My son has had good luck with a Schiit Vali (his is not microphonic; I wonder if the previously mentioned example had a microphonic tube in it) and Modi Multibit combo. It drove my Sennheiser HD800S’s with drive and authority with a really exuberant sound. I must say that I was impressed! A Schiit Lyr might be a better ticket, though the Asgard with the multibit built in DAC might be the most bang for the buck. If you want to keep within the Sennheiser family, the new HD660v2 is easy to drive and sounds pretty good. I heard it at the Capital Audio Fest a few weeks ago.
Advice for headphone amp and dac
Hi everyone. I am looking to get a headphone amp and dac. I have a pair of 70s Sennheiser 414 headphones. Pretty sure they are the 600ohm. I also have newer Grado headphones but I want to be able to use the 414s too so I want a headphone amp to drive them. I want to stream to this set up using my Mac Book. This will be my introduction to streaming. I am thinking to try streaming to listen to stuff I don't have. If I like it I will probably buy a LP if available. I listen 99% LP. CD every now and then. Maybe eventually I will get a dedicated streamer but it is not in the budget right now. I have researched Schiit and am considering Midgard/Modius combination. Maybe Lyr Headphone amp If I can stretch the budget when the time comes to purchase. Budget at this time is around $700.
What do you think?