Budget DAC/Amp! Schiit or something else?

[MrRobot]

Hello All,
I am looking for DAC/Amp for my system
It's almost impossible to demo these things in Pune, so I am thinking to purchase based on reviews and experience.
I have a budget of 15k (can extend a bit only if the improvement is worth)
Options that I have in my mind:

• Schiit modi/magni stack
• Drangonfly red
• Ifi hip or zen dac
• Fiio?

I have beyerdynamics dt770 pro 80ohms headphone and generally listen to them via macbook pro while working.

 

[MaSh]

Those are very good options. How's thr the availability of the top 3?

MaSh

 

[MrRobot]

Those are very good options. How's thr the availability of the top 3?

MaSh

Hi Mash,

All of these are available on https://www.headphonezone.in/collections/beginner-audiophile-amps-dacs
I guess they will start shipping after lockdown ends.

Your thoughts on any of these?

 

[MaSh]

Hi Mash,

All of these are available on https://www.headphonezone.in/collections/beginner-audiophile-amps-dacs
I guess they will start shipping after lockdown ends.

Your thoughts on any of these?

Hmm haven't used any ifi product, but most have very good reviews. Personally I would pick the Red.

MaSh

 

[thedude]

My ears would pick ifi over Schiit any day. I haven’t heard Red so can’t comment on it

FIIO are good in the PDP space too. But would pick ifi over those too. I had a mid range Fiio PDP few years ago

 

[thedude]

Other options can be ibasso and see if you can locate any hifiman pdps too. Both superb options

 

[MrRobot]

My ears would pick ifi over Schiit any day. I haven’t heard Red so can’t comment on it

FIIO are good in the PDP space too. But would pick ifi over those too. I had a mid range Fiio PDP few years ago

Thanks, after some reviews that i watched on youtube, looks like ifi is better for rock and hindi songs, it has bass boost as well.
DFR has a lot of fan following.
I have to choose between ifi n DFR now.

 

[tusharshukla1991]

I haven't heard red, but habe heard black and to me there was a very slight improvement from my MacBook's headphone jack port for M50x.

Of possible, increase your budget and go for chords mojo

 

[Abhilash Mohanan]

I am using idsd nano black label with Beyerdynamic dt990 pro 250ohms headphone. It is good but only have usb input option. Sound quality is far better compared to laptop onboard DAC's.

 

[thedude]

Thanks, after some reviews that i watched on youtube, looks like ifi is better for rock and hindi songs, it has bass boost as well.
DFR has a lot of fan following.
I have to choose between ifi n DFR now.

Once the situation improves may be you can try DFR audition if HFZ carries it

 

[MrRobot]

I haven't heard red, but habe heard black and to me there was a very slight improvement from my MacBook's headphone jack port for M50x.

Of possible, increase your budget and go for chords mojo

Mojo is way out of my budget, do you think DFR and Ifi won't make a noticeable difference?

 

[MrRobot]

I am using idsd nano black label with Beyerdynamic dt990 pro 250ohms headphone. It is good but only have usb input option. Sound quality is far better compared to laptop onboard DAC's.

IDSD Nano also seems a good option now, do you think the sound quality be better than zen dac?

 

[Abhilash Mohanan]

IDSD Nano also seems a good option now, do you think the sound quality be better than zen dac?

Both are using same single DAC chip, nano is portable and zen is desktop type, looking features Zen is more attractive and powered.

 

[unleash_me]

• Schiit modi/magni stack
• Drangonfly red
• Ifi hip or zen dac

Among the 3, I would recommend the DragonFly Red. Not just for the value, but for the convenience also.
Others you can consider are the Schiit Fulla/Hel, E1DA 9038S etc. Latter, if you can sort out the connectors.
I would skip iFi altogether, mainly due to its annoying channel imbalance I noticed; even with the Zen one.

 

[kartikay]

Avoid DFR, not worth the price or the hype. If specifically looking to drive dt770, any decent portable dac/amp will do like, Schiit Fulla, ifi Nano, or some DAP .

 

[MrRobot]

Hi All,

It's getting quite confusing here.
So the points I collected:

• Ifi products - Unbalanced
• DFR - not worth the price
• Ifi is better than Schiit ?? @thedude any specific reason

what about Cambridge Audio DacMagic XS? or any other?

 

[thedude]

Hi All,

It's getting quite confusing here.
So the points I collected:

• Ifi products - Unbalanced
• DFR - not worth the price
• Ifi is better than Schiit ?? @thedude any specific reason

what about Cambridge Audio DacMagic XS? or any other?

It’s personal preference. I didn’t try any Schiit gear for headphones. I tried Schiit Gungnir multibit DAC in my stereo system and it’s signature isn’t what I was looking for. I tried Schiit Freya too and it didn’t perform well in my system.

Ifi idsd nano found it more musical among the portable gear I tried.

I’m now using a portable amp only from my MBP while I work. It’s JDS Labs C5 headphone amp (no DAC). Sounds super clean.

 

[ajaipuriyar]

HifiChoice magazine did a quick comparison between a few last month. You can search for article online. Screenshot attached on the amp/dac chosen for the test

 

[captainsubtext]

Go with the schiit. Dfr is quite bad.

 

[Passive_audio_enthusiast]

The dragonfly was good back when it came, then then over the years now we have lots of better DACs which came with improved designs. The current state of art thumb sized dac under some 20k is e1da powerdac. https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...ents-of-e1da-9038s-bal-portable-dac-amp.8424/. Schiit was good when we did not had the current standards of budget dacs.


To me a DAC should not color the sound in anyway. It should have a pitch black background and should have the right spatial representation of instruments.

I highly recommend reading this page:https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...derstanding-digital-audio-measurements.10523/. The good thing is the reviews in this website is completely backed with measured evidence.

Peronally I had used some of the products mentioned by him : chord mojo, apogee groov, AQ red, Schiit multibit, odac rev b and some others like meridian explorer, Burson conductor, benchmark dac1hdr, Jds labs c5d. Currently I am out of dac, thinking of starting over with new stuff. My favorite so far was the benchmark though it’s already an outdated one.

If I am to buy a new one right now I would try the SMSL SU8. Though none of the Chinese dacs failed on me and most are well made, I am always bit skeptical about their durability