Headphone amp for R2R DAC and the Ultra

onlyoneme

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Oct 20, 2022
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Yeah, it's not really related to the Ultra but the Ultra is still the part of the setup...
I'm looking for a headphone amp with balanced in/outs, able to drive both high and low impedance cans and focused on the faithful reproduction. Do you have any suggestions to start with looking for? Budget, let's say up to 1k eur.
 
Sorry, I'm confused... Maybe it's because I've just woken up...
Do you already have an r2r dac and are looking for a headphone amp, but one that has balanced outputs? Do pure hp amps have outputs, unless they are more like preamps with a headphone output?
Or are you after a single dac/hp unit, but one which has an r2r dac in it?
Honestly not trying to be picky!
 
Sorry, I'm confused... Maybe it's because I've just woken up...
Do you already have an r2r dac and are looking for a headphone amp, but one that has balanced outputs? Do pure hp amps have outputs, unless they are more like preamps with a headphone output?
Or are you after a single dac/hp unit, but one which has an r2r dac in it?
Honestly not trying to be picky!
Looking for the pure headphone amp (well, usually with built-in preamp) to be paired with my R2R DAC.
 
I have a Schiit Midgard headphone amp which has both RCA and balanced XLR inputs. Plenty of power for my Hifiman Sundara planar headphones. It does not have a built-in DAC.
 
Gustard H26 seems to be getting some good reviews and almost spot on for the price range? No experiences with it however.
 
Gustard H26 seems to be getting some good reviews and almost spot on for the price range? No experiences with it however.
Looks really nice! I'm curious if it remembers volume levels per input but I cannot find a manual even on the manufacturer website...
 
Looks really nice! I'm curious if it remembers volume levels per input but I cannot find a manual even on the manufacturer website...

There is a 10p forum thread on head-fi with at least few people owning it who might be able to help?

 
Threads like this are dangerous.
I now have a hankering to try an H26 :ROFLMAO:
Maybe the only saving grace is that my local-ish hifi shop with a lot of headphones and hp amps doesn't carry Gustard!
 
  • Haha
Reactions: vdp
I've analyzed 6 or 7 headamps including Schiit, SMSL, Singxer, Gustard, Topping or Aune. Apart of the requirement I've mentioned already, I expected the volume to be controlled remotely and the ability to remember volume level for each input. And even H26 can't do that, only A90D can... Pity, I'm not a Topping fan.
 
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