Headphone Amp with integrated DAC recommendation

S

SuperDuper

Weaksauce
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Oct 8, 2009
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What headphone Amps with integrated DACs will sound better with headphones than my HK3490 does? Of course, it must have an S/PDIF optical input. I'm looking for one with good circuitry quality (including a beefy power supply and isolation of different parts), something that runs at a cool temp, has an excellent (super high quality) opamp, as well as a DAC that has at least 105 db SNR. I'd prefer a Wolfson DAC or a Cirrus Logic one. Burr Brown and AKM are okay too, but I'd like the brand of the DAC to be advertised in the specs or at least commonly known.

I was thinking about a Peachtree nova, but it's kind of out of my price range, plus it has an amp for regular speakers that I don't really need.
 
what is your budget?

$350-matrix mini-i

lower?
higher?
are you completley oppsed to these two functions being in two seperate boxes?
 
Check out the Maverick Audio Tubemagic D1. I have one and I have been pretty happy with it, although I have not had a chance to A/B it against some of the other products mentioned in this thread.
 
You didnt really list a budget so choices in different price ranges I am familar with

Benchmark DAC 1 around 1k new more for the fancy models. Failry easy to find on the used market too but they hold value
Firestone Libby about 700$. I was impressed when I heard it at a friends
Icon HDP Around 500$ Doesnt quite meet your specs but its still a nice unit for the money

Portable if you are interested
iBasso D10 250$ but its a nice little unit. Not in the same league as the above but its portable and battery powered so its nice if you travel as well
 
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Don't know what your budget is or how rigid you are on having to get both in one package, but the HeadRoom stuff is very well regarded for their price, they have the Micro DAC and Micro Amp units available for about $700 total. The selection of integrated DAC/AMP in one unit is kind of limited, and not always the best option as some isolation between the two is usually best. HeadRoom is nice because they don't hide the hardware, a manual showing the DAC taken apart clearly shows a Cirrus CS8416 chip and the amp uses a BB OPA134, very nice chips for both units. All resisters and caps are tight tolerance quality stuff too.
 
Head-fi used gear section makes for some nice shopping...You should visit.
 
Thanks everyone.
Unfortunately, the best stuff is out of my price range. I'll just use my hk3490 for a little while longer I guess. It doesn't sound bad, but it's certainly not super high quality. I heard that it doesn't have a headphone amp, so assuming that's true how can I use my headphones with it?
 
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