Looking for DAC/Amp for Audio Technica ATH-R70X

[Druantia]

Hi all,

I'm about to get my first proper headphones, and after reading a lot, I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed by the options for DACs and amps. I've ordered the Audio Technica ATH-R70X, primarily for music listening and gaming. With its 470-ohm impedance, I'm concerned about choosing the right DAC/amp setup.

I’m leaning towards a DAC/amp combo, but I'm open to separate units if that’s a better choice.
Also considering getting a balanced cable to take advantage of balanced output.

Here are a few options I've found:

• Fiio K7 BT: Offers a 37.7Vpp peak output voltage and 560mW + 560mW @ 300 ohms on balanced output. However, I’ve seen some reports of overheating.
  
  
• Topping DX5 Lite: Provides 25Vpp peak output voltage and 250mW + 250mW @ 300 ohms. While it seems to be of higher quality, I’m unsure if the output voltage offers enough headroom. And this amp doesn't deliver more power on balanced output.
  
  
• Schiit Jotunheim 2 + Schiit Modius Stack: Delivers 600mW + 600mW @ 300 ohms. This setup looks great and the DAC is a separate unit which has been recommended by many. But is a bit pricey—would it be overkill for the R70X?

Which option do you think would be the best match for the R70X? Is the Jotunheim 2 worth the extra cost, or is it more than I need? I’m open to other recommendations too.

Any recommendations or advice are greatly appreciated!

 

[JOCoin]

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...dio-technica-ath-r70x-review-headphone.32498/
This headphone was reviewed here. Looks like you'll need 318 mv to reach 94DBSPL. You may want more than that if you ever need to use EQ with negative gain.

 

[Druantia]

Oh thanks a lot! This is really helpful.

By the way, I made a mistake earlier—the Jotunheim can deliver 600mW@600ohm per channel.

I'm currently leaning towards the Jotunheim 2 + Modius stack, but it's double the price of the Fiio K7 BT. Topping is not an option for me.
I've read reviews about these two, but since I'm new to this world, they haven't made my decision much easier.

The Schiit stack might be a bit overkill, but at least I can be sure that I won't have to worry about insufficient power.
Do you have any experience or advice that could help me decide between the two?

 

[Brian Hall]

Schiit Midgard Balanced Headphone Amp Review

This is a review, listening tests and detailed measurements of the Schiit Midgard balanced headphone amplifier and preamp. It was sent to me by the company and costs US $219. While I am not a fan of the symbols Schiit uses instead of proper labels, there are only two to learn which is no big...

www.audiosciencereview.com

Did you look at that one?

$219 vs $399 for the Jotunheim.

 

[Druantia]

Thanks, I'll take a look!

By the way, correct me if I'm wrong, but I read that with the Midgard, there is no option to mute the headphone output when using the preamp output—whereas the Jotunheim has a switch for that. This seems like a nice feature if I plan to use it with a speaker amp later.

 

[Brian Hall]

Thanks, I'll take a look!

By the way, correct me if I'm wrong, but I read that with the Midgard, there is no option to mute the headphone output when using the preamp output—whereas the Jotunheim has a switch for that. This seems like a nice feature if I plan to use it with a speaker amp later.

True. That is a drawback to the Midgard. Really dumb design decision by Schiit. Almost as bad as adding those stupid tubes to everything for a while.

I used it in a desktop setup so it was easy to turn off the speaker amp when I was going to use headphones.

The Midgard was great, but I've stopped using it now. The headphone amp in the Wiim Ultra sounds just as good and has plenty of power to drive my HD800S headphones.

The Wiim Ultra replaced the Wiim Pro Plus, Modius, Lokius and Midgard.