Headphone amp for a futureproof stack (with IEM support and dedicated DAC)

[keepthingsclean]

Hello there,

i recently came across this community and was very happy to see the high level of dedication to non-bullshit high fidelity.
All this passive reading now got me into starting an own thread and raising some questions - which might include newbie content.
If this should be the wrong section of the forum, please advise me where to go instead.

The current situation: I am currently creating a dedicated area in my apartment for listening to music and reading, but with already one quite decent stereo setup in the livingroom, I don't want to replicate all that - especially given the difficult layout of the room and its acoustic properties. So using headphones instead was what came to mind.

Equipment that is available so far: A wired Sennheiser Momentum Over Ear heaphone, a pair of FiiO FH5 iems and a FiiO M6 as portable DAP with switcheable line-out and USB-DAC mode support. I also have a NAS as streaming-server with mostly MP3s (and very little FLAC content) and a Spotify subscription, plus the usual laptop, smartphone and tablet devices.

As I prefer to buy better instead of more, I felt like investing in a solid amplifier initally and adding further components over time might be a good strategy, instead of buying a cheaper Amp/DAC combo now and then feeling the itch for an upgrade as soon as headphones improve (which will happen in the next 2-3 months, once I have a chance to visit local stores again for listening tests).

That said - the requirements for the amp are, that it needs to be able to either drive the IEMs or the current Sennheisers which both are very non-demanding - but they should also allow me to drive possibly more demanding headphones later on (as I can't yet tell what I might pick). Having two amps for switching between IEMs and big headphones later on is also something i'd like to avoid to have less clutter and as it requires additional hardware for wiring up two amps to one sources.

So what would you pick then? Things I already looked at were the Topping A50s, their freshly announced D30pro and the Gustard H16. The latter was especially intriguing as it seems that the digital volume control would allow for a better adjustability with the IEMs.

Or would you propose to just get something quite powerful and use something like the ifi Ear Buddy or IEMatch to drive the IEMs and sort the issue like this?
Budgetwise I feel comfortable spending around 300-350 USD for the amp section, as the DAC can be added later and I can initially use my old Musical Fidelity V90-DAC or the FiiO M6 for these matters.

Thank you for reading and your support!

 

[highpurityusbcable]

Hello. L30 and some new headphones/iems or DAC of your choice.

 

[keepthingsclean]

Thanks @highpurityusbcable - that came to my mind as well.. especially the three stage gain switch is intriguing for that matter.
And rather saving some budget for better headphones is a good call.

A part of me would only be afraid to miss out on something further down the line, if I don't have the possibility to drive a balanced setup (hence the higher priced options).

 

[_thelaughingman]

Topping E30/L30 combo is pretty solid and future-roof in my opinion.

 

[highpurityusbcable]

Thanks @highpurityusbcable - that came to my mind as well.. especially the three stage gain switch is intriguing for that matter.
And rather saving some budget for better headphones is a good call.

A part of me would only be afraid to miss out on something further down the line, if I don't have the possibility to drive a balanced setup (hence the higher priced options).

I doubt you will miss anything if you don't plan to buy something like early HE-6 version. If you really want balanced connection maybe Modius/Magnius will suit you, especially if you are in the US.

 

[keepthingsclean]

Availability outside the US is the biggest issue with Schiit products unfortunately. As much as they talk to my taste for product design, as hard as it is to get them here in Europe. There is one supplier, but with unknown availability and an extra price-tag that make the competition far more interesting again.

Thank you for the contributions so far. Guess I will become yet another L30 buyer

 

[_thelaughingman]

@keepthingsclean I would also recommend Geshelli Labs which is a US based company and they ship to international customers in select countries. Geshelli currently is designing their new DAC but their Archel 2 Amp has been reviewed on this site and is really good too. Just providing you with options besides Topping and Schiit