Cheap (sub 100€, preferably 50-70€) AMP/DAC for IEM-s (Truthear Zero & others) and headphones (Sennheiser HD 560s and others)?

[191x7]

To stop having "gamer hair" during the workweek I switched to using IEMs for gaming during Sunday to Thursday.

I started with some cheap earbuds (Panasonic HJE 120) switched to the Moondrop Chu (which were terrible for gaming), the KZ Zex Pro Crn (not great), the 7Hz Salnotes Zero and QKZ x HBB.

My main headphones are the Sennheiser HD 560s to which I switched from the HyperX Cloud (the original ones).

Recently I upgraded my IEM game by going with the Truthear Crinacle Zero (to come close to the Senheiser HD 560S), and in a year or two I'm going to get something even better.

 

The thing is, my current audio sources can't feed the Truthear Zero properly.

 

The onboard Realtek ALC1220 does a good-enough job, but I feel some stuff lacking in certain situations. And channel crosstalk. The few Type-C to 3.5mm dongles do similarly to the ALC1220. 

The Asus Xonar U5 sounds the fullest (best directionality, distancing, elevation), but the sound is simply too weak (not just too quiet but the sounds lack some punch the ALC1220 and the dongles provide).

The Realtek and the USB-C DACs lack separation between the channels, that's the best way I can describe it. All of the mentioned power my other IEM-s just fine (as far as I know/think).

 

Did some research and it turns out the Xonar U5 lacks power to overcome the high impedance on it's ports (outputs) to power the low impedance dual driver IEM-s.

 

Here are the specs of the Truthear Crinacle zero:

 

Here are the specs of the HD 560S:

 

And here are most of the specs of the Xonar U5 I could find:

 

I am limited to the stores available in Croatia, we don't have local Amazon (shipping from the German, Italian, UK or other European Amazons usually costs more than a device), and I can use AliExpress and eBay (European, International).

My budget is quite strict since I haven't considered I might have powering issues for the 50€ IEM. I wouldn't like to spend more for an AMP/DAC than the IEM, especially since my main use case is PUBG Battlegrounds, music isn't that important (I'm not hugely into music, songs, instruments - what I already have is enough for that for me).

 

Can you help me choose the right device to solve my problem?

 

Here are some of my considerations:

- FiiO JadeAudio KA1 (51€) 

- AkLIAM PD4 USB (73€)   (https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005149661523.html?gatewayAdapt=4itemAdapt)

- Sabaj A4 (100€)

- Topping DX1 (120€, above my price range)

- Aiyima A5 pro (71€)

 

The FiiO would be the cheapest, but I'm not sure how well it would do withe the Truthear zero and maybe some even better IEMs.

The AkLiam PD4 seems to be good and since it has a 4.4mm balanced output I could get balanced cables for my 560S and the IEM-s to draw even more out of my gear. I could accept the price.

The Sabay A4, im not sure if it's just an AMP or a DAC/AMP combo, the info is contradicting itself, and it's on the pricier side. Is it good?

And the Aiyima A5 pro, I can't find a lot about it, might be good.

 

What would you say? Maybe some other recommendations in this price category?

[191x7]

Since no one here was willing to help, I ordered the AKliam PD4 Pro in the hopes it will fit my needs and turn out to be good.

Since it's from AliExpress, it will take a couple weeks to arrive.

70€.

I also ordered a balanced cable for my HD 560s.

[Bobbo]

Was the AKliam PD4 Pro a good buy?
Getting myself TruthEar Zero Red's and have no real knowledge about audio, DAC's, AMP's etc.

[191x7]

37 minutes ago, Bobbo said:

Was the AKliam PD4 Pro a good buy?
Getting myself TruthEar Zero Red's and have no real knowledge about audio, DAC's, AMP's etc.

Yes, I am more than satisfied with it. 

 

A decent alternative might be the Truthear Shio.