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Hello everyone, I bought a Philips Fidelio X2HR by a recommendation from someone here about 3 months ago and it has not disappointed me in terms of quality, but I am finding that my motherboard doesn't seem to be able to run it very well in terms of volume. I have to put my pc audio to max to get a decent level of audio, which was fine for a while, but than I encountered some problems with hearing chat audio in games and from certain people in discord. I know its a problem with my volume because none of my friends have this issue with their headphones. So I am looking for get at least an amp for the cans and maybe a DAC too, since I don't know if my motherboard is producing the best quality as some songs do sound muddy and certain tracks feeling like the instruments are overlapping each other. The problem is, I don't know much about amps or DACs, so I am looking for recommendations from you guys. My budget is about 150 euros but could go up to 200 if its worth it. I have looked online for some recommendation like the Fiio K3 and I have also heard good things about the schiit fulla series, but again, any advice and recommendations is very much appreciated.

hello! i am about to purchase the Beyerdynamic DT770 pros, 250ohms. i am fairly new to the audio community, so im looking for help. my budget is around 100-200usd. i need a dac/amp combo for those, and would appreciate your help! thanks in advance!

So as the title implies I was curious as to the difference between these two. I am someone who play a lot of games and listen to a lot of music so I wasn't sure about tube amps if they would be better than a solid amp and dac. If someone wouldn't mind explaining or providing some information it'd be much appreciated.

Hello, I just ordered my first pair of real headphones and now I need a Dac and Amp or a dac/amp combo for them. I currently have a bad 25€ amp/dac from amazon for my Sennheiser Momentum. Ideally my budget would be 200€, I spent 160€ for the headphones, I don't really want to spend way more for the dac and amp. If it's really really worth it I could go up to something like 260€, but not really above that. Thank you for your help! Ok so these days I carefully made a list with all the amps, dacs amp/dacs that I was suggested, with their price and shipping time. It took me a while I hope you can help me having all my options in front of you. Thank you a lot! DAC Schiit Modi 3: 139€ // currently out of stock in Europe (Italian Schiit dealer) 128€ + probably taxes= ̴ 178€ // 1-week (schiit USA) Topping D10: 109€ // 1-2 weeks (Ebay UK) [no optical in] 99€ // 3-4 weeks (Topping Audio EU) [no optical in] SMSL m100: 91€ // 1-2 weeks (Ebay Germany) Topping E30: 143€ // 20-30 days (Audiophonics.fr) Cambridge Audio DacMagic 100: 148€ // 4-5 days (Ebay IT) Topping D30: 111€ // 20-30 days (Audiophonics.fr) AMP JDS Labs Atom Amp: 123€ + probably taxes= ̴ 172€ // 5-9 days (JDS Labs) Schiit Magni 3+: 146€ // 2-7 working days (Schiit UK) Pro-Ject Head Box S: 95€ // 1 week (Ebay IT) Topping A50: 184€ // in a week (Audiophonics.fr) DAC/AMP Aune X1s 10th Anniversary Edition: 209€ + possibly taxes= ̴ 286€ // 1 month (AliExpress) Topping DX3 pro v2: 220€ // 1 week (Amazon) xDuoo XD-05: 217€ // 10-25 days (Banggood) FiiO K5PRO: 180€ // 1 week (Amazon) iFi ZEN DAC: 150€ // 3-4 weeks (Amazon) [no optical in] Fostex HP-A3: 293€ // 2-4 days (Thomann) Beresford Caiman SEG: 236€ (I could get a discount) // 5-10 days (Home HiFi) Pro-Ject Head Box Digital S2: 245€ // 1-2 weeks (SoloMusicaOnline) JDS Labs Objective2+ODAC combo RevB: 291€ + probably taxes= ̴ 391€ // 5-9 days (JDS Labs) [no optical in] AudioQuest DragonFly Red: 163€ // 6-11 days (Ebay IT) AudioQuest DragonFly Cobalt: 260€ // 6 days (Ebay IT) xDuoo TA-01B: 179€ // 3-4 weeks (Ebay USA) JDS Labs Element 1: 160€ // 1 week (USED 2 years – Reddit, from Slovakia) [no optical in] Creative Sound BlasterX G6: 160€ // 1 week (Amazon) LOXJIE D10: 100€ // 1 week (amazon) DAC+AMP STACK JDS Labs OL DAC usb + optical & JDS Labs Atom Amp: 257€ + probably taxes= ̴ 347€ // 5-9 days (JDS Labs) Schiit Modi 3 & Schiit Magni 3+: 268€ // currently out of stock in Europe (Italian Schiit dealer) 228€ + probably taxes= ̴ 311€ // 1-week (schiit USA) RCA CABLES (X2) Handmade Van Damme cable w/ Monster connector: 20€ // 1-4 weeks (Ebay UK)

