Dump some thoughts on the XS thread. I’m dying for more input from people.
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I’m planning on it. Wanted to give them at least a week before writing something up.
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As an interlude, $110 for Xduoo TA-01B, also $110 for Cayin C5, $140 for Atom. Take or pass?
I love my Atom but $140 seems expensive, did JDS increase pricing?
(I am guessing you are talking about the JDS Labs Atom amp?)
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Pretty sure region prices change… usually like $100 iirc. Used atom are like $60-$70
Side note, dont put tygr on tubes… it’s not high ohms… doesnt work out really. Same for planar like 400se, hybrids work for planar otl tube amps not so much
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Yeah, JDS Labs Atom. Well, this is the EUSSR, so all the sales tax, customs and cross-continental shipping takes its toll.
I’ve just read that the SBZ is supposed to only go well with high-impedance (up to 600 ohms) low-efficiency headphones (Beyer DTs?) and below 200 ohms it may cause distortions. Also something about 125 miliwatts. Also 1.3Vrms at 33 ohms and 2 at 600, whatever that means. Front channel out is 2Vrms 192 Hz vs 96 Hz on headphones. Can’t find the corresponding stats for Titanium (in case they’re better, as I suspect some of them might be) because Titanium HD or Titanium Fatal1ty always pops up in all searches instead.
As far as new units go, Zens and Butterflies tend to be priced similarly, out of the most recognizable brands. There’s plenty of e10K and HA–101, but I don’t want to go there (frequency response), or stuff like FX-AUDIO X6 or FiiO K3 at the price of used Atom or G6 or AE-5. Topping L30 is like $160. Closer to $200 there’s FiiO Q3, Topping NX4, Hip and Zen. Used units? Just the three I mentioned above and a hip and that’s it. The rest are G5, G6 and stuff like Omni or X3.
Thank you. I guess tubes and cats don’t go well together anyway. 
If we’re getting to talk on amps really depends on the sound your after too… like theres going to be a difference with say an atom to a zen or spark as atom will be cleaner and more neutral while a zen is warmer and spark is warm/rolled and deeper. It’s not as severe early on less it’s like 600 ohm beyers which can change dramatically but something worth noting…
If your after tubes a 600 ohm beyer or sennheiser do well
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Oh, if it’s $140 to your door in Europe, then that is a decent price for a new Atom.
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For Sundara, it seems just getting enough power for them without going bankrupt would be enough of a challenge, as it seems that for them to reach the full potential with a large circle-shaped soundstage, out-of-yer-melon presentation and all tha jazz requires more power than the rest of the building combined. 2000 mW or something? For Tygr, a tough call, but what I’m after comes down to immersive experience. Sometimes being clear, crispy, snappy and fast seems to be the answer, and sometimes more warm, deep and so on, though I usually want my RPGs to be more energizing than relaxing. Maybe I’ll be in a better position to tell after I’ve listened to it from my potato.
Oh, and on a different note — Monolith/Monoprice sports M1070s for $250. Hot or not?
Power isn’t what’s required. Mainly the circuitry and what not. Extra power just means its driven doesnt mean it gets along. I wouldn’t use something like a thx amp with most beyers as while it provides enough power it’s overly sterile, clinical, analytical, and slightly brighter nature tends to make them uncomfortable to listen to or just annoying
Never was a fan
Tygr is more ampless than not… it really doesnt gain much whatsoever from higher setups so it just needs enough juice.
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I mean if you can stretch for a Sundara they are definitly worth it. They are quite amazing (post 02/2020) for their price. They do however require power so it’s not stretching your budget to 350. It’s stretching it to 350 + at least a watt, preferably more, of amplification
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Oh man, I was just gonna ask you about that one, seeing as it was discounted to just above my budget by Monodudes. Clinical-analytical listening isn’t really what I’m after. I could go there and it’s certainly appealing, but there are just too many other things to do and buy in life, so I wouldn’t like to develop the habit of listening to tracks for several hours a day picking them apart, judging and comparing and deciding which one’s best. More like play a game for a whole freaking day on the rare day I don’t have any projects pending or really, really need a solid break. Otherwise, music at work — to keep me awake, to improve my mood, to offset the depressant effect of caffeine overdose and loss of sleep, etc.
