Raffinator Posted January 8 Posted January 8 Hi, I'm trying to land the right combination in a single device that can satisfy many requirements for the single space I have. Renovations and reconfiguring rooms mean I lose my study, and will have a working office desk on one end of a room that goes into living space and kitchen. Because of this, I'm looking for something that can master both headphone usage and my active Genelec speakers (RCA connection). So far so easy... But I need it for the family to also be able to stream and control volume for general listening. They are all Apple zealots. Requirements: Roon Ready, with volume control Airplay2, or native Apple music, also volume control. USB input to the DAC from laptop Coax/BNC SPDIF in Wired ethernet Powerful headphone amp to handle Audeze LCD3 and most hungry planar/dynamic kit eg Hifiman, ZMF, Focal etc. in future. Obviously top class DAC topology. Needs to fit on or around a sit stand desk with a laptop. So not massive. So far I'm kind of thinking this is a Fiio R9 or Eversolo DMP-A8 or DMP-A10 (if funds permit). But would love to have more feedback for options. Thanks, John
Guest Posted January 8 Posted January 8 2 hours ago, Raffinator said: Because of this, I'm looking for something that can master both headphone usage and my active Genelec speakers (RCA connection). The biggest issue is mastering both headphones and active speakers. The headphone power output is often compromised, especially at the budget that you are thinking of around $3-4K (?). You will be better off getting a streamer/DAC without a headphone output and add a headphone amp. And it opens up more streamer/DAC options....
Raffinator Posted January 8 Author Posted January 8 (edited) Another one I thought about was Naim Uniti Atom Headphone edition. Edited January 8 by Raffinator Spelling
Guest Posted January 8 Posted January 8 29 minutes ago, Raffinator said: Another one I thought about was Naim Uniti Atom Headphone edition. It looks like this is the better option given there are reviews that are focused on headphone usage. 13 hours ago, Raffinator said: So far I'm kind of thinking this is a Fiio R9 or Eversolo DMP-A8 or DMP-A10 (if funds permit). But would love to have more feedback for options. Reviews of these tend to have a passing reference to the headphone amp. Ideally, you should find a review from a headphone enthusiast who has specifically tested some of the difficult to drive headphones. P/s not into headphones, so cannot suggest Streamer/DAC with superb headphone amp
chesebert Posted January 10 Posted January 10 No good option on the market. You will need to separate out the headphone amp and buy that separately.
POV Posted January 11 Posted January 11 On 8/1/2025 at 11:28 PM, Snoopy8 said: The biggest issue is mastering both headphones and active speakers. The headphone power output is often compromised, especially at the budget that you are thinking of around $3-4K (?). You will be better off getting a streamer/DAC without a headphone output and add a headphone amp. And it opens up more streamer/DAC options.... This is good advice OP, you are looking for an awful lot in a single device. The best of the options on the market that meet most or all of your needs are from Matrix, however as per Snoop, if you seperate streamer and headphone amp you open up a raft of options.
Raffinator Posted January 12 Author Posted January 12 I've got some good separate headphone amps, but I need the digital volume control with the active speakers for family use. Teens today - if it doesn't operate by phone app, they don't know what to do! I could maybe have a separate fixed analogue output to dedicated headphone amp, and variable output to speakers. But I'll need to be careful not to have fixed output to active speakers, or I'll blow them up (and my ears).
Guest Posted January 12 Posted January 12 2 hours ago, Raffinator said: I've got some good separate headphone amps, but I need the digital volume control with the active speakers for family use. So, it opens up any streamer/ DAc that is within your budget, which is ? 2 hours ago, Raffinator said: I could maybe have a separate fixed analogue output to dedicated headphone amp, and variable output to speakers. But I'll need to be careful not to have fixed output to active speakers, or I'll blow them up (and my ears). Most streamer/ DACs have digital volume control and fixed volume options. Some have user profiles or presets. A good digital volume control is Leedh https://www.luminmusic.com/support-leedh-processing.html Maybe a used P1 may fit your requirements?
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