Emotiva ta100?
Too big a footprint for my desk.
I recently had a similar quandary, looking to upgrade from the MX3. Ended up going separate components to drive my speakers with the Parasound Zamp V3 to be run out of a Questyle CMA-400i, but I recently came across this sound comparison between the Denon PMA-600ne and Topping MX3. I know sound demos have to be taken with a grain of salt, but assuming the same chain for both, I was suprised how close they sounded. I donāt doubt the Denon is technically superior, and for in person critical listening would likely reveal more differences, but I donāt use my (not that great) speakers for critical listening right now anyway. Iām torn as to whether to get rid of the MX3 now, as itās served well and fits on the desk so nicely.
Iām really trying to minimize the number of boxes, and the number of electric cords I have to plug in.
Iāve realized that what makes this so hard at least in my case is that I want BOTH BT and to be able to drive my passive speakers, not that theyāre anything special, but theyāre what Iāve got. So most solutions either have one capable or the other but not both. Iām going to see if I can do without BTā¦and it might be as simple as using a wireless recharger for my phone (just ordered) that would enable me to connect the phone via USB. Then suddenly Iāll have more options. I use the phone because most of the time Iām using my work computer, which I canāt use for streaming anything other than YT, and I canāt or wonāt keep my FLAC library on it. The only real catch with the phone is that its battery life is crap, so I canāt run it if I canāt have it constantly charging. Anyway, if I either give up on BT, get active speakers, or just get over having a separate box to power the passives, a much larger number of options open up.
So what is it you donāt like about the AD18 and MX3? I use the BT with my MX3 with good results driving passive Realistic MC-1200s for casual listening.
Honestly theyāre fine, which is why Iām not in a rush to replace them. I perceive some shortfalls with the AD18 when Iām doing critical listeningā¦I believe but donāt know for a fact that I could be getting a lot more out of my HD650s, which everyone says scales well with good gear. As for the AD18ās ability to drive my MB42x speakers, I have no complaints and obviously would move to upgrade the speakers before I fret about the speaker amp. I have no problem discerning the difference between the MB42x and the RB42, which I ended up pairing with the TV because the better bass is more critical for movies. That tells me that investing in better speakers absolutely will improve the sound, while a better amp might only make marginal improvements.
I bought the MX3 because I wanted to attach speakers to my TV for a 2.0 or 2.1, and the AD18 wouldnāt work when connected to my TV. I was afraid it might have been the TV, which has no audio out other than optical, but after reading others complain that their AD18s wouldnāt play nicely with TVs, I thought Iād take the chance on another brand. It worked. Thatās also why I keep the MX3 with the TV and leave the AD18 on the desk.
Anyway, itās all about getting the best out of my HD650s, and sooner or later Iāll succumb to the temptation to upgrade to an even better pair of cans. I also want to run the speakers sometimes, but thatās not the priority.
What did you end up getting? Iām looking for the same thing but to power the BR03 but itās the same at some point. I was going to get the SMSL AD18 until I saw your post.
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