on “I used it and didn't like it.”

 

[MAB]

No worries. Just explaining the differences between Japan and not Japan. They don’t allow returns based on “I used it and didn't like it.”

Yeah. I hate returning stuff just because I didn't like it.
I also avoid early-adopter syndrome which many of these headphone amps seem to sell to (FIIO, Topping, SMSL, etc. change to new models before customer firmware is even mature on existing models for example).
Which is why I recommend the RME. I regret it is at the upper end of your price range. I would buy one used before I considered most of the rest of the headphone amps available.
We do need a reliable headphone amp/DAC with PEQ and customer support. I am just not sure the sub-$500 price point supports a reliable device and customer support.