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dominikz
20
Jul 23, 2018
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FuzzyWalrusIn my opinion there are three potential technical benefits for having a dedicated headphone amp:
1. Potentially increased power output for high-impedance loads
2. Electrical damping - low-impedance low-sensitivity headphones will load the source, if headphone impedance to source output impedance ratio is less than approx. 8. Poor damping ratio will cause audible distortion increase and audible frequency response deviations
3. Good HPA designs have virtually no noise floor and very low THD/IMD figures (contrary to some commercial all-in-one designs)
If we take as an example your combination of Scarlett 2i2 (10 Ohm output impedance) and 600 Ohm Beyer DT990 we have: 1. Power output - You're obviously happy with loudness from Scarlett, so there's probably no need for additional external power 2. Damping - 600 Ohm / 10 Ohm gives damping ratio of 60, which is a lot more than 8 and therefore very good. O2 has 0.5 Ohm output impedance which would give a damping ratio of 1200 - but this is likely well over the point of diminishing returns 3. Noise and distortion - O2 has very low noise and distortion, but Scarlett cites dynamic range of 107dB(A) and THD <0.002% (minimum gain) on HP out - so again there might not be any discernible difference in noise level or distortion at reasonable listening levels
Looking at the above, it is very likely that with the combination of 600 Ohm Beyer DT990 and Scarlett 2i2 vs O2 there is little to no measurable difference in performance - and therefore probably little to no perceptible difference.
However if you had some low-sensitivity e.g. 32 Ohm headphones, the difference in the damping factor between Scarlett and O2 would likely be perceptible. Similarly, if you had a different PC audio interface (many have HP out output impedance >30 Ohm and low power output) you would feel more of a benefit upgrading to O2.
In my opinion a dedicated HPA is a tool for a job - one that will bring a lot, some, or no benefit, depending on the rest of your system. Unfortunately it is not a universal upgrade, and many with solid audio interfaces may feel underwhelmed.
If we take as an example your combination of Scarlett 2i2 (10 Ohm output impedance) and 600 Ohm Beyer DT990 we have: 1. Power output - You're obviously happy with loudness from Scarlett, so there's probably no need for additional external power 2. Damping - 600 Ohm / 10 Ohm gives damping ratio of 60, which is a lot more than 8 and therefore very good. O2 has 0.5 Ohm output impedance which would give a damping ratio of 1200 - but this is likely well over the point of diminishing returns 3. Noise and distortion - O2 has very low noise and distortion, but Scarlett cites dynamic range of 107dB(A) and THD <0.002% (minimum gain) on HP out - so again there might not be any discernible difference in noise level or distortion at reasonable listening levels
Looking at the above, it is very likely that with the combination of 600 Ohm Beyer DT990 and Scarlett 2i2 vs O2 there is little to no measurable difference in performance - and therefore probably little to no perceptible difference.
However if you had some low-sensitivity e.g. 32 Ohm headphones, the difference in the damping factor between Scarlett and O2 would likely be perceptible. Similarly, if you had a different PC audio interface (many have HP out output impedance >30 Ohm and low power output) you would feel more of a benefit upgrading to O2.
In my opinion a dedicated HPA is a tool for a job - one that will bring a lot, some, or no benefit, depending on the rest of your system. Unfortunately it is not a universal upgrade, and many with solid audio interfaces may feel underwhelmed.
Caiz
23
Oct 22, 2018
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FuzzyWalrusyeah, we'll many of us have much nicer internal dac implementations than the scarlett., So i don't know how you can recommend that absolutely above the O2 for those of us, plus going from separates to an all in one I thinks pretty regrettable change for many people. At least with "separates" (discrete devices) you can upgrade your dacs without also having to buy a new headphone amp (which matches your headphones, ect ect ect), or vice versa. And while i'm sure for some people your recommendation is great I just cant see how you can properly make that assertion for everyone, and so universally.
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I currently own the HD-6xx, Beyerdynamic DT-990s (600 Ohm), Beyerdynamic DT-770 Pro, and 1more Triple Driver and Shure X11is as my roster of cans and earbuds. My current setup, I use a Scarlett 6i6 audio interface by Focusrite, which is a nice external ADC/DAC, designed for the hobbyist musician, which I certainly fall into the umbrella on my aging Mac Pro 5,1.
As both a lover high-end audio gear and bit of an audiophile skeptic, I tend to be a bit of an anomaly: I'll spend good money on a properly shielded XLR cable as I've heard the effects of an improperly shielded one (can you say antenna?) but use lamp wire for my speaker cable because of silliness of audiophile grade wiring for something caring high electrical loads. I'll pay good money for a good dynamic amp but find the idea of tube amps silly, especially for monitors. (I can see the value of a tube pre for capturing a guitar when you want that extra noise). I'll also argue for digital over analog, even if I find vinyl endearing for the experience. So that's me in a nutshell, I'd like to think of myself as being pragmatic about audio. (That's up for debate of course)
I bought the MassDrop Objective 2 Headphone amp as I wanted to see if a dedicated amp would truly improve the experience on my DT-990s and my HD-6xxs over my Scarlett. Notably, the Scarlett recommends using 250 OHm or fewer headphones and doesn't quite have the juice of the Objective 2. Years ago when I had more space, I used a Denon receiver as my headphone amp, and I wondered if I was compromising my listening experience by using the Scarlett, so I took the plunge.
My honest opinion? DT-990s sound pretty much the same using this amp vs. my Scarlett. There's no magical difference other than the Objective 2 can drive the DT-990s much harder (instead of turning the volume knob up 3/4 of the way, its only about half). Perhaps one might argue that I need an even beefier amp but the amplification is more than adequate and there's no distortion related to an overworked amp in either circumstance. This surely is better than the line outs from my MacBook or Mac Pro (Apple sticks surprisingly noisy and crappy analog I/O on its computers, especially compared to an iPhone) but I'd highly recommend just skipping the Objective 2 and just getting a Scarlett 2i2. You get the benefit of an external quality DACs, audio inputs and a quality headphone amp for the same price., or better, jumping up the ladder and getting the 6i6, which provides two quality headphone amps.