hey guys,
so a friend of mine put a birthday wish in my trusty hands and i can’t seem to get it off. He’s really, really weird with his stuff and his wishes sometimes are a bit annoying. He recently aquired a Hifiman Deva Pro. He also has an HD600 since 20 years. So now, he wants to step up his game (a bit) with a headphone-amp/ dacamp-combo. After a challenging fight to get all the information out of him, what he actually wants, the conclusion is:
- a headphone-amp for his Devas bc. he thinks they need it (i guess his HD600 as well)
- a usb-dac that he can connect to his pc via usb
- but all functionality should be in one device, so a DACAMP
- he also wants to be able to play music via bluetooth, so it has to be possible to connect his phone via bluetooth to the DACAMP
- he does NOT want a device with a seperate power supply or direct mains cable (!!!). Instead, he wants a device that can be powered via USB so he can carry it between his PCs / rooms and doesn’t want to carry a power supply with him. He can connect it to a USB-charger though, so (technically, it’s way too expensive) something like a Mojo with USB-connection to the PC and seperate USB-cable for charging/power would work
- but the device does NOT necessarily have to be a PORTABLE device per se, he doesn’t want to use it outside and he doesn’t need a seemless transition between his rooms or so. → but on the other hand, i personally think that would be a somewhat great advantage for him to freely move around in his home with great cans
- the budget is around 200 Euros
Normally, i would have loved to get him into good entry-level desktop-gear, but i don’t think many of them can be USB-powered. I think he leans more towards portable gear, but he’ll definitely would NOT use it outside lol
So… wtf do i do here… any ideas what would fit the bill? 
Hi. I’m kinda like this weird guy, except I buy my own stuff. 
-Xduoo XD05 Basic plus the BL05 adapter.
-The XD05 BAL got integrated bluetooth, too.
-Fiio Q5
-ifi xdsd or xdsd Gryphon
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Topping G5 is out of your price range brand new ($300), but if you could find one on sale or lightly used it’s basically what he wants to a “T”.
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unfortunately, the BL05 adapter seems to be completely sold out / discontinued. It’s a real shame because the XD05 Basic or Plus + the adapter would have been my choice now, given the power they offer etc., just the right type of device for an insane price.
Most of the other stuff you guys mentioned is either to expensive or “not avaiable for a normal price atm”.
I’m currently torn between the ifi Go BLU and the xDuoo XP-2 Pro. If size was out of the equation - which of the two would you prefer and why? BTR7 is not an option and i’d prefer the iFi Go Blu over the BTR5 (personal taste).
The HD600 probably needs as much power as the Deva Pro, so I don’t think that changes the answer.
For portable with BT, I would recommend the Fiio BTR7 for $200, or the BTR5 for $109. The difference is about 320mW vs 220 mW into 32 Ohms balanced, and longer battery life.
If you want a nice USB powered desktop the Topping DX1 is 280mW into 32Ω and still portable enough for a laptop ( at 4" x 3" x 1" ).
I own both the BTR5 and DX1.
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thanks everyone for the feedback. Good news is, that i found a decent price for the BTR7. So currently on the table are:
-
ifi Go BLU → Currawong said, it distorted more if attached to a grounded PC. If this is true, it’s out.
-
xDuoo XP-2 Pro → i’m a bit sceptical about the volume knob/range, at least with sensitive IEMs (that my buddy doesn’t use)
-
xDuoo XP-2 BAL → my buddy doesn’t have balanced cables (yet) so the output power would be a downgrad compared to the Pro. But does the BAL have any other benefits?
-
Fiio BTR7 → now this ones really intriguing for a good price. It has double the power of BTR5 etc. is genereally high regarded. I’m a bit afraid though, that it also has the noise issues Currawong described while connected to a normal PC, because actually is like 90% of the use case my buddy will do.
The joke with all of this is, that it will be like a group-founded gift. So the pressure is way higher than when it’s just my own money. I also personally wouldn’t buy something to use 99% in my house and limit myself like that. Just buy yourself a decent entry-level stack man… and carry the goddamn power supply if you need to.
→ from the above list, what be your personal pick with said headphones and use case?
USB can introduce noise into audio chains but it’s usually only noticeable with sensitive gear or very high amplification.
can’t speak for the Deva but I just used my HD650 with my BTR7 from my PC and even cranking it to full volume (front USB, Single Ended Low Gain) didn’t notice any noise being amplified, half volume was way louder than I would personally listen so shouldn’t have issues
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thank you so much, that’s quite useful advise. The BTR7 is also my current best candidate. Seems the most solid all-around and powerful enough.
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so i have around 4 weeks left… do you guys think there will come out something even better in this time? I’m still a bit worried about power (he only has single-ended and getting balanced for Deva Pro is a bit… confusing), also Passion for sound says, sound is a bit less natural and less dynamic due to the THX amps Fondle of the Uber Dongles: BTR7 vs G5 vs Poke II vs UP4 (22) vs AP80 - YouTube Hm… i had a SMSL THX 789 amp and yes, it think i can relate to what he’s saying.
guess what guys, i ended up stretching the budget and ordered a Topping G5. To hell with it, he as two good headphones so he deserves an adequate device that can fully replace a low/mid (?)-tier desktop stack. Maybe he gets a taste of it and i get him into the hobby lol. And the Topping is a device i am quite eager to hear myself, so it’s win-win in a way. I basically combined a group gift and a better personal gift into one to justify the price. It really feel better this way, though BTR7 is a great device with tons of MORE options. But G5 was a better fit in this case. Now i’m exited!
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I travel a lot for work (currently using my G5 in a hotel lol) but if I didn’t already have a stack at home, I could absolutely use my G5 full-time. Congrats to your buddy, I bet that he loves it!
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just wanted to report - the gift has been delivered and my buddy is in TEARS! He’s extremely happy and went listening for hours at the first night after everyone had left. I also tried it out and had a very, very “solid” impression with both his headphones (Deva Pro & HD600). Both sounded absolutely great and very well driven. A true desktop-replacement. I don’t think any other “lower”-tier choice would have been the right one - having more than enough power was KEY. Thank you again guys!!
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Awesome! Glad to hear that everything worked out!
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The G5 certainly has enough power
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