Ahh, I see. Thanks for clarifying that.
One question, would the xDuoo MT-602 give me more power in volume than the fiio k5 pro?
No slightly less but I don’t think it would be an issue plus with the MT-602 you can roll the tubes if you su wish 
That means you have the K5 right now or just heard it somewhere?
After ASR measurements the K5 already delivers 1W into 33 Ohm.
So neither the spark nor the MT-602 is going to give you more power. A magni is around 2.4W, so around double. You may know that double the power is 3db more volume and 3 dB volume is not much. Depending on the software you use you maybe can adjust a preamp and see how much 3 dB are.
10db would be double the loudness/volume but +10dB more means 10x the power.
Maybe you can get a smsl SP200 or topping L50. At least that has 3W output. Actually if you want that much more power you have to save up for like an (used?) topping a30pro with 5.5W.
But overall I think you might expect too much of a change in terms of sound by a little bit more power.
If you just find the 400se to sound a little too neutral or bright changing to the MT-602 could help. It’s class A (like the asgard somebody suggested) with tubes for even more warmth. Or you just use EQ.
By the way. If you have the K5 you can use that one as your DAC but I guess you want to sell it to get another amp.
I would second this. I’ve run a MT-602 on my work rig since it came out with mostly planars (HE-5xx and M560) and I’m very happy. Fairly easy to roll tubes, I put old NOS Sylvania 6AK5 in mine. Never have had a problem and used it plenty as a preamp as well.
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well there are several things that I want to clarify, when you say the magni, are you talking about the schiit magni heresy or the normal schiit magni 3? because I can’t find the schiit magni 3+ on ebay and neither on amazon. only the magni 3 normal and the heresy magni.
Now before I had the k5 pro ESS and I tried them with my hifiman 400se and they gave good volume but not as loud as I want for some songs and I returned it to amazon, I am not looking for a gigantic volume that hurts my ears, but a volume higher than the k5 pro and they told me that the TOPPING DX3 Pro LDAC gives 13% more volume than the k5 pro but I don’t know if it’s true.
So which one would give more volume? DX3 Pro LDAC or the shiit magni?
Now the software I use for my songs is foobar2000 and movies with vcl player but I also see movies on the internet on some pages and videos on youtube,
and also at the moment I don’t have any amplifier or dac, I can increase my budget to 50 dollars more and have a maximum of 250 dollars for what I need, because I don’t want to spend so much money on an amplifier like the Topping A30 Pro that has a price of 349 dollars and then I would have to buy a Dac to combine it, for me it is a lot of money for the sound of the headphones, because I live in Colombia and the dollar has a very expensive price in my country, 349 dollars in my country would be for you like more than 1000 dollars.
now the magni is greater than 3db for me it would not be bad but it is not available on amazon but I can buy the magni on ebay with a virtual locker it would cost me approximately 140 dollars with the shipment to my country.
Well that’s what it would cost me if it were the normal magni 3 or the heresy, but the magni 3+ is not on ebay and amazon, only the magni 3.
And if we suppose that I make the purchase I have 110 dollars left over to buy a dac and combine it, which dac do you recommend that has excellent audio quality to combine it with Magni in that budget of 110 dollars?
I also saw that the “Audient iD4 MKII USB-C” has a built-in DAC and it works only if you connect it to the desktop with usb-c connected and it gives 1.5A @ 5V and the computer recognizes it as a dac and as the main sound of the headphones and in the specifications of the headphones it has 120dB, and it costs 199 dollars, wouldn’t it work for what I need? and would it even give me more volume?
or do you have any other idea what i can do with 250 dollars? to buy on amazon for shipping to colombia or available on ebay.
I am not talking about a specific Magni model, just whatever Magni you can get.
My problem is just that I don’t know if that is the solution for your problem. The K5 outputs 1W, lets do a quick and roughly calculation.
HE400SE 91dB@1mw
101dB@10mw
111db@100mw
121db@1W (K5 max)
124db@2W (around what the Magni will do)
120dB from the K5 is already kind of deafening levels. Are you sure you don’t have the volume reduced digital somewhere on the PC or foobar?
About the iD4 interface. You mean you want to use it as a DAC/AMP? With those interfaces you have to pay for things you don’t need. As expected the headphone output of the iD4 is very weak, not even 2V output (223mW) at 30 Ohm.
Thats the Power consumption of the unit, not the output.
If you want a combo the only thing I see is the DX3pro plus (the plus is important).
DACs around your price point would be.
-SMSL Sanskrit 10th
-Schiit Modi 3
-Topping D10s or D10
USB Dongles you could use as a DAC.
- Hidizs S8 or S9
- Tempotec Sonata HD Pro
(Just list a few things, not sure whats available for you)
I already understood the calculations.
Well I was looking and looking and the TOPPING DX3 Pro plus is not available on amazon, on amazon there is only the TOPPING DX3 Pro LDAC version.
TOPPING DX3 Pro plus
It is only on ebay but it is brought from China with free international shipping, I am not sure if it is original because it is brought from China or how long the shipment takes.
The Schiit Magni 3 is also not available on amazon, only the Schiit Magni 3 (SCH 07-3) is on ebay and I can bring it and buy it easier because it is located in the United States.
and finally the dac I only found available at a good price the Topping D10s Mini on amazon.
https://www.amazon.com/-/es/gp/product/B08F54TT79/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A2XP9NZHWEM1R7&psc=1
what do you recommmend me to do? What would be the best option for greater volume for what I need?
