I love my Asgard 3 to death, especially with my Grados and TR-X00 Lawton. Sadly the Asgard 3 is tied to my desk and I’m often not listening at my desk.
I currently have an xduoo xd-05 (original) with the burson V5i-D op amp swap. Its good, but is just doesn’t quite compete with the Asgard 3.
What I want is a DAC/Amp that has the same kind of sound as the Asgard 3, especially with the headphones mentioned, but is portable.
What I mean by “sounds like the A3” is the smooth but detailed treble, the impactful bass, and the clear and crisp, but never shouty, mids.
My budget is around $500, maybe more if it’s truly worth it.
Bluetooth is not necessary but it would be nice.
Single ended is preferred due to the Grado’s attached 3.5mm cable.
And one last thing to consider is that the X00s and Grados are fairly efficient so either the volume can’t have any low level imbalance or needs to allow me to turn it up enough to get past any imbalance.
The Hip Dac is probably a downgrade from the xd-05, but I have considered the nano/micro idsd. The worry I have there is the volume having chanel imbalance at low levels, which is apparently a problem with some ifi stuff.
I’ve also considered the dethonray honey, but that is balanced so I would have to use the possibly inferior SE out or add even more cost to re-terminate my Grados in 4.4 pentacon.
My real issue is I don’t want to spend money on something and then find out it is still not as good as the A3 for the X00s and Grados, even if it is technically better
Maybe the micro could work since it has eco mode, but that 4Wpc might be overkill for 25ohm, 32ohm, and 38ohm headphones.
The nano is actually kind of appealing since it’s not uber powered, so I hopefully won’t have any volume issues, and might have the kind of sound I’m looking for. Pluss it is smaller and cheeper.
Someone on the head-fi Grado forum mentioned this.
Haven’t heard the Asgard 3 but I strongly recommend the Chord Mojo. Easy to find used for around $300 these days and it sounds really nice. My guess is it would be a pretty nice step up from the XD05. Plus it’s 3.5mm out so no fiddling with adapters. It might even be a DAC upgrade depending on what you are using at your desk. You could put it in line out to the Asgard 3 when you are home and want to have the benefit of more power. Optical in is a cool feature for a mobile unit too because it means I can use it with stereo gear like my CD player if I want. It also has very accurate stepped volume control, so no worries about imbalance at lower volumes. Just my 2 cents! The Mojo has been one of my favorite audio purchases so I like to shill it when it makes sense. lol
fwiw I use the Mojo with the Sarda which has a LOT of energy in the bass and treble and it never sounds offensive to me. Treble is smooth and detailed. Bass slams like crazy. The other thing about the Mojo is it does well in the harder to explain things like timing, timbre, and spatial qualities. Well recorded things sound very alive to me.
I’ve also used the Mojo with the Nighthawks and enjoy that combo as well. However I haven’t listened to them on the Mojo as much as the Sarda so I’m hesitant to start describing that pairing.
The mojo could work. But I really don’t like the micro USB connector. My old topping nx4 is now pretty much useless because the micro USB port for signal-in broke off the board after about a year of use.
Maybe chord is better with how they attach the port to the board, or just in general use better parts than topping?
Good question about micro USB. I understand your concern. Seems like there are a good many out there still functioning several years after release so maybe it’s not a huge issue. I never use it in my pocket or anything like that so I don’t ever put much stress on the port other than regular plug and unplugging. For me the benefits have outweighed the risk. I like this thing too much. lol
There is also the concern I’ve heard people voice about the battery, however I’ve found replacements for around $40 so I’m going to pick one of those up in case the life becomes too short in the future.
Partially true. The 1.0T drivers in the X00 series are deceptively power hungry, tho. The subbass suffered a lot on the low-power mobile solutions I tried… ES100 coming to mind.
iFi’s connection method of the recessed type A plug is the most robust I’m aware of for OTG use. The Hip-Dac is at best a lateral move from your XD05 and also is very colored in its sound. It seems designed to take the all-too-common treble peakiness out of many sub $1K IEMs…and there’s a definitely a place for that but it’s not what you need. iFi’s house sound is a bit different than Schiit’s though.
i would say, don{t worry about it whatsoever. dosent have any bigger inbalance at lower volumes than the xduoo. ive had both, actually cross that since i still have both lol. Point is, i also have the andromedas which are suuuuuper sensetive. it’s unbelivable how sensetive it is, so sensitive that channel imbalance is actually an issue with the ifi if i go too low. However the andro is ridiculously sensetive, with stuff like the hemps which i also own, hawks and other sensetive stuff it’s not an issue whatsoever. in addition ifi have the iem match options in their dac amps so it reduces the chances of that even more. i would fully consider that to not be an issue or a worry
My main reason is I would be buying used and if it works but has a imbalance I might have to re-sell it to get any money back.
I know it’s not always going to be a problem on every unit, but it is still something to consider imo.
I think the two main options right now are the micro idsd or the mojo. But I still have the fear that even if they are technically better, they still might not have that same synergy the Asgard 3 has.
