New here, but gave the site a quick search to see if a similar question had been posted first, but feel free to link me to a thread if the search didn’t do what I thought it did.
I currently have Schiit Fulla 3 with whatever the newest non-USB ModMic is and a Sennheiser HD 58X with some Dekoni fenestrated sheepskin pads. For what it’s worth, I use Equalizer APO and the Peace extension for my EQ, and my 58x’s are pretty well EQ-ed to where I like them.
I’d like to upgrade one part of my setup with the intent of getting something like a Sundara, or some other harder-to-drive headphone.
The long and short of it is this: Is the Schiit Fulla 3 a better DAC or a better Amp? If I am to get a new DAC or amp and keep the Fulla as the other, which is the better option? I’m assuming that it’s probably a better idea to use the Fulla as a DAC and just use its output to a more powerful amp, because it probably stands to reason that if I get a new DAC, then the mic input on the Fulla basically doesn’t work anymore?
If I were to go with an amp, what would be the best ~$100-$150 amp for someone who mostly listens to rock, game, and symphonic music during the day and then plays games at night? I’ve heard that some Sennheisers such as the HD 600 are super amp-sensitive. Do the 58X’s respond well to different amps? Do they sound better on a tube, and thus would it be worth it to save up for a tube amp? Ideas that I’ve had for the amp are the JDS Atom, the Schiit Magni 3+ or the Heresy, and the ify Zen DAC. Is there a clear-cut winner in that list, is there a hidden gem that I’m missing, or is there really no wrong answer at this price range?
If your intent is more powerful headphones then use the full as a dac… its not particularly good for either but gets the job done however past around 250 ohms it struggles hard. Keeping in mind planars are a bit different and quite demanding for power.
Pretty much. There are better units than fulla such as Mayflower arc but again not the strongest.
Liquid spark as it’s a warm amp with power to drive 600 ohm headphones and still have some power left. Usually $100 new… can be bought off others for around $70.
Yes but not as significant as the 600 series and would be way outside your budget in that regard to get significant upgrade
Sennheisers sound great on tubes but isn’t necessary. Depends on preference
It’s rather weak for single ended but nice to have… it has quite a lot of power behind its balanced plug to even drive argons which is surprising considering the price. However it’s a combo unit which beats the purpose of the fulla.
My suggestion, less you already are having power issues stay with the fulla for now. Save up to something like an asgard 3 in around the $200+ range as you’ll benefit quite a lot more that way. You can sell the fulla and switch to a soundblastet g6 if you feel the need to keep that mic port… the g6 has a better dac with some added options
“My suggestion, less you already are having power issues stay with the fulla for now. Save up to something like an asgard 3 in around the $200+ range as you’ll benefit quite a lot more that way. You can sell the fulla and switch to a soundblastet g6 if you feel the need to keep that mic port… the g6 has a better dac with some added options”
So the two best options are save up for a $200 Asgard, or get a $100 Liquid Spark? Is there an argument to get any of the DAC options within the Asgard, as they are an extra $100 or $200? Or is it better to get a different discrete DAC like the Modi or Modius for those prices? Further, is there an argument to get a Magnius in place of the Asgard, as it is a dedicated amp?
If all else fails, I can just plug the ModMic into the mic port on my motherboard, because if I really needed better audio in that regard, I would get a proper standing mic. The motherboard audio with the ModMic is fine for communicating over Discord.
I’ve had bad luck with Soundblaster’s software on PC. I bought their cheap Soundblaster G3 because it works with phones and desktop, and I heard lots of good reviews on it. It kept disconnecting and whatnot from my system, for no reason, and it really left a bad taste in my mouth about it, despite the neat features that I enjoyed messing around with. I even uninstalled the software, and it would still randomly disconnect. I’ve had no issues with it on my phone over USB-C, but like, my HD 58x’s sound fine powered through the normal headphone jack, so until I get beefier headphones, the juice is not worth the squeeze with using the G3 on my phone.
Skip 4490 dac it’s not that great. Multibit is alright more impact and some other slight changes however the asgard 3 loses some headroom(power) by having the internal dac. Better to get a dedicated dac imo.
Yep, magnius’s power is mainly in its balanced port so bad for single ended… it’s also measurement based and is like a better thx 789 amp… its alright but imo asgard 3 is much better.
In that regard something like a topping e30 or modius would work fine.
Understandable, they have some issues from time to time.
Last question (probably). Are the Topping E30 and the Modius that comparable, with the E30 being $130 and the Modius being $200? I know that the $100-$200 market is super full of options. Would I be wrong to assume that the E30 would probably be more comparable to a Modi at $100? Or is it punching above its pay grade?