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
What is it that sets it apart from other referencing headphones on the market? Friend was telling me it goes into the top 3 along with the HD 650 and the DT 880 within its price range. Would someone be kind enough to shed some light on me whether it be it a link or a explanation? Much appreciated.
- Yes, of course you can! :) - What sets the K7XX apart is its great value. Many competitors would likely offer something like this for about twice the price or more. Heck, AKG more-or-less still do in the form of the very similar K712 Pro (and the K702 65th Anniversary Edition, which were essentially an Austrian-made K7XX). Even at double the price, the K7XX would easily compete with anything in that range, from a technical standpoint. The headphone market offers so many choices nowadays that I don't know how your friend came up with that ranking :D . However, the K7XX offers a high performance:price ratio. - The more I listen to them the more I appreciate their versatility. No glaring faults. Sound is spacious and detailed yet musical and enjoyable. Note: these are open headphones and they leak sound, so they're best used in a quiet environment (for example: at home). I don't meant to sound like I'm over-hyping them but I feel like anything beyond the K7XX enters the realm of diminishing returns. Much pricier options would mostly offer a different sound signature. Just try to pair them with a decent amp or DAC/amp to draw out more of their potential.
Here's a great review:
http://www.head-fi.org/products/akg-k7xx/reviews/13116
Hope that helps.
If you don't mind being limited to home use, you can definitely do a lot worse for 200 USD. Like Beats by Dr D*e.
- Schiit Fulla - Schiit Magni + Modi - Fiio E10K
- CEntrance DACport Slim - Massdrop O2+ODAC (revB)
Out of these, I think the Fulla or Fiio will do just fine but can't seem to let go of the idea of the Magni + Modi. Do you have any experience with any of these and any advice/insight you'd give regarding them?
I've even heard on more than one occasion that the Slim is on-par with the O2+ODAC with regards to the K7XX. The O2+ODAC has a more powerful amp but supposedly has a more neutral presentation. It's a good choice but I feel like that neutrality might not be the best fit for an already transparent K7XX. If you don't need the RCA jacks, I'd take the cheaper Slim over it for the K7XX. The Schiit MM directly competes with the O2+ODAC. Again another good choice but again I doubt it'll sound noticeably better or worse than the cheaper Slim.
I have a friend that uses the Fulla with the K7XX. Although the Fulla pushes the K7XX fine, we both came to the conclusion that the Slim is easily a better version of the Fulla in virtually every way. The Fiio E10K is also decent, supposedly with a neutral-slightly warm tilt as well, not to mention its bass boost switch. However, it might not have as resolving a DAC as the recent (and well-received) AK4490 chip found in the Slim. I totally don't mean to sound like a CEntrance spokesperson but I honestly feel like the Slim is as good a sub-$100 pairing as you can get for the K7XX. You'd have to get much pricier options to notice a difference. My opinions of course.
Almost forgot to mention this DAC/Amp also at $99 (It can definitely push the K7XX but I know less about how it pairs with the K7XX, aka "synergy", but it appears quite capable):
http://www.amazon.com/Micca-OriGen-High-Resolution-Preamplifier/dp/B00V7K5UJI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1446703728&sr=8-1&keywords=micca+origen
There's a video review of it on YouTube ("Z Reviews").
The K7XX is not the most demanding but it scales well and can be tricky to drive. The ZxR model has the more powerful/capable amp of them and should drive the K7XX better than the Z model. The Z has a weaker amp and a higher than desirable output impedance that's set at ~22ohms. Generally the lower the better; at least 1/8th of headphone impedance is recommended to minimize the odds of sound distortion. Therefore even though the Z should be O.K. with the K7XX, I find it hard to tell. I mean my iPad drives my K7XX adequately to me but the sound quality is not quite the same as from my DAC/Amp (the iPad also has a low output impedance).
If you decide to get the K7XX, I'd say buy and listen first. If you're not happy with the sound (taking into account your sound signature bias), then consider a decent amp or DAC/Amp. If you want, you can also ask actual owners here:
http://www.head-fi.org/t/623079/creative-sound-blaster-new-series-z-zx-zxr