The first thing I’m gonna say is yes, I realise this isn’t a fair comparison, the Heresy is just a headphone amp and the MX3 is an all-in-one.
The reason I’m looking for a direct comparison of the two is because they’re roughly the same price, and they both have a headphone amp function, so what I’m asking for is the comparison between them this specific use case.
I was sold on the heresy until I found out the MX3 exists. IMO the MX3 looks way better aesthetically, and although I don’t have an immediate use case for all it’s other features right now, I’ve always wanted the option to buy passive speakers without dishing out extra money for an amp, dac, etc. I will use the Bluetooth functionality but obviously I can live without it. The reason I was going to buy the heresy was to pair with my GSX1000 dac to give it more power, but if the MX3 will do that and a whole bunch more while looking way better at the same time, for the same price! In my mind the MX3 is a way better buy.
Except for one thing, is the headphone amplification quality significantly lacking compared to the Heresy? Because after all, the main use case of it will be as a headphone amp, and if the sound is significantly better from the heresy, it would make more sense to go for that and skip the MX3.
So what do you guys think? I’m really on the fence here but since I can’t find any direct comparisons I don’t know what to expect.
Any feedback that helps me solve this dilemma is greatly appreciated!
What headphones will it be driving? I had the GSX1000 feeding the MX3 for a while, but can’t speak directly to how that compares to the Heresy since I’ve never heard it. I will say I was never disappointed in how the MX3 sounded while I had it. If it had a 6.35mm jack and pre-out, I’d likely still have it. You do have to watch impedence matching (damping factor) to some extent due to the higher output impedence of the MX3.
I don’t know about the Heresy but I had the MX3 for a couple of weeks before I had to return it because it had a constant hissing noise in both speaker and headphone output in any volume past 12 o’clock. I don’t know if it was because I tend to be really sensitive to hissing noises or I may have gotten a defective unit
Im gonna be pushing beyerdynamic 300ohm dt770 pros and SHP9500s most of the time, as well as Fidelio X2HRs
My biggest concern is the beyers, everything else doesn’t need it as much
I don’t think either amp would struggle with the headphones mentioned. I’ve used both the 9500 and X2HR on the MX3 and found them enjoyable. The Heresy is sometimes compared to THX as a lower cost option for clean, analytical leaning sound with arguably better single ended power and performance, but does not use THX tech.