I want a portable amp that can fit in my pocket with my Fiio M6 and power basically anything without being too bulky.
Anything exist?
I want to be “that guy.”
Well, what’s your price range? The xduoo xd05 plus would fit the bill if you didn’t need balanced.
Topping NX4 DSD provides enough power for most cans for ~$160 right now. I was able to get it from Apos a few months ago for $115. It drives the HD6xx well enough. The 6xx don’t sound great through it, but they do sound good.
A wireless alternative, since the M6 does bluetooth, is the Ear Studion ES100. It also has enough juice to drive the 6xx if you use the balanced output.
But @M0N is right, you need to nail down a price range. The Monolith THX portable also comes recommended by many.
You could also look at portable amps w/o DACs since the M6 has a DAC already. Fiio makes a few of those. I haven’t used any, but they tend to be well regarded.
The task of powering “basically anything” also gives a hard choice too, as the most powerful portables really aren’t all that portable lol. I would recommend something like the ifi iDSD micro Black Label, but that’s not really compact. The XD-05 Plus has loads of power and isn’t as large
Fiio Q5s. Amazing amp/dac. Very portable. Has a good amount of power and really clean sounding. Plus has Bluetooth and balanced outputs
That’s true, and if you wanted more power you could swap out the amp, but I don’t think you can get as much power as the xd-05 plus. But a great dac/amp for sure
That’s the key here. I’m seeing this as a major purchase for the future that will be totally worth it, so I’m not as worried about price here. I just need to know what I’m saving for.
But yes, the key is the size and the power ratio here. What is the most powerful and delicate (using this word to describe that it can perform with less power hungry headphones with finesse as well) without being bulky. I don’t really plan on having a desktop setup at all, and as @WaveTheory said I don’t need DAC.
Would I ever need any more power than the Topping?
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You could get something like the ifi xCAN then, as it’s essentially an amp only, but has great power output and is a very good amp. For what power you would need, the xCAN should be able to power most headphones besides ultra power hungry headphones like the older hifiman or t50 mods
You’ve mentioned an interest in Argons, which is a T50 mod. There are going to be very few portable amps that can properly power either the T50 or mods based on them. The NX4 does an ok job on my Dekoni Blues (T50mkiii mod), but it doesn’t control their low end as well as desktop amps like JDS Labs Atom, which also doesn’t control their low end as well as a Schiit Magni 3 (this is the only case I’ve come across where the Magni bests the Atom).
That’s a long way of answering your “Would I ever need any more power than the Topping?” with “in very few circumstances will you need more power, but you’ve expressed interest in one such circumstance”.
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Pretty much, the only portable (if you can call it that lol) that’s reasonably priced that can drive these well imo is the ifi iDSD micro BL
I second the Q5s actually.
I found it to be just the right balance especially with future proofing. For me it covered all the basis of having an all purpose source to use with my laptop / phone on the go USB / line out / Bluetooth. No real worry about compatibility even years later when upgrading phones or PC. (I even use them at night Bluetoothing from a Taotronics Bluetooth sender to power my argons when watching TV)
A major plus was the size. The XD 05 / ifi BL wouldn’t really fit in my pocket & since the Q5s do, have been using them while doing chores around the house.
The biggest downside to the stock Q5s is power, but I found I’m actually quite satisfied with them running my HD6xx & Argons 90% of the time. If I really needed the extra power it tells me I should just be on my desk.
*Edit - since luige06 is considering a pure portable amp, what are you guy’s thoughts on the fiio A5. I noticed in terms of numbers they output fairly well for the price.
It’s pretty good, although not that clean, but pretty good for the price
Fiio Q5s or xduoo xd05 plus is good for portable!