Hi all.
Mostly been studying the Toppings, Sabaj, and SMSL.
Gotta say, the subtle features and upgrades/chips can make one's head spin (hence the title).
I've opened and closed so many of the reviews from the index, I figured maybe some of you would be willing to weigh in.
What I would ideally like is the following:
1 Best chip (sabre or different?) for best sounding, bold, smooth, plenty of headroom, dead-quiet fully balanced headphone amp for demanding ribbon headphones
2 USB DAC input. Coax and XLR digital input options a plus but not necessary.
3 Easily backwards-compatible driver option for Windows 7 x64 (Foobar an option if not well supported for their own?)
It seems like I keep running into a 2-out-of-3 scenario over and over. One is great for headphone but only analog ins, another is the perfect DAC without headphone, a Sabaj sounds like perfect DAC but below average headphone amp, where another headphone amp is the absolute best but slightly less on the DAC.
I'd rather not have to sacrifice one for another. If someone can help me simplify their favorite options for USB DAC and headphone that don't skimp on either, without going crazy on other features? Much much much appreciated.
Mostly been studying the Toppings, Sabaj, and SMSL.
Gotta say, the subtle features and upgrades/chips can make one's head spin (hence the title).
I've opened and closed so many of the reviews from the index, I figured maybe some of you would be willing to weigh in.
What I would ideally like is the following:
1 Best chip (sabre or different?) for best sounding, bold, smooth, plenty of headroom, dead-quiet fully balanced headphone amp for demanding ribbon headphones
2 USB DAC input. Coax and XLR digital input options a plus but not necessary.
3 Easily backwards-compatible driver option for Windows 7 x64 (Foobar an option if not well supported for their own?)
It seems like I keep running into a 2-out-of-3 scenario over and over. One is great for headphone but only analog ins, another is the perfect DAC without headphone, a Sabaj sounds like perfect DAC but below average headphone amp, where another headphone amp is the absolute best but slightly less on the DAC.
I'd rather not have to sacrifice one for another. If someone can help me simplify their favorite options for USB DAC and headphone that don't skimp on either, without going crazy on other features? Much much much appreciated.