I have a Schiit budget stack plus Loki EQ running HiFiman Closed Sundara cans. Less than 500 bucks all in. Sounds wonderful. See my profile.
A Great "Budget" Headphone System
In January 2026, I went to a headphone meet in Colorado and took my Schiit Mjolnir v3 headphone amp so as not to show up empty handed. The MJ3 is a very nice Class A analog headphone amp (no DAC).
It was a popular item at the show and one guy who really liked it had the following amp, Schiit Asgard X. It was the $550 version with the new Mesh DAC included.
Schiit Audio: Audio Products Made in USA
I did not want to carry my MJ3 back in my suitcase, so I traded the MJ3 for the smaller Asgard X + $200.
A few months ago, I also purchased a used Meze Audio 109 Pro headphone for $450 (new version expected soon).
Meze Audio 109 PRO - High-Fidelity Premium Open-Back Dynamic Driver Headphones
For the past couple of weeks, I have been doing a lot of reading/studying on my laptop before I sleep, and I have the Asgard X in the bedroom. Now I normally NEVER stream from a computer direct to DAC. However, I did not have high expectations to this setup, so I hooked up the laptop via USB to the DAC, USB-C to USB-A.
After a few weeks of listening, I am coming to the belief that the Asgard X is a very fine amp, and the optional Mesh DAC module is amazing given the cost. The streaming also sounds excellent which is likely is due to Schitt’s custom USB circuit, I normally stream via fibre optic, but this Mesh DAC seems to handle the laptop USB rather well.
I just wanted to post this because the cost is not that high and the sound is excellent for the cost. I have heard the very best headphones out there and this is not at that level, but I am not looking to upgrade this setup, it is very good.
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Continuing budget headphone systems.. At a vacation home I run the Apos Gremlin Class A hybrid amp with the Ray Select tubes and the Geshelli Merlin DAC into Hifiman Ananda Nano headphones.. sounds wonderful. I use a Samsung tablet to stream through Qobuz via USB Audio Player Pro..it has a nice EQ setup. At home my office system is simple..another Samsung tablet, USB Player Pro, Qobuz, SMSL SU-1 DAC, an MA6100 integrated amp(bought new in mid 70’s), playing into Hifiman HE6se phones (open box off the Hifiman site..$368 with discount..screaming deal on a great sounding set of phones). I run the phones off the speaker taps on the MA6100 via Hifiman's Adapter(simplifies things). VERY nice sounding system. |
My budget entry-level headphone amp was the now-discontinued Schiit HEL 2.0, connected to my MSI laptop via USB-C, that I bought during the Covid lockdown days. I have a pair of Sennheiser HD650s and I wanted something that would be a step up from using the headphone jack on my laptop. Sound was/is great for such a small and inexpensive unit. I still use it at night when I'm on the laptop. One day, when I get a permanent home office set-up, I may go with a better headphone stack from Schiit because they do seem to provide the most bang for the buck and I can splurge on a pair of planar headphones. |
@yyzsantabarbara , thanks for the advise. If I may ask specifically in regards to my Audeze LC-2’s. I’m thinking in regards those particular cans to get the Jotenheim III and run a balanced cable. I can add the mesh card over an external DAC. Specifically with the Audeze cans am I better served over the less powerful MJ3 running unbalanced ? BTW I have an original Yiggy with an upgraded Gen USB but it’s in my main system . Cheers , Mike B. |
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