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Balanced DAC — XLR or SE ouputs?

I'm at a crossroads. I am going to switch out my amp, but I'm worried about the whole balanced-thing.

I have the following:
- Schiit Gungnir Multibit DAC
- Zu Omen speakers

Presently I'm using the balanced outputs of the DAC into a balanced amp (Schiit Ragnarok). The SE outputs sound good, but the XLRs better. 

What I'm considering is
1) Schiit Freya pre-amp + Schiit Aegir — allows both XLR-input and monoblocks in the future
2) Elekit TU-8600S kit — a 300b amp with only 1 SE-input

I read rave reviews about both. The Elekit seems to be in a much higher league sound quality wise, but also seems much more limited. I've even read people here use the Freya as a preamp for the Elekit amp. In short I'm given the impression that the Elekit is an amazing deal if you can bother building it.

What path would you go down?
Also, can you "keep the quality of the balanced outputs" if you use the elekit with a preamp? 
128x128eyrepm

Showing 1 response by auxinput

auxinput
2,920 posts
 
The Zu Omen are extremely efficient 97db speakers.  But they do have a higher impedance at 12 ohms.  While a higher impedance means that it is very easy for any amp to drive, it also means you are going to get less watts on a normal solid state amp.

Your current Ragnarok puts 60 watts into 8 ohms, but on the Zu Omen you are likely going to see about 40 watts per channel.

The Schiit Freya has the potential to be an amazing tube preamp if you choose the right tubes.  Options can be something fast and high resolution like PSVANE CV181 or something organic and magic like "real" NOS Amperex.  The Aegir puts 20 watts into 8 ohms, but you are likely only going to see 15 watts per chanel into your Zu Omen.  While it's still not bad considering the efficiency of the speakers, they aren't going to push the volume like the Ragnorak.

The Elekit TU-8600S is likely going to be the most organic and engaging solution.  But you are looking at only 9 watts per channel with 10% distortion.  Be aware that tube amps will also start to saturate at about half rated power, so you really are only going to get about 4 "clean" watts per channel on this thing.  It could sound amazing to you, but only at low to mid volume levels.
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