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Personally, I think the thx amps might be a bit overkill, but it would work for sure
So I think the stack would allow for more upgrade options or changes in the future along with a slightly better sound, but the desktop aio has more features and is more compact.
I would choose the stack over the monolith desktop, unless you wanted the dsp features of the monolith
So what genres exactly do you listen to, and what do you want to get out of the elex? Differing amp and dac combos can change how the elex will respond
If your just trying to drive the Elex, a liquid spark or an atom is more than enough amp.
You don’t need the additional power of the THX amps.
I agree with this for sure. A JDS Labs Atom amp and Topping D10 or D50s would be a great pairing imo. At most, I would say the enog2 pro and archel2.5 pro would be the most you would want to spend for a well balanced stack (also actually prefer this to the thx stack in sound for the elex)
The stacks I mentioned above would be more than sufficient imo for example. The elex is really not that hard to drive well
My personal top pick is the enog2 and archel2.5 pro for the elex in this price range. I think it actually is a better pairing with the elex as it sounds more natural to me without coloring the sound. Off of a thx the elex does sound good, but can be a bit harsh and lifeless at times, and with the Geshelli stack this isn’t the case, I think it’s overall more refined sounding. I will say that I am personally not the biggest fan of thx amps as I don’t think they sound that great with higher end headphones, but they are still worth their salt for some more power hungry headphones
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Personally my definition of neutral or correct is something that sounds accurate to life, not something warmer and not something overly clinical/analytical as neither of those sound closest to life.
I would say your ha2 was closer to something like the g stack than a thx. If you do really want that clinical sound the thx is available, but I think if you want to “hear things as they were intended” the thx don’t offer that as well as something like the Geshelli stack. The thx designs use a feed forward design to achieve such impressive numbers on paper, but it’s generally accepted that this isn’t the best topology approach for natural, accurate to life sound.
Here is a post from a few users demonstrating some of the flaws with thx tech (if you read the thread there is more info there)
If you want to see what I own and use for audio, feel free to check my profile and ask any questions if you want
I will say that if you go with the g stack or the thx, you will have a great setup with both. I just think that you don’t need to overspend for the thx and would actually have a more satisfactory experience with the g stack for less money (which is good unless you like spending more money lol). And if you wanted to get even greater bang for buck, the jds labs atom and d10 or d50s is there too
If you want analytical, the atom is basically that.
IME differences in sound between these newer 0.00X% THD amps is relatively minor.
You don’t need a lot of power for the Elex.
The THX amps are fine for what they are, but unless you really need 6+W of power they are total overkill for most people, with little benefit over amps like the Atom.
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Honestly I think the thx are more analytical than the atom, as the atom is more transparent and less colored sounding in some cases lol. The atom is just awesome for the price
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I probably agree, I just think all these going for neutral amps sound more alike than they do different.
I personally wouldn’t pick any of them, unless I needed a lot of power on a budget.
Spark would probably be my budget pick.
I do enjoy the spark, but for Alex going off of his preferences and wanting something more uncolored I don’t know if he would be looking for a warmer amp
No for him I’d recommend the Atom, or maybe a heresy (still haven’t heard it).
But even the spark isn’t miles from neutral.
The heresy and the atom sound super similar (the atom has an edge in timbre in my mind but it’s so small and that’s nitpicking at that point), either one is great
The 6xx is 300 ohm and actually somewhat easier to drive than you think, and it would work just fine. I think the atom would be what I suggest for best bang for the buck, but if you did really want to get something a bit better the Geshelli is my pick
6xx is also relatively easy to drive, would be fine with either amp.
6xx actually works best with a tube amp.
Very true, a tubed 6xx is pretty dang sweet
All easy to drive, T50RP3 might be borderline, short of that or some expensive planars, either is fine.
And if your going to try and drive expensive planars, you probably want to spend more on an amp.
Yeah if you step into the 1k range for planars, you might be spending alot on an amp in the future lol
The g stack would power most headphones very well under the 1.5k range excluding the headphones that you essentially need a speaker amp to use. There are very little that I think the archel2.5 pro couldn’t power to a reasonable level of quality.
The schiit stack is pretty colored sounding and has issues like dynamic compression and an overly forward sound that is also emphasized by the schiit house sound. Not really a fan of the magni 3 and modi 3 stack that much because of these issues
The older schiit products suffer from this as well. The only schiit products that doesn’t have this issue is the newer asgard 3 or magni heresy. I would def recommend the atom stack or g stack over the schiit stack
Personally with your budget and plans to drive potentially higher end headphones in the future, I think the enog2 pro and archel2.5 pro are up your alley. The atom + d10 is pretty awesome for the price, but I think the g stack is a bit more what you are looking for sound wise, and will allow you to power more hard to drive things in the future