dac and amp recommendation for focal clear headphones

hi folks,

first (substantive) post. i am very new to all of this but have tried hard to do my due diligence in terms of reading up / researching what i can before posting anything. i did look to see if this topic has been approached before, and couldn't find anything (that said, i have never been very successful with searches in forums). (also, yes, i did find and read the (amazingly detailed and informative) schiit amp compendium (thanks, @purr1n !) but couldn't find that it directly addressed my specific setup/questions.)

here is my setup:

- rega brio r
- rega planar 6 w/ exact
- b&w 606 s2 anniversary edition

- focal clear headphones

i am currently researching / shopping for the following:
- headphone amp for home
- dac for home
- interconnects
- usb cable

my intention is to have a relatively simple setup. i have actually ordered a schiit magnius headphone amp and a schiit modius dac, but the magnius is backordered which has given me the opportunity to rethink my order and consider going with something at a slightly higher price point.

all of which is to say, i am now considering cancelling the magnius and modius and instead ordering:

- valhalla 2 headphone amp (yes, i do know the brio has an integrated headphone amp but i understand a standalone will be better?)
- bifrost 2 dac

my intention would be to be able to listen to records through my headphones when speakers aren't practical as well as listen to my digital music collection through either my laptop and/or my phone (samsung galaxy 21). i would want to be able to run the digital music collection through both the speakers as well as the headphones.

would this setup (vinyl setup + focal clear + valhalla 2 + bifrost 2) be 'good'? would they match up well? i understand it might depend to a large extent on how i like my music to sound, but i honestly have little enough experience to not be able to identify how you all describe sound (headstage, imaging, separation, tonal balance, speed, etc.) let alone identify what my personal preference is. i guess in short, would this be a good beginner setup? is there another combination/option you can think of that might provide a better result at this (total) price point (~$1,050)?

relatedly, regardless of what setup i end up going with i am wondering if paying (what seems to me to be) a lot of money for interconnects and a usb cable is 'worth it'. currently i am considering:

interconnects (brio to headphone amp; dac to brio; dac to hadphone amp; ???):
- black dragon (~$750 ($250 x 3))
- blue dragon (~$600 ($200 x 3))
- audioquest sydney (~$510 ($170 x 3))
- audioquest big sur (~$360 ($120 x 3))
- cardas crosslink (~$330 ($110 x 3))
- audioquest golden gate (~$225 ($75 x 3))
- audioquest evergreen (~$150 ($50 x 3))

usb cable (laptop/phone to dac):
- audioquest carbon (~$170)
- audioquest cinnamon (~$90)
- silver dragon (~$170)
- black dragon (~$110)

do i need these (expensive ones) at all?

finally, is it worth it to get a custom cable for the focal clears? they (also) seem to be very expensive.

i understand there are different ways to go about this (and i am sure one or more of you will tell me why what i am doing is foolish if it is), but this (proposed) setup is what i had in mind as far as what could work for me and my circumstances.

i know there is a ton in here, and i thank anyone in advance who reads this through. i apologize for my naiveté / lack of experience - i am trying to learn!

 

I hope you looked in the two Focal Clear threads (impressions & measurements, respectively); there are some source/amp synergies mentioned in those, and your questions might have been better asked there. There are also comparisons to the OG in the two Clear Mg threads (I'll leave it to you to find those). Never heard the Clears myself, but people have mentioned exaggerated/metallic treble so unless you like that, sources & amps that are gentler there would be good synergies.

Couple of quick drive-by answers though: amp-wise, yes, use something other than your Rega. I suspect what you have is the Brio 2017, not the Brio R - the latter doesn't have a headphone output. Like many integrated 2-channel amps, the headphone output of the Brio 2017 has a very high impedance (107 Ohms according to Stereophile), which will interact with the Clears' very peaky impedance curve to boost their bass by several dB (see here) and might make them sound soft in the rest of the range.

Valhalla might indeed be ok, but you should do some more research. To attach any dedicated headphone amp to your system, plug it into the Rega's 'record out' outputs. This will pass all incoming audio straight through.

If you want to listen from your laptop through your main system, whether through headphones or speakers, please consider something to improve on the laptop's USB output before spending hundreds on fancy cables. An ethernet or wifi streamer like this, this or this (not yet in production) would be a better investment.

No comment on DACs other than to say the Bifrost 2 is popular here.

 

Strongly agree about saving money on cables and going with a Pi2AES or similar. I have some Forza Audioworks Claire HPC Mk2 cables and they are great with my OG Clears. Even so, I'd wait and focus your money on the source (streamer or similar) and amp. Worry about expensive cables once you're happy with these pieces, the stock cables are fine.

I find Focals amp-picky and have only liked them on relatively expensive amps (~$800 and above). But a general price-point doesn't really say much, your best bet is to try options at a meet. If that isn't possible, review the suggested Clear threads and see if you can find reviewers that seem to share your taste. Then you can purchase one of their recommendations. Worst case scenario you'll need to resell or return an amp you don't like.

Also going to second, please post in the appropriate thread rather than starting a new one.

 

I own the Clear + Valhalla 2 + Bifrost 2 combo (With a Pangea USB cable and some Amphenol ICs from World's Best Cables) and I think they all play quite nicely together. It's not the heftiest or slammiest setup; the Valhalla rolls off a bit on the low end and lacks a bit of dynamic punch, but is otherwise good. Some people may take issue with the treble timbre, but those people likely wouldn't own Clears anyway. It doesn't bother me save for a few tracks. The Bifrost helps soften the timbre of the Clear a bit.

I wouldn't ever think of using the Clear with the Magnius + Modius over the Valhalla 2 + Bifrost 2 regardless of the difference in price. The Modius is quite good if like DS DACs (particularly balanced), but I really don't care for the sound of the Magnius at all and I think the Multibit DACs are just better than the DS DACs. At least Schiit's DS DACs. Though in my experience I find good Multibit/R2R implementations to be better than DS in general so maybe I'm biased. Or maybe they just sound better.