What would be a good portable Dac/Amp to use with my HD6xx and Sony Xperia 1 V cell phone?
I am new to this hobby. I purchased a HD6XX and plan to use it with my Sony Xperia 1 V cell phone, that has a 3.5mm jack. I was wondering if I needed a portable dac/amp or just a portable amp and if so what would one recommend? Any assistance one could provide, would be greatly appreciated. Kind regards, Haz
Mar 7, 2024
I should also say that the folks that are claiming that these sound awful w/o an amp are over exaggerating.. awful would be stock apple earbuds... unamped, both of these headphones are certainly on another level than my HD558s.... but with that being said, you might as well pick up a cheaper amp like the Schiit Fulla or Fiio E10K to go with them since these headphones aren't really meant for mobile use anyway (open-back, lengthy cord, large size).
Output tests have also questioned using one, with the one exception of them being louder. So, i can say with certainty that there is no distortion or muddiness if you drive them with an iOS device (as they all have a good DAC (google it) and output at reasonable levels on everything under 100 Ohms).
As for people who write about "muddy" sound without an amplifier: this is complete bollocks. If you can drive the coil with enough energy to create loudness, you can easily stop the coil with the same amount of energy again. No muddiness, soundstage distortion etc. This is physics.
Don't believe the hype, and certainly not head-fi.org in this regard.
some measurement sources: http://www.kenrockwell.com/apple/iphone-5/audio-quality.htm http://www.engadget.com/2012/10/02/iphone-vs-rivals-audio-tests/
Those exact same headphones on the exact same track from the exact same source (Interstellar Soundtrack specifically streaming at 320kbps via Spotify) sound significantly better running through the Schiit Fulla. The sound is much crisper, the soundstage is much bigger, and the bass is much more defined.
I'll go ahead and trust my ears on this one. While my iPhone 6 I'm sure has a decent DAC/Amp in it empirically, to my untrained ears a DAC/Amp will do wonders for these AKGs that aren't necessarily designed around mobile usage. Especially given how much improvement I'm listening to literally as I type on IEMs that were DESIGNED for un-amplified mobile use.
I'm not saying they sounded bad before, but that the DAC/Amp had a significant positive effect on the sound quality at the same volume on the same track from the same original source.
EDIT: Oh shit, I thought that you had replied to a completely different post of his. Ignore that.
@j0hnny I don't think I saw them at $150. I feel like someone else would have already complained or been excited about the price drop by now if that happened.