Headphone Amp/Dac Recommendation For Desk

[dman777]

I would like to buy a DAC/AMP to sit on my desk at work. What I would like it to have is:

1) A warm sound but also clarity. Maybe a tube with also solid state?
2) Bluetooth to where it will sync with my Samsung S7 cell phone which will be the music source.
3) Looking to spend around $500.00

Any suggestions, please?

 

[amirm]

I would avoid a tube amp. It won't do anything useful.

Topping DX3 Pro does all that for half your budget. But some people have had reliability issues with them so buy it from a place you can return.

 

[Joachim Herbert]

Except for the warm sound, that is. More kinda no sound of its own.

 

[BillG]

Except for the warm sound, that is.

Hmmm... more like the false perception of warmth due to the tube's glow; If one's DAC/amp is skewing the frequency response away from flat, then it's busted. However, if one wishes to EQ for warmth, perhaps the following curve is what one is after:

 

[Joachim Herbert]

On top of the frequency response they add some "friendly" distortion...

By the way: Ozone Elements can be hand for less then 30 Dollars when izotope does a promotion. But its worth it even at the full price. Great and fun tool for "remastering" your audio, and much more versatile than amps and dacs when it comes to sound shaping.

 

[BillG]

On top of the frequency response they add some "friendly" distortion...

Yes, they model tube saturation...

 

[THW]

as Amir pointed out, DX3 Pro but get it from a place where you can return it if anything goes wrong.

has enough clean power for all but the most unreasonably hard to drive headphones.

 

[JJB70]

If you want to use your cell phone as the source via BT you should consider BT headphones and just cut out the DAC/amp. Alternatively if a USB dongle gives enough volume with your headphones then it may well be all you need.

 

[Get a hearing test]

Doesnt wireless beat the point of the amp/dac.

 

[dman777]

Thanks!

What is the difference between these two?

https://www.amazon.com/Dilvpoetry-Topping-Headphone-Amplifier-Bluetooth/dp/B07KTXG1YQ/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?keywords=Topping+DX3+Pro&qid=1566518988&s=electronics&sr=1-1-spons&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUFPOEw2UzNFNzVBRFImZW5jcnlwdGVkSWQ9QTAyNjM0MjMyMUtIRE4xTFkzQzkwJmVuY3J5cHRlZEFkSWQ9QTA4NzkxNTUzMFJON0xMQldETjdUJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfYXRmJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ&th=1

and

https://www.amazon.com/DX3-Pro-Headphone-Amplifier-Bluetooth/dp/B07KG84853/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?keywords=Topping+DX3+Pro&qid=1566519056&s=electronics&sr=1-2-spons&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUFFSTRXQlNHNVpGRUQmZW5jcnlwdGVkSWQ9QTA0ODczNzIyTFFZMFZKNkVRREFEJmVuY3J5cHRlZEFkSWQ9QTA1MDU2ODgxSEIxMzJXMVNCQlkmd2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGYmYWN0aW9uPWNsaWNrUmVkaXJlY3QmZG9Ob3RMb2dDbGljaz10cnVl&th=1


They seem to both have blue tooth although one has an antenna. Can I be sure ether one will have the AKM DAC?