The Kennerton Magni is an efficient, easy to drive headphone, designed to play well with mobile devices. It doesn’t take much to get these f**kers to sound great. Likewise, their tonality is balanced in such a way that finding a suitable amp with which to pair is no big deal. That said, to my ears, Magni sounds best from a warmer, fuller source. But then, I think that about most headphones, so take that for what it’s worth.
For the sound impressions I wrote on page two, I had Magni connected to the Audio-GD NFB-28 (around $800) as the amp, and the Topping DX7Pro as the DAC. All in balanced. A bit overkill for these headphones, maybe. But hot damn, did they blossom with this setup. The soundstage, the richness, the vibrancy and dynamics, Magni opened to its full potential, and it was glorious.
The Cayin N6ii E02 ($1,319, Review HERE) is my choice if you want to take your cans away from the desktop without sacrificing much in the way of audio fidelity. The T01 module is perhaps a little too neutral for this profile. Whereas E02 achieves a very rich, full, and complete sound. Indeed, Cayin’s DAP has no trouble driving Magni.
For a good mobile pairing that doesn’t make your purse weep with despair, the Shanling M5s ($409, Review HERE) delivers that robust, deep sound Magni so craves. While the M5s is not on the same level as the N6ii, it gets you most of the way there, and does so in a manner which is seriously satisfying.
On the other hand, if you want the most soundstage, the most sharpness and detail, the most transparency, and all those neutral, bright sentiments, but you don’t want to lose an arm and a leg, the iBasso DX160 is the way to go ($399, Review HERE). It may not be my favorite signature for Magni, but… there ain’t nothin’ wrong with it, either.