I had the Razer Kraken pro V2 for 2 years and liked them very much till the earcups were torn.I wanted to buy a knew headphone and ended up on the dt990pro.I havent bought an amp/dac tho and the headphones are running from my Blue Yeti Microphone.I notice that there is not that much difference as I was expecting.Not to mention the krakens sound more in your face kinda(which I kinda prefer tbh cause it makes the headphone sound more fun and make u wanna sing and dance along) and the dt990pro sounds more airy and away(maybe because its open back).When I was at the store I was able to try the Meze Audio 99 Classic and I kinda liked them because of the more fun factor they had.My question is will a cheap 100dollar amp/dac make me like the dt990 pro more than I do now(not that much). Dt990pro=120euros Cheap amp/dac combo=100-120euros Meze Audio 99 Neo (wont buy amp/dac cause its low impendance and I can drive it)=250euros Thanks for your time, Manos.

I'm planning on buying the BD 1770 pro, but I'd like to buy an amp/dac combo, because my onboard sound card is quite bad. Is the Schiit Fulla 2 appropriate, or do you know a better option for under €200? Also, do you know any good sources to buy it other than the suspiciously schiity-looking website of Schiit Europe? Edit: What about the SMSL M3? Or perhaps Fiio E10K?

Hello, So I have the basic notions and read the pinned topics, but am still having trouble actually deciding on one. If nothing else because I have no actual experience owning one. By reading a bit I started going around in circles with O2, Magni, Fulla and the one from aduioengine. My scenario is… I’ve always used basic speakers and gaming headsets playing off of onboard audio from asus ROG motherboards and I’ve always been very sensitive to that point of diminishing returns on volume and especially interference noise (like moving mouse around lol). Extremely sensitive to noise/interferance. I’ve been upgrading with the intention of upgrading my audio experience. Will be playing off a z390 strix and I now have a dt 770 pro 250ohm and a Sennheiser 6XX from DROP. Will also be purchasing a pair of audioengine a5+ wired (unless an alternative is strongly suggested while not being more expensive). On top of that I’ll also be getting a mic for gaming (don’t know how basic). Something I’d rather have is ports for the speakers, headphones and mic on the amp/dac itself. Don’t know if this is something obvious but I’m mentioning it just in case. I live in Europe and I wouldn’t want to spend much more than 150€. I can consider a bit more if strongly recommended for some reason but not into paying extra just because… Thank you in advance for the help!!!

Hello, I am currently market for a new amp/dac combo for my headphones (V-moda M100) and have been overrun with various brands and types. The headphone jack on my laptop recently broke so a USB input for sound is a must as well as portability. Since, thinkpads aren't well known for having audiophile grade sound I'd rather just get a amp/dac instead of bothering to replace the connector. I have a few considerations but most of them seem to have varying reviews. If anyone can give me any insights or recommendations that would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00A2QLPJM/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=11KEWQ7YSRV3V&coliid=I1HT0TMX0UDE2C or https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00LP3AMC2/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=11KEWQ7YSRV3V&coliid=I2NB9CAADCB8TA I currently have some AKG K7XX and need a amp to power them and im stuck on these two. (please provide a argument to your choice not just "get this one") thanks guys

Hi I am looking to get the K7xx from massdrop and people reccomend the Fiio E10K amp/dac. I live Europ but I can't really seem to find a good/cheap webshop for the Fiio E10K. Do you guys have any idea/reccomendation.

