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'm on the fence trying to determine if one of these HiFiMAN HE-350 would be a worthwhile investment for me. I currently own Sennheiser HD 600, AKG Q701, AKG K553, Beyerdynamic DT990 600 OHM , & a pair of Philips X2's/
I'm on a budget and already own a range of "Good Headphones" (or as good as my budget would allow) mentioned above. I'm drawn in by the fact this is a Massdrop & HiFiMAN collaboration product - I've never had the opportunity to try any headphone made by HiFiMAN.
So can I please get some input here? Should I spend the $100 to buy these also, or is the fact they were made for a target budget well under the prices of my other sets tell me to just save the $100 now, and perhaps get a higher end HiFiMAN product down the road???
Thanks in advance for the replies!!!
I feel like it would soil your taste for hifiman though. If you really want the hifiman experience, let planar cans take care of you.
Here, it's like a side move. You get another headset that you can resell since it's exclusive, but it won't top anything you have. I'm in your position and still debating. The only reason I would get it is to have something to beat around and not take care of.
Starting this year, I decided to trim the stable, and focus on a few big ticket items instead. and visited a recent audio event just to identify my next targets. In your example, you have Sennheiser HD 600 ($335), AKG Q701 ($174), AKG K553 ($173), Beyerdynamic DT990 ($259), Philips X2 ($277 x2), total $1495, at current Amazon prices. That amount would let you buy one of: Hifiman HE-560, Audeze LCD-2, Beyerdynamic T1, Sennheiser HD800 or Fostex TH-900 and still have a little left over, and these are all just at retail prices.
Just recently I was tempted to get the Purpleheart TH-X00, just because of how much I love the mahogany version (one of the best midfi headphones I've ever tried, though not meant for critical listening). I decided $850 total was a bit much to spend, so I sold my mahogany, and moved up to the TH-900 instead (of course I had tried it before and liked it). I'd say if you are really into audio, and appreciate a good pair of headphones, and have the gear to go with it, audition higher-end gear, find out which sound signature(s) suit your taste, and plan to save up for it. Otherwise use the money in other areas instead (amp, DAC, etc). $1500 isn't a trivial amount as it is, better to make it count.
Edit: I firmly believe the HE-350 would be a great starter headphone for someone, especially if all you know are the cheap buds that came with your phone. But for anyone else who's been dabbling a bit, these are probably better as gifts for your non-audiophile friends, just to show them there is better gear out there. Also these are open backed, so might not be the best for using on the subway, etc.
I got a pair of those to give away as a gift, and I have to say I was pretty impressed at what they pulled off for the price, even if it's plastic mainly. Good build and finish, though I didn't test how sturdy they were :p They also fold flat, these should as well.
As an upgrade for comfort (and also increase the bass response a smidge), consider getting these:
http://www.amazon.com/Brainwavz-Angled-Memory-Foam-Earpad/dp/B00ZY8PGJI
I did, and thought they were an improvement to the HE-400S stock earpads (flat, foam pads). Should be compatible with the HE-350 as well. Takes a bit of stretching out to fit them initially, but be patient, it works.
Even this HE-350, I got this just out of curiousity what a $100 pair can do, aside of getting some open back taste. Man, this hobby will never end.
What you put in your post is personally essentially exactly how I felt the situation was regarding my current level of headphones & gear. So while I'm sure they are a good deal from the price, I'm going to pass on this set & save the hypothetical $100 for the future purchase of something higher end.
My primary problem - & the reason I have around a half dozen "good" headphones (obviously super audiophiles might disagree that my sets are 'good' - but I think you know what I mean) is that I've never had the opportunity to try even these mid-level headphones I own until I purchased them new. I wish there was a "high end" audio store in my area or some other way to try out the "next level" stuff. I've already spent a fair amount as you stated $1500 + DAC/AMP & these purchases were 'blind' - or just based on what I read in reviews and heard other discuss in a few videos.
If you have any thoughts on how to find a store or fellow audiophile to meet up with I'd love to hear it - I don't know if the audiophile forums do meetups, but I am also in the mechanical keyboard community & I know people are always looking for a time a place for at least a regional meet where people bring some of their gear to share with others & they work together on projects. Oh well this reply is getting long; please do reply again if you have any additional thoughts or advice!
Thanks to everyone who's read & especially those who have replied or might reply from this point!
Of course, trying them out might also ruin mid-fi for you (and your personal finances) forever... :P
But to be honest, not many TOTL closed headphone is available as most are open, so I might buy it blindly someday or in near future if I'm lucky enough. :) I have my own belief that I need to spend sometime on a gear before I can appreciate it, so quick audition might not be reliable for me. For instance if I just listened to K551 quickly, I wouldn't like it, but after extended listening I ended up loving it.
Edit: Also, speaking of closed cans, the ZMF headphones that show up here once in a while are pretty darn awesome closed cans, you should give those a go too
I'm based in Asia, and travel to Japan a lot, so I'm lucky to be able to demo almost everything. Even then, the recent headfi event in Singapore was the most variety of gear under one roof I'd seen, that's basically where I drew up my hit list after trying literally every piece of gear I'd ever been curious about.
The last one was in CA around March 19 and the next one is in London on August 13. I had the chance to visit the 2015 CA Canjam and it was really helpful for figuring out what I'd like to pick up. People there were really friendly and there were a bunch of personal demo setups to show off custom audio hardware in addition to all of the stuff the vendors had. Massdrop sometimes has their own booth at the Canjam as well.