DAC/Amp combo for Beyerdynamic T1.2

Hello,

I've been a long time lurker but I finally thought I'd break my cherry with this post. I have a Beyerdynamic T1.2 since a good time. I've been driving them with an Aune T1 and a Schiit Vali. I've now decided to upgrade them.

I have a budget of about 1000-1200$. I need both a DAC and an AMP, what's a good combo for the T1.2.

The items in my shortlist are:
1) Jotunheim Balanced
2) Questyle CMA400i or CMA600i

It does not need to be a combo of DACAMP and can be separate pieces if required.

I was also recommended the Keces S-3 by another forumer, but information on it is rather scarce. I was also recommended the RME ADI-pro 2 but that's way out of my budget.

Are there any recommendations from the kind people of this place. If any more information is needed from me please let me know.

 

You might want to copy/paste your question here for best responses:

http://www.superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?threads/the-all-purpose-advice-thread.19/

But may I ask, are you hung up on combo units? The only reason I ask is my best Beyer T1 listening experiences (v1 or v2) has been on tube amplification. And I've never heard of tube DAC/amp combos. Do you have space issues?

edit - How could I forget my best experience with the T1 on the Woo WA-8 transportable tube DAC/amp, so I was wrong there. But geeze I'd be insane for recommending that at its bananas price tag. I think those are well North of $2k, and there's so much quality "full sized" gear for much less. But boy that combo was magical, just cost prohibitive. Anyone with the opportunity to audition the pairing should take it...

 

Well said. I could only enjoy the t1 with tube amplifier. Indeed, the best demo with this HP was in my brother house with a woo audio wa-6. He also had some very fancy tubes... maybe this was the explanation.

 

I feel compelled to suggest:

• Don't fixate on separate DAC and amp - all-in-ones usually involve unwanted compromises and underwhelming value.
• Not trying to fix those headphones with the chain, but replacing them.

What about shopping around for an Eitr, Vali 2 and Modi Multibit? Alternatively, Jot stacked with a gen 5 Bifrost Multibit? Add some HD650 (or HD600 if you prefer) and enjoy the fact that your ears will no longer bleed. Either option should be doable around your intended budget.

 

You are assuming he doesn't like the T1. Although it has it's quirks I like them also (although not enough to buy them). If he is pleased with their sound no reason to buy the hd600/650.

That said, i will kinda contradict myself, I would buy a used hd600 for less then 200, an used Crack, an eitr and a Bifrost Multibit.

 

Not fixated on combo units. No space issues either Feel free to recommend. I would love to audition a Woo Audio product but sadly I cannot demo them in the country where I live, like most other audio products.

I don't hate the T1. In fact I've grown to love it over the years. As mentioned above, I have limited scope in selling the headphone (I repeat I don't hate it), but I feel like I'm not tapping it to it's full potential. In fact my ultimate ears TF10 driven from a simple smartphone was sometimes more resolving than the T1 through the aforementioned Aune T1+ Vali combo.

 

I am assuming exactly that, I was being charitable. Still, he will, in time.

Also, buying an Eitr and a Bifrost Multibit is daft. A new Bifrost Multibit has functionally identical USB gubbins built-in, if it's a modern gen 5.

 

Most that are sold used don't and since I mentioned used gear in my suggestion...It's self-explanatory.

 

I use the t1v2 with a BH Mainline fed by a Schitt Gen 5 MB Bifrost Multibit...IMO its a very nice combination and I have 10+ headamps and three dacs.....awesome all around musicality....
Alex

 

That does sound like a good combo. I use mine with the Mainline or S.E.X. and an AudioNote DAC 2.1. With the Mainline it's a little more crisp and clear, with the S.E.X. it helps warm it up for longer listening sessions. I also have it recabled with some litz wire to help get rid of that upper-midrange hump that can be fatiguing.

 

Been going thru a bunch of RCA Coke Bottle 6AS7G's and catalogging...on my BH Crack with Speedball...and using T1G2's after using HD600's for a few weeks and its amazing to me how different these are and what each one does....


But rather than than discussion...,my earlier post about the Mainline and Bifrost still stands. Its just to let you know a BH Crack with the constant current source mod, is Speedball with some good tubes will make your T1's really shine....

I know many folks here do not like the T1's but for me I go between the Senns and Beyers and like them both.

Alex

 

Hello!

I don't usually recommend tube amplifiers but in the case of Beyerdynamic T1, this would be my first choice. A class-A single-ended OTL would be everything you need. One thing to keep in mind would be to buy something with a low amount of negative feedback because T1 is essentially an ideal transducer (in technical terms) - it is both high sensitivity and high impedance.

In my opinion, T1 has really precise imaging and the sort of "spherical" sound-stage with all the tactility to the drums and guitars. If you would like to maximize those qualities, then you should look for an OTL tube amplifier. It doesn't need to be a particularly expensive amplifier, the T1 isn't very sensitive to this. Once you have chosen your amplifier, don't go all out on the DAC front, a nice 200€ DAC would serve the purpose nicely.

I will recommend an amplifier called Electron Audio Red Head. This one is made in Croatia. It's an exotic OTL design, hand-made and not too expensive. I believe the manufacturer is due to release an MKII version soon because some of the parts used in the MKI version have become unavailable. This amplifier is a tube amplifier that has been designed with a minimum of compromises to audio quality and to achieve this with tubes inevitably means the headphone being driven must be of high impedance.

I have had a similar amplifier and it drove the T1 very nicely and most of the time with sound that was really quite wonderful. I've been trying to get to this level of "tactility" ever since.

Hope this helps!
LB