Mayflower Arc vs Schiit stack vs ??

[brandon32689]

Hey all, Right now i am using a Mayflower arc amp/dac combo but have been wanting to move the the schiit stack. I use my PC for gaming will i notice any difference or is there better options out there. I have some 250 ohm headphones i feel like it just dont drive them as powerful as it should or maybe its just me and i expect more out of it lol. The only amps i have owned is this arc and fio e10k.

[21rkosta]

I have no experience with the mayflower but i love my schitt stack. It is a great headphone amp dac setup, plus it is fun to say. It is probably my best reccomendation i can give for a not insanely expensive dac for more clean sound at good volumes. Their are tube options but personally im a little against tube amps in modern setups, maybe would be good with a record player though.

[KaminKevCrew]

First, have you switched the amp to high gain? That would give you a significant bump in volume. 

 

If you have and that still isn't satisfactory, you could just get a Schiit Magni (instead of the whole stack) and plug it into the RCA outs on the arc. The Magni will be significantly louder.

[brandon32689]

1 hour ago, KaminKevCrew said:

First, have you switched the amp to high gain? That would give you a significant bump in volume. 

 

If you have and that still isn't satisfactory, you could just get a Schiit Magni (instead of the whole stack) and plug it into the RCA outs on the arc. The Magni will be significantly louder.

Yes I have it on high gain. And I've tried the dsp button on and off. I mean it def sounds better than my desktop but I was by no means blown away. So the schiit product would be louder. I tried to look at the specs between the 2 but it's just well above what I understand. I would rather get the full stack that goes together. 

[brandon32689]

1 hour ago, KaminKevCrew said:

First, have you switched the amp to high gain? That would give you a significant bump in volume. 

 

If you have and that still isn't satisfactory, you could just get a Schiit Magni (instead of the whole stack) and plug it into the RCA outs on the arc. The Magni will be significantly louder.

Yes I have it on high gain. And I've tried the dsp button on and off. I mean it def sounds better than my desktop but I was by no means blown away. So the schiit product would be louder. I tried to look at the specs between the 2 but it's just well above what I understand. I would rather get the full stack that goes together. 

[brandon32689]

I am also looking at the topping a30/d30 anyone know how it compares ?

[KaminKevCrew]

14 hours ago, brandon32689 said:

I am also looking at the topping a30/d30 anyone know how it compares ?

Not as powerful as the magni.

[brandon32689]

27 minutes ago, KaminKevCrew said:

Not as powerful as the magni.

So best bet get the magni/modi 3? Will I tell a difference over the Mayflower arc you think ?

[vertix]

2 hours ago, brandon32689 said:

So best bet get the magni/modi 3? Will I tell a difference over the Mayflower arc you think ?

Definitely! Though, I'd suggest getting the JDS Atom and pair that with Modi 3 instead as it offers cleaner amplification, but with slightly less power. 

[brandon32689]

2 hours ago, vertix said:

Definitely! Though, I'd suggest getting the JDS Atom and pair that with Modi 3 instead as it offers cleaner amplification, but with slightly less power. 

Thanks for the info man. I just hope u can tell difference from my arc.

[Kalm_Traveler]

The ARC isn't the best dac/amp around but it is decent. 

 

However keep in mind it also is an ADC which is why you can connect mic to it. 

 

Most other audio USB devices you're looking at don't have any mic input

[brandon32689]

8 hours ago, Kalm_Traveler1 said:

The ARC isn't the best dac/amp around but it is decent. 

 

However keep in mind it also is an ADC which is why you can connect mic to it. 

 

Most other audio USB devices you're looking at don't have any mic input

The min input to me is not important as I use a xlr mic. I just want to make sure I will get better sound with the schiit stack vs the arc. What is the difference from say schiit stack or arc to like the creative soundblaster x7

 

 

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.amazon.com/Creative-X7-High-Resolution-Headphone-Connectivity/dp/B00Q3XLGLU&ved=2ahUKEwjtqJzi0-jgAhUHTawKHQxKCYwQFjAAegQIAhAB&usg=AOvVaw2CmV2xSsAvuulV78V85DZ7

[Kalm_Traveler]

9 hours ago, brandon32689 said:

The min input to me is not important as I use a xlr mic. I just want to make sure I will get better sound with the schiit stack vs the arc. What is the difference from say schiit stack or arc to like the creative soundblaster x7

 

 

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.amazon.com/Creative-X7-High-Resolution-Headphone-Connectivity/dp/B00Q3XLGLU&ved=2ahUKEwjtqJzi0-jgAhUHTawKHQxKCYwQFjAAegQIAhAB&usg=AOvVaw2CmV2xSsAvuulV78V85DZ7

Gotcha, 

 

I don't have the stack, just a Fulla 2 to compare but between those they sound the same to me

[rice guru]

On 3/2/2019 at 9:29 PM, brandon32689 said:

Hey all, Right now i am using a Mayflower arc amp/dac combo but have been wanting to move the the schiit stack. I use my PC for gaming will i notice any difference or is there better options out there. I have some 250 ohm headphones i feel like it just dont drive them as powerful as it should or maybe its just me and i expect more out of it lol. The only amps i have owned is this arc and fio e10k.

don't get a schiit stack. grab a:

1. JDS labs stack with a ODAc or Sdac with JDS labs atom

2. monolith liquid spark paired with a topping d10 or a sdac.

3.geshelli labs stack 

these are all better options. they are newer and significantly better especially the ATOM. the atom is literally the best amp you can get until you get to  $300