[Marshall160]

How would my Sundaras sound plugged into a receiver, Onkyo TX-NR585 VS having them plugged into my Schiit stack 3 assuming the source is the same?

Would there be a massive downgrade or should it be about the same?

Thank you.

 

[Tiihokatti]

Receivers are not very good at driving headphones, mostly because there is absolutely no quality assurance for the headphone amplifier of the receiver. Even modern receivers have headphone sections that are usually just the speaker amp with added resistors/stuff (plain stupid but cheap).

The receiver in question seems to have these specs:

Headphone Rated Output
80 mW + 80 mW (32 Ω, 1 kHz, 10% THD)
Supported impedance of Headphones
8 Ω - 600 Ω
Headphones Frequency Response
10 Hz - 100 kHz

Not very good power output, and the output impedance could be any double/triple digit number you can guess.

 

[161029]

Depends on the receiver. Most of the time they measure very poorly in either SINAD, power, or both. It's very likely the Schiit Magni 3 (or the even better Magni Heresy) does better. That stack is already audibly transparent anyways (limited by the Modi 3 w/ a SINAD of 107 dB. 96 dB is for audible transparency under normal listening conditions, 120 dB for extreme conditions like an anechoic chamber).

 

[HITTI]

the schiit modi produces 32 bit raw. I would go with the modi III versus receiver.

 

[Gilles3000]

fourth that, Shiit stack for the headphones. Keep the receiver for surround speakers, that's what they're good at.