Wait so are we saying if I run the Zen Can through balanced then I donāt need the Asgard?
What I see on the iFi website is
Balanced:
15.1V/385 mW (@ 600 Ohm)
11.0V/1890 mW (@ 64 Ohm)
S-E:
7.6V/196 mW (@ 300 Ohm)
7.2V/1600 mW (@ 32 Ohm)
So thatās 1.9 W on 64 ohm (which I guess would be double that at 32 ohm? Not sure why the ohm listings are doubled for balanced vs. SE, but it makes it hard to compare)
Iād say it depends. If you have a chance to listen to it please do. I personally find them to perform better on higher powered devices. But how high I canāt say. I found them lacking on the Atom and love them on my SH9. So somwhere in between lays the minimum that I want them at.
And no. Iās not double at 32 ohms by default. Power and impendence do not always scale liniaery. (otherwise if 64ohm = 1890mW 600 would be 201,6mW) but you indeed can assume it will be higher.
@toruc_macta I have the topping e30 dac (2v output) and Asgard 3. With Sundaras and the Asgard on high gain (generally accepted as better sounding than low on almost anything) my preferred volume setting is at 11 oāclock. And I love it!
Same here - a definite favorite configuration!
No experience with Schiit due to their schiity stock in europe but I can only imagine. Feed a Sundara well (and slightly warm) and itās amazing for the price!!
Iām using a SMSL stack with the SP200 and the M200. They sound quite good here on low gain and around 11 oāclock but also Iām not to fond of high volume most of the time.
Welcome, Victor. Good to know.
Nice dac/amp stack. Welcome to HiFi Guides!
Updates:
I got the Dekoni leather pads for my Sundaras. I find them significantly more comfortable than the stock pads, but I think I have sensitive skin or something because I just didnāt like the feel of the cloth material against my skin. That said, they do feel like theyāre made of cheaper materials than the stock pads, but you donāt really notice unless youāre holding both in your hands.
I do think they change the sound signature, though I havenāt a/b tested it since that would be difficult without two sets of headphones. My impression though is that they make the bass more pronounced. However, I kind of like a bit of enhanced bass, so this doesnāt really bother me. All told, I think this was a good purchase.
Also on the amp front, I decided to buy both the Zen Can and the Asgard. Since the Asgard is backordered and I can get the Can immediately, Iāll drive the Cans until the Asgard arrives and then I can a/b test them against each other. Since they both seem to maintain their resale value pretty well, I donāt think itāll be an issue to sell off the one that sounds worse.
Me too! Iāll be sure to post them here.
The Zen Can just arrived and music is noticeably fuller and more powerful than they were going just out of the Zen DAC alone. And the XBass is really nice, I see why people compare it positively to the TrueBass feature on the Zen DAC alone. The 3D feature just seems to make things seem more distant and I donāt think itās very interesting.
All-in-all, a pretty nice upgrade for my Sundaras!
He should just ask Andrew Park to explain it, lol.
For the record Hifiman said that the only difference between the 2020 version and the earlier version is the pads.
Just got a set of Sundaraās yesterday, ordered a Qudelix 5k from the US which will take a couple of weeks to arrive here in the UK.
In the meantime Iām using the Apple lightning to 3.5mm adapter and while it gets the volume to a decent level and loud enough, it does feel like more is needed so Iām looking forward to the Qudelix arriving.
Iāve been looking at balanced cables and found one for Ā£26:
Besides the terrible white colour, whatās the difference between this one and the Ā£55 cable that was posted above by @MCook1970 ? I guess some nicer build quality comes into it but I expect the sound quality should be the same?
Cables are just two things. Connectors and build.
Anything else (cabel materials or quality) is 99% BS.
So as long as you got the right connectors to fit your headponies to your device all that matters is how much you care about the build. Crappy rubber? Stiff plastic weave? Soft braid? ā¦ Also length I guess 
R70x = Sundara killerā¦?
