Topping E30 L30 x Argon Mk3

[filipduarte]

I just did something that I promised my wife that I was never doing again, embark on another headphone hype train.
I bought an Argon Mk3, Fostex T50RP mod, and now I have a doubt, is my E30 L30 stack powerful enough for these?
They have a reputation of being hard to drive.
The makers of Argon recommend an amp with 1W or more power at 50ohms.
L30 with E30 can output 0.7W in 50ohms, according to the user Solderdude calculations on the L30 review topic.
So the one million dollar question is, they can or can't push these cans?
If not, what is the best solution? A Schiit IEMagni or a Drop THX AAA One? Or I have to go higher on the amp food chain?

 

[_thelaughingman]

I don’t have the Argon mod but I stuck the elite velour pads from dekoni and performed the mod that was done by arrchimago on his blog. Not a direct comparison but I have them being driven by a Sabaj A10h which is similar to an L30. The A10h has two high gain modes and my personal observation has been that the T50’ prefer high gain for proper output. Your mileage may vary with the L30 but I think it should be sufficient to drive them.

 

[filipduarte]

I don’t have the Argon mod but I stuck the elite velour pads from dekoni and performed the mod that was done by arrchimago on his blog. Not a direct comparison but I have them being driven by a Sabaj A10h which is similar to an L30. The A10h has two high gain modes and my personal observation has been that the T50’ prefer high gain for proper output. Your mileage may vary with the L30 but I think it should be sufficient to drive them.

Thank you, my doubts became after seen some YouTubers saying that these headphones need 5-8w!

 

[3125b]

That would destroy the headphones, the T50RP MK3 maximum power rating is 3W.

 

[filipduarte]

That's why I came here asking. 5w on a Headphone with 50ohms and 1mW @ 92dB of sensitivity, for me, is absurd!
I don't have vast knowledge but, for me, something wasn't right.
Some guys recommend an Emotiva BasX A-100 with jumpers, which in my opinion, is a nuclear bomb to kill an ant!

 

[Swtoby]

I have the Argons and my experience is that the need for multiple watts of power is very overstated. I have no problem getting too loud for my tastes with an amp such as the Atom with its rating of 1 watt at 32 ohm.

 

[phrwn]

I had Argons and ran them fine off an ifi Micro Signature on normal gain. High (or Turbo or whatever it was called) was way overkill. They were also fine on the much lower powered ifi Neo too.

 

[_thelaughingman]

Thank you, my doubts became after seen some YouTubers saying that these headphones need 5-8w!

I would never trust a youtuber to know their stuff, most of them spew nonsense to get paid and peddle gear.