dac to pair with the THX AAA™ 789 LINEAR AMPLIFIER.

[dadison9]

hello, whats the best dac to pair up with the THX AAA 789. On top of that the headphones i was looking to get are the Beyer DT1990, but i also have my eyes on the ARGON Mk3. any recommendations or advice would be appreciated.

 

thank you.  

[rice guru]

The sdac balanced DAC or the geshelli labs enog 2 pro. Both balanced dacs so should pair really well

[rice guru]

Also both are great headphones buy one depending on what. You want to use them for

 

[dadison9]

15 hours ago, rice guru said:

The sdac balanced DAC or the geshelli labs enog 2 pro. Both balanced dacs so should pair really well

looking more into the dac, i decided that the geshelli labs enog 2 pro would be more beneficial. i just have a few questions. how does the geshelli labs enog 2 pro stack up against the SU-8v2. also i came across alot of people mentioning the topping dx7s. 

[rice guru]

7 minutes ago, dadison9 said:

looking more into the dac, i decided that the geshelli labs enog 2 pro would be more beneficial. i just have a few questions. how does the geshelli labs enog 2 pro stack up against the SU-8v2. also i came across alot of people mentioning the topping dx7s. 

I don't know.. sorry \s I cant find measurements comparing them but A dac is a DaC buy the one that looks the best has good measurements and the line ins and like out you want. if you want the cleanest dac for around this price grab the khadas tone board. only issue with uit is it's aunbalanced dac and doesn't have a lot of features doesn't even have a case. but GEnerally after a certain point DACS all sound the same 

[rice guru]

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/master-sinad-distortion-comparison-graph-for-dacs.4814/#lg=attachment29009&slide=0

 I check this list when comparing dacs  enog 2 pro is super clean so don't worry too much basically the same as the khadas but it has more features like a case. Balanced outand different inputa

[dadison9]

13 minutes ago, rice guru said:

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/master-sinad-distortion-comparison-graph-for-dacs.4814/#lg=attachment29009&slide=0

 I check this list when comparing dacs  enog 2 pro is super clean so don't worry too much basically the same as the khadas but it has more features like a case. Balanced outand different inputa

thank you! going with the enog 2 pro. just need to decide on the headphones; good thing is i got until NOV. by any chance do you know about the 10% off they are having right now? if its not lasting long i could buy it right away, so i dont miss out on the discount (https://geshelli.com/shop?olsPage=t%2Fenog2-pro)

[rice guru]

3 minutes ago, dadison9 said:

thank you! going with the enog 2 pro. just need to decide on the headphones; good thing is i got until NOV. by any chance do you know about the 10% off they are having right now? if its not lasting long i could buy it right away, so i dont miss out on the discount (https://geshelli.com/shop?olsPage=t%2Fenog2-pro)

not really but it was there the last time I checked prices which was prime day while I was helping other people out. 

[dadison9]

22 hours ago, rice guru said:

not really but it was there the last time I checked prices which was prime day while I was helping other people out. 

so the enog 2 pro has not usb. so i decided to go with the smsl su-8 version 2 dac from massdrop. i feel like for 200 thats the best chose. but massdrop just brought back the topping d70 dac for 425. you think its worth the extra 225? 

 

[rice guru]

6 minutes ago, dadison9 said:

so the enog 2 pro has not usb. so i decided to go with the smsl su-8 version 2 dac from massdrop. i feel like for 200 thats the best chose. but massdrop just brought back the topping d70 dac for 425. you think its worth the extra 225? 

I don\t think any dac is worth past like  $200. stick with the su 8. a DAC is a DAC by no means should you ever spend more money on a dac than your headphone or your amp. you should spend the most of any audio budget onthe drivers so this case your headphones. a D

[dadison9]

1 hour ago, rice guru said:

I don\t think any dac is worth past like  $200. stick with the su 8. a DAC is a DAC by no means should you ever spend more money on a dac than your headphone or your amp. you should spend the most of any audio budget onthe drivers so this case your headphones. a D

sounds good, thanks. i know the dt 1990 doesnt come with a 4 pin balanced cable. i found a few options. 1) the MASSDROP 4-PIN XLR-TO-2.5MM TRRS ADAPTER. 2) Lowel 4-Pin XLR-M to 3-Pin Mini XLR-F Cable. or should i just stick with the Single sided, detachable cable it comes with. 

