Best amp/dac on Reddit

151 reviews from r/HeadphoneAdvice, r/BudgetAudiophile, r/headphones and 7 more subreddits

151 reviews from

and

By Brand

By Product

FiiO

4.3

(27)

"Fiio BTR15, don't get the 7 or 5."

"My Fiio K7 works great with my HD800s and DCA Aeon Noir 2."

"FiiO K5 Pro ESS ($100 on sale)"

"I would get Fiio BTR15. Its wireless and nice to walk around the house."

"At that price I believe better deal than most of the other amp/dacs."

"Gives you an amp/DAC with bluetooth and balanced output."

"It has more power than the schiit stack, especially at higher Ohm values."

"Very good combo for the HE1000 stealth."

"Very happy with my FiiO k7."

"I’ve tried the ifi zen dac v2 and it works very well, but I wanted to try the Fiio k7."

Topping

4.3

(19)

"$90 Topping DX1 will more than suffice for those headphones."

"Topping DX1. Use high gain. Thank me later."

"I have been happy with the Topping Dx3 pro+ for desktop use."

"I'd recommend the Topping DX3 Pro+ for a combo DAC + Amp that also has bluetooth support at around $200."

"There's really something magical about how it makes them sound."

"Topping DX3 Pro+ or FiiO K7."

"DO200 or EF400."

"Have now paired it up with the ef600 and think its a pretty good combo."

"Maybe check Topping DX3 Pro+, it has enough power."

Schiit

4.5

(14)

"I have the Schiit Magni (with the DAC) and it’s great."

"For desktop any of the Schiit Magni with Schiit modi would do."

"Need, no, but strongly recommend trying. Schiit has a fantastic trial period on purchases."

"It's a terrific sounding amp with a ton of headroom that can power just about anything."

"Schiit Stack or JDS Atom are generally the best starting points."

"I’m into the hardware about $500, plus the headphones."

"It sounds great and it’s your cheapest overall option."

"The schiit magni sounded better to me."

"I'd consider a Schiit magni unity, or a FIIO K11."

"I have both Bifrost 2/64 and Lyr+."

iFi

4.4

(10)

"ZenDac3 is pretty awesome with my xs."

"IFi Air Dac works wonders."

"I'd recommend a stack of iFi Zen Air DAC and iFi Zen Air CAN."

"Pairs extremely well with the hd560s."

"It sounds better out of my IFI Go Bar though."

"I hope you'll get more recommendations, but I´ll shout out a few brands: iFi, FiiO, Audioquest, Schiit."

"Ifi Zen Air Dac would be a good option with a bass boost button option."

"I use a HipDAC for full size cans."

"The IFI Go Blu is a great sounding portable, I prefer it to the hipdac."

"I use an iFi Air DAC and keep the volume way below 50 percent."

Fiio

4.3

(9)

"Fiio KA11 is the most powerful you can get at the lowest price."

"I have the BTR7. It is really nice."

"More versatile, grab the FiiO BTR3K."

"Fiio K5 has been $100 at times on Aliexpress and elsewhere and that's a good deal."

"I have the fiio ka3. Does everything I need it to."

"For BT, I use Fiio BTR7."

"Something cheaper Like the fiio ka11 is more than enough for the hd560s."

"An alternative could be to get a balanced cable for HD660 and a Fiio KA3."

"Can use a balanced cable as well."

JDS Labs

4.6

(8)

"JDS Labs Atom DAC 2 and Atom Amp 2"

"The Atom 2 is a great amp."

"A simple answer would be JDS Labs Atom Amp 2 and DAC 2."

"Huge fan of the JDS labs atom 2 stack or element iii mk2."

"Great reputation, performance, build quality, reliability, and customer support."

"It's always good to have one, specifically ones by jds labs."

"The element is pricey but it's design is so damn convenient and good looking."

"I'd go for the Magni/Modi, or alternately a JDS Labs Atom stack."

Chord

4.5

(6)

"Both are highly recommended."

"Phenomenal sound and features with added benefit of being transportable."

"I just got Mojo2. Really like it."

"I use the Mojo 2 with the Stealth as a standalone dac."

"I used a Chord Mojo2 with celestee."

"If you want something more portable, I would suggest a Cayin RU7."

Qudelix

4.4

(5)

"Qudelix 5K works great with mine. The EQ features are awesome."

"For a desktop? Qudelix 5K. This is what I use."

"I'm using a Qudelix 5k with my 490 pros."

"Has 3.5mm unbal, 2.5mm and 4.4mm bal and also a 20 band custom EQ."

"Qudelix 5k, so you can fix FR too"

SMSL

4.2

(5)

"I went with an SMSL DS100, not regretting it whatsoever."

"Both have HDMI ARC inputs for your TV so thats ideal."

"The SMSL M300SE ($129) works pretty well for me."

"I like the SMSL C200."

"Is really, really good in terms of bang-for-your-buck."

#10

Moondrop

4.3

(4)

"Is possibly the best dongle under 100."

"Moondrop dawn pro will be more than enough."

"Moondrop Dawn Pro if you want something with better build quality."

"Intermediate option... there are various non dongle style DACs at a reasonable price."

#11

Wiim

4.0

(4)

"If you want streaming and an amplifier in one box, you should be looking at the Wiim Amp."

"Both have HDMI ARC inputs for your TV so thats ideal."

"Wiim amp makes sense. SMSL AL200 or Fosi ZA3 would be better amp but nearfield the Wiim amp is going to be plenty."

"This is not up to audiophile standards, but it would be much better than any of those cheap ChiFi Class D amps around $80-120."

#12

Tempotec

4.7

(3)

"Best cheapest DAC, even cheaper is the tempotec sonata HD pro+."

"Tempotec Sonata BHD Pro for around 60 bucks is practically end game."

"Can get s simple USB dongle like tempotec sonata hd."

#13

Apple

3.3

(3)

"The original Apple dongles had good DACs built in."

"You won't get noticeable improvements in sound quality out of anything else."

"The apple dongle only has enough power to drive the t10 through apple devices."

#14

Jcally

3.5

(2)

"Jcally jm6 pro would be perfectly adequate."

"Jcally is the basic CX31993 dongle which actually drives XS pretty loud."

#15

Fosi

3.5

GummySearch is an audience research toolkit for 130,000 unique communities on Reddit.

If you are looking for startup problems to solve, want to validate your idea or find your first customers online, GummySearch is for you.

Tell me more

Get started