Hello, Im currently looking for a headphone amp that I would be able to plug into the line out of my mackie onyx artist 1.2 audio interface so I could still use my headphones as monitors and still be able to plug studio monitors into the amp. I do want one that can handle high impedence headphones so I have a bit more versatility I guess. also, the headphones I have are the philips shp9500. Im looking at the jdslabs atom that I could use with my interfaces built in dac, and I already have a 3.5 to dual 1/4" splitter so I can run the 3.5 into the dual 1/4" speaker outs. Im also looking at the ifi zen dac, but I would have to buy a bunch of extra splitters and adapters and stuff to use that. so what amp would be best for me?
So do you have any ideas of what specific headphones you want to accommodate in the future? And also are you looking for a specific signature for the amp?
im not really looking for a specific sig, i just want everything to sound a big more clear and full i guess. and i guess in the future i want some dt 770 80 ohms, and some hifiman he400i 2020’s, and stuff like that.
Gotcha. If you could grab a schiit magni 3+ that would be a pretty solid all rounder imo. You just need to grab 1/4 inch ts to rca adapters to plug the amp in to the line out of your interface. If you didn’t mind something a bit more warmer and full leaning, the monolith liquid spark is also a good pick imo
Also if you are going for the 770, I would definitely recommend going for the 250 ohm over the 80 ohm imo, as it’s a more refined sound and a bit better technical preformer
how does the magni 3+ compare to the zen dac or jdslabs atom?
Sure. The atom is going to be a bit brighter and leaner than the magni 3+, a slightly more narrow stage but with sharper imaging, somewhat similar detail retrieval, the magni 3+ has more impact and slam, and also better timbre, atom has a bit more clarity
The zen dac is mainly a dac moreso than an amp, in your case the zen dac might not do what you want it to
What about the zen can?