 

links: massdrop (https://drop.com/buy/massdrop-4-pin-xlr-to-2-5mm-trrs-adapter?mode=shop_open&&utm_source=google-shopping&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=2052723005&utm_term=73417174045&utm_content=359666752693&utm_keyword=&utm_placement=pla-790616484903&utm_network=u:c::&utm_device=&mode=shop_open&pc=ZBAHIUXFNGBSCGFHSCLHJHHE&gclid=CjwKCAjw7anqBRALEiwAgvGgm-XS5rZwx2bbwTecqAx4Vj-_veFrVX6x4jSWiew2C3EXm_yXXnNG_RoCzuAQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds) 

 

lowel 4pin (https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1121420-REG/lowel_bl_820_4_pin_xlr_f_to_3_pin.html)

[rice guru]

1 minute ago, dadison9 said:

sounds good, thanks. i know the dt 1990 doesnt come with a 4 pin balanced cable. i found a few options. 1) the MASSDROP 4-PIN XLR-TO-2.5MM TRRS ADAPTER. 2) Lowel 4-Pin XLR-M to 3-Pin Mini XLR-F Cable. or should i just stick with the Single sided, detachable cable it comes with. 

 

links: massdrop (https://drop.com/buy/massdrop-4-pin-xlr-to-2-5mm-trrs-adapter?mode=shop_open&&utm_source=google-shopping&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=2052723005&utm_term=73417174045&utm_content=359666752693&utm_keyword=&utm_placement=pla-790616484903&utm_network=u:c::&utm_device=&mode=shop_open&pc=ZBAHIUXFNGBSCGFHSCLHJHHE&gclid=CjwKCAjw7anqBRALEiwAgvGgm-XS5rZwx2bbwTecqAx4Vj-_veFrVX6x4jSWiew2C3EXm_yXXnNG_RoCzuAQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds) 

 

lowel 4pin (https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1121420-REG/lowel_bl_820_4_pin_xlr_f_to_3_pin.html)

unfortunatly the 1990 need to be modded to become balanced if you really want balanced i would look elsewhere unless you wanna mod stuff

[rice guru]

like those will work but might as well run it through the single ended output at that point

[dadison9]

imma stick with the dt1990s. anyway you can describe the difference or advantages of having balance rather than a single side cable? 

[rice guru]

6 hours ago, dadison9 said:

imma stick with the dt1990s. anyway you can describe the difference or advantages of having balance rather than a single side cable? 

https://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/balanced-vs-single-ended-for-those-who-care.90597/

 Here is a nice explaination

[Spuriae]

7 hours ago, rice guru said:

https://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/balanced-vs-single-ended-for-those-who-care.90597/

 Here is a nice explaination

 

The post confuses balanced connections and differential signaling. As long as the impedances of both lines are equal, common mode noise rejection will happen, whether or not one of the lines is "ground". Not that common mode noise is much of a problem in practice anyways unless you're running multiple cables with different signals bundled together.

 

As for ground loops – well, headphones can't get ground loops, and headphones are inherently balanced.

 

Benchmark has a much better explanation, even if they too mess up some of the terminology. For the most part, it boils down to "balanced interconnects have a higher SNR not so much due to noise reduction (noise levels are 3dB higher in truly differential outputs!) but mostly because differential signalling doubles the signal level without requiring higher rail voltages". There is no advantage to a balanced headphone amplifier except in some niche cases like a differential tube amp where even-order distortion cancellation may occur, or in cases where additional drive voltage is needed (but at that point get a better single-ended amplifier).

[rice guru]

29 minutes ago, Nimrodor said:

 

The post confuses balanced connections and differential signaling. As long as the impedances of both lines are equal, common mode noise rejection will happen, whether or not one of the lines is "ground". Not that common mode noise is much of a problem in practice anyways unless you're running multiple cables with different signals bundled together.

 

As for ground loops – well, headphones can't get ground loops, and headphones are inherently balanced.

 

Benchmark has a much better explanation, even if they too mess up some of the terminology. For the most part, it boils down to "balanced interconnects have a higher SNR not so much due to noise reduction (noise levels are 3dB higher in truly differential outputs!) but mostly because differential signalling doubles the signal level without requiring higher rail voltages". There is no advantage to a balanced headphone amplifier except in some niche cases like a differential tube amp where even-order distortion cancellation may occur, or in cases where additional drive voltage is needed (but at that point get a better single-ended amplifier).

The only thing I've seen getting close to difference is a balanced output can have more power. So basically if your wanna run a akg sextett

[Spuriae]

5 minutes ago, rice guru said:

The only thing I've seen getting close to difference is a balanced output can have more power. So basically if your wanna run a akg sextett

The caveat is that running single ended stages in parallel doubles power by doubling current, and reduces noise levels by 3dB, while balanced/differential doubles power by doubling voltage, and increases noise levels by 3dB. In both cases signal-to-noise ratio improves by 3dB, but with a final amplifier output noise level is more important than the on-paper SNR since the listening (reference) level is held constant.