Aight. If that’s the case, then I’m sure a half-decent internal potato will suffice.
Hmm… The open-box deal is fifty bucks less than closed (plus free review by a technician), but one doesn’t know whichever revision they happen to be.
I’ve read a thread with at least two posters agreeing the 1W Atom wasn’t giving it the full potential. Comparison of the most and the least enthusiastic reviews kinda suggests some people may be thinking the headphone is at its best just because it’s loud enough and the amp is semi-decent-rated, while the guys who were the happiest with it had a car’s worth of an amp.
It also looks like the same is the case with the 400SEs, though maybe to a lesser extent, as there are people with more modest amps who are very happy with those, even driving them from smart phones. However, I also recall reading that if you give the 400SEs plenty of juice, they aren’t that far behind the Sundaras.
But again, I just recall what others wrote. Being a complete n00b, I don’t really understand most of it.
The connectors will tell you the truth. 2.5mm on the old models. 3.5 on the new. I can know. Because i accidentally bouth a 2.5mm cable xD
And the power requirements on the Sundara aren’t volume related. Not that I understand how it works. But the same volume (read decibels) on a 400mW amp doesn’t sound as lively as the same volume on a 6watter like the SMSL SH9
Ouch. Sympathies. I definitely wouldn’t like to end up needing to buy cable.
Yeah, exactly that’s what it looks like. People get enough volume, so they think they’re driving the headphone properly and it’s just a nice but flawed unit, but in reality (or what looks like it) they might be missing like a half of its charm simply due to not enough juice.
So maybe I’ll end up skipping the Sundaras after all. $300 for the headphones is one thing, but another coupla hundred for an amp is perhaps a little too soon.
Edit: Found these also (roughly $200–250 range):
THDA-200T
Zen Can (1600 mW)
AudioEngine D1
LX2-HPA
Heed CanAmp II
Topping L50
Edit2: The 560V4 I mentioned above is back in stock, in case it could be a better gamer than the Sundara.
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Hey, guys, I have a question. I seem to have a budget 2.1 set with L+R RCA output (this thing). I wouldn’t dare do this to something with the Sundara’s price tag, but with the 400SE… could it work or would it fry the thing?
I also have a JVC MX-J500 stereo (it drinks and votes but wasn’t married last time I checked) which accepts plugless speaker wire for output, L+R, 6–16 ohms (this thing). Could I just make/order the right sort of cable (cut off the plug with a knife… sigh) or adapter and feed speaker juice to the thirsty Hifimans?
The 400’s aren’t the kind of thirsty boys that need speaker amplification 
Even the sunny’s do quite well on regular amps… But I mean sure. You can run a speakeramp to your headphones. Lots of people do it with more demanding headphones like the Susvara.
I have an RCA output on the budget gaming 2.1, but that’s probably going to be a worse amp than on the old stereo. I wonder what’s the simplest way to have four wires on one end and a single 3.5 jack on the other end. Can I just deplug and peel RCA cables on one end?
Iirc theres only a small handful that need speaker amp power… seems to be some misinformation or misunderstanding that power = better sound or whatever(much like someone saying dt 880 should have a speaker amp with jumper cables)
Which is why I only mentioned one because it’s literally the only one I know bahahaha
I’ve just impulse-bought a FiiO K5 (non-pro) for $60. I knew what it was, had checked it out before, but there wasn’t much time for thinking, as used headphone amps are really hard to come by here and importing anything in that price range is pointless (shipment+customs+VAT = might as well buy NIB from a local store). It’s supposed to drive 1.5W of wall juice @ 32 ohms. Should suffice for now. If I don’t like it or need to upgrade, it should probably make a decent hand-me-down. Has no DAC, which is fine by me for now, as in one step at a time. The Blaster supposedly has a semi-decent DAC. It also has an optical output, but I wonder if it still performs all the gaming DSP if its DAC is bypassed.
Probably not the best choice for neutral-like headphones, but we’ll see.