I need help on upgrading my headset. I'm getting tired of my tiamat 7.1 since my mobo dosen't support it properly. I play FPS games mostly, and I need a mic. I don't have any extra PCI-e slots. 5.1 is fine, maybe an external AMP/DAC would be nice. Budget is 200£ no more. I don't like virtual 7.1, I prefer true 7.1. just leave it at that and don't be a smartass about it.

JDS Labs has recently released their new Amp/DAC called "The Element" at the price of $349. This thing comes with rear mounted inputs (as well as 16v ac power and rca jacks, and power and gain toggle buttons), a single 6.35mm output jack in the front, a large volume knob on the top, and most importantly an output impedance of only 0.1 ohms (the O2 amp has an output impedance of 0.54 ohms).The element looks and functions significantly better than the O2 + ODAC at slightly higher price (~$40 more than the O2 + ODAC combo with rear mounted ac power and rca jacks, upgraded knob, and 6.35mm output jack on https://www.mayflowerelectronics.com/shop/mayflower-custom-products/desktop-objective2odac-with-rca/ at $309.95). We could get The Element for less if we could manage to get it to drop on https://www.massdrop.com/vote/jds-labs-dacamps Please show some support and vote on that massdrop poll link and let me know what you guys think of this new Amp/DAC.

Hey Guys, Although my HD598`s is sounding good with the onboard audio (Realtek ALC892), I`m thinking about buying a external AMP/DAC for around $100. The Fiio e10k seems a really good options, but maybe is something better is this price range. What do you guys suggest? If something really worth it and is above my budget, I`ll consider too. Also, I`m looking to buy some IEMs for listening to music on the go. My budget is again around a $100. The Philips Fidelio S2 have some goods reviews on the HeadFi, so I`m think in getting those. But the Sennheiser Momentum In-Ears and the Shure SE215 are also a good option. What do you think is the best? Thank you Edit: I can stretch my bugdet up to $200, if something will make a difference like night and day.

Hey guys, Whilst I was looking for a good AMP/DAC solution, I realised I knew nothing about the subject. To make a long story short, I'm looking for a solution to power my ATH-M50X. I'm willing to go up to a max of about 250/300 Euro's. Thanks ~MajorTickles

Hi guys, So I'm currently using onboard audio in my setup. Since I'm starting to produce and master music on this pc, i need some decent audio signal. I already have some okay-ish headphones so i want to upgrade to an external AMP/DAC. I'm using easy to drive headphones (around 50 Ohms) plus I'm on a budget. So i'd like to stay around 100$. I appreciate any help

Hello Everyone, I'm not sure if this topic already exists, as I haven't done too much searching for something similar, so I'm sorry if this is a repost. Anyway, here's what I got. I'm not exactly contempt with the audio solution on my motherboard. I've got an Asus M5A97LE R2.0. I want a good amp/dac combo, but something that also has some inputs for some audio recording. In this case, something like a Fiio E10 is out of the question. What I'm currently trying, is a Scarlett 2i2 by Focusrite. A friend let me borrow it to see how I like it, and I've got to say, I'm quite pleased. It's got two combo XLR and quarter inch mic inputs that work with Ableton live quite well. Still, this is a little over my price range. I'm wondering if you guys can recommend something similar maybe closer to the 100 dollar price point. The Scarlett is about 150...and I have to give it back today :mellow: haha. Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

Hey guys For those of you, who are looking for a cheap AMP/DAC-combo unit, the Yulong U100 is on sale on massdrop right now, so if anyone wants to join in, we can push the price down a bit more https://www.massdrop.com/buy/yulong-u100?mode=guest_open 2 days left