This seems to be the old version with only 700mW
Well, Topping is a chinese company so it will be original. Seller seems to be good too, many and positive ratings. Delivery time should be mentioned on ebay. For me it says between march 17 and april 25. Be aware of import taxes / VAT, don’t know the rules for that in Columbia.
Seems to be non plus version with 2W instead 2.4W, should be okay though.
Understood you could get the heresy and/or Magni 3 on amazon. if you can get the heresy on ebay I would take that one, 2.4W and newer + nicer color.
That is the right one, mini is only in the description because it is quite small.
Or the tempotec to save some bucks and have a portable DAC/AMP for on the go too.
I was wrong “shiit magni heresy” it’s only up for auction and only 1 available and it’s used and I can’t find a magni heresy to buy right away. I found another Schiit Magni 3 but this one is the magni 3+ or more but it’s not new it’s used and I can’t find the new magni 3+.
So I don’t know if it’s worth buying that product used.
Regarding the Topping, if it is true, it is seen that the seller is sure, but looking at the comments there are several complaints for a return if the product arrives in poor condition and you are right, it does not specify the value of the taxes.
I don’t understand how I could combine the Dac TempoTec Sonata HD PRO with a preamp. I don’t see any RCA output.
My head is going to explode, I don’t know what decision to make or what would be the best option, because I want something with more volume than the fiio k5 pro, at least 3 or 4 dB more.
I always try to buy used. Can save quite some money and never had a problem.
Also bought a few times from china, no issue either but I never had to return something. Can imagine that is where the trouble could start
You already know the answer. 3.5mm to RCA cable.
The Tempotec is a DAC/AMP combo. On full volume it outputs 2V, that is the basic RCA voltage and required to get the full 2W out of the Magni. The D10s gives out 2V over its RCA’s too. So you could use the tempotec as your DAC feeding the Magni.
Only want to show the options, you have to decide.
I would say get whatever Magni you feel comfortable to buy. If you don’t feel comfortable to buy used then don’t do it. If you just want a normal desktop setup get the D10s. If you like the idea to have a decent USB dongle for on the go too and safe some money you could get the tempotec.
You either had the k5 pro’s volume down on the pc or are going deaf bruv, or your headphones are defective idk…
You don’t need that much power , I can drive my 400i from a dongle dac on my phone or don’t go past 10 o’clock on a liquid spark, there’s something weird about your situation.
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Well I was looking at the specs of the Topping DX3 Pro+ and it says 1800mw x2 at 32ohm, does that mean it has 3600mw? because if that were the case then the dx3 pro+ would have more power than the magni for more volume or am I wrong?
I was also looking for other options and what do you recommend about the iFi Zen CAN? It is at 199 dollars on amazon and it says in its specifications that it is 1600mw with balanced cable at 32ohm and the truth is that I tried the sound with balanced cable once and it gives a much cleaner and more detailed sound, I had thought of using the iFi Zen CAN as an amplifier with balanced cable with the hifiman and combine it with the Tempotec as a DAC using RCA to 3.5mm, what do you think of that idea?
Yes…and no…Yes, it does have 3600mW. When we are saying amp XY has 1W then this always means 2x1W because you have a left and a right channel on the headphone. So the 2.4W that the schiit has is also 2x2.4W.
The ZEN Can is great amp for 300 Ohm headphones. The CAN can deliver 650mW into 300 ohm but “only” 1.2W into 32 Ohm. So from the volume point we are talking about all the time it will be quieter than the K5. But as ragecandy said too, that should be more than enough.
The zen can sounds a little warmer because it is class A and the bass boost button is nice to have (but you always could EQ that). Both could make the very neutral 400se a little more enjoyable. You might also like the 3D button the zen can has (crossfeed)
wow friend the truth is that you know a lot about the subject and you have helped me a lot and I thank you so according to what you say is that the magni amplifier has more power than the Topping DX3 Pro+ for volume.
so my best option will be to buy the magni on ebay and combine it with the Tempotec DAC.
If power is the main goal then, yes the magni is still better than the other two.
Don’t want to confuse you again but when the Magni is hard to get for you and would pay around 200 anyway then the Topping L50 (3.2W) is worth to have a look at. Maybe you get this one on amazon.
friend and with that Topping L50 it would be much more powerful in volume?, for how many dB would a comparison of the fiio k5 pro have more?
And the best thing is that I found the Topping L50 on ebay cheaply and that would be an excellent option, and it would be enough to combine it with the DAC.
Close to 5db gain in comparison with the K5.
The L50 is not that much more powerful than the magni but:
- Less distortion and noise than the Magni.
- XLR Connector (it is not a balanced amp so don’t buy an XLR headphone cable) .
- Nicer build.
- The Magni gets quite warm/hot, the L50 not.
- L50 has balanced input if you ever should buy another DAC in the future with balanced output.
- L50 has 3 gain settings (Preamp Volume steps), Magni has two.
- Magni has the On/off and gain switch on the back. L50 on the front.
but the mangi has 2w and the topping L50 you say it has 3.2w, so shouldn’t the topping be more powerful?
Yes it is. Just not that much. Like explained earlier you need double the power for every +3dB(1W 0dB, 2W +3dB , 4W +3db, 8W +3db). So the difference between 2.0W and 3.2W is not that big anymore like between 1W and 2W. It’s a logarithmic system, to go higher and higher you need ridiculous amounts of power.
Magni in comparison to K5, +3dB
L50 in comparison to K5, +5dB
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