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
- Everything feels super cheap. Plastic everywhere on the cans and energizer.
- The concentric potentiometer is a nice touch, but I'd love to have a lock on it so I can twist both equally.
- The 9VDC wall wort is total garbage and should be replaced. Preferably with something that can be turned off without unplugging. Probably find some ChiFi linear.
- Fuzzy earpads suck almost as bad as pleather and vegan leather. Skin me some dang sheep. Dekoni Fenestrated pads ordered and on the way, hopefully before I melt from the fuzzy.
- It is incredibly too easy to push the button which makes the cans disassemble. First time taking them off was a very WTF moment.
- These cans are very compatible with large gauge piercings. The ear cups and pads are huuuge.
For all those mostly negative observations there is one very important thing, and that'd be that these cans sound good. Incredibly good. They've got clarity. They've got punch. It is like a wall of pure sonic bliss. They sound great from all of my audio sources. SDAC-B, DX7s, XR18, and Airist R-2R. All of my sources except the Airist start the signal as XLR and get it brought to single ended. They produce very loud clean sound via the Koss. The Airist needs the volume ramped a bit at the Koss compared to the others, but still sounds wonderful. -1 star for the cheap construction, garbage AD->DC, and fuzzy pads. +4 star for awesome sound, great looks, and extreme comfort. Day 3, 2019.11.07: I'm totally replacing the wall wart. I've the parts for a number of low noise AMB σ25 linear power supplies using the AMB σ78, plus I definitely have a trafo that'll push the voltage I need (both toroid and r-core). Stable 9VDC will not be a problem, and by the gods, having a psu with a fricking power switch will make the energizer not suck. I do not like having to unplug the stupid thing every day when I'm done using it. A short design note for the MassDrop folks. Putting the power switch after the transformer and AC-DC is stupid. Low quality power supplies are the bane of audiophile gear. Just sayin. 1Amp of 9VDC requires a stupid small toroid transformer, we're talking like 9-10VA. Throw in a low noise LDO linear voltage regulator and an IEC socket with fuse, and you can just stuff it in a slightly larger chassis. TI even has some pretty sweet reference designs for this. If y'all are going to do the whole make it better thing... :) So, my initial take still stands. Sounds great, works great, but the power brick is crap. Also, I TOTALLY had to relearn how to take headphones off after I kept hitting the disassembly buttons. Still no regrets in buying it. Day 4, 2019.11.08: My Dekoni Elite Fenestrated Sheepskin Earpads arrived. I missed the most recent Drop for them, so I sourced them direct. They're totally a pain in the butt to apply to the cans, requiring you to stretch the earpad around the ear speaker housing, but oh so worth it. Maximum comfort achieved. If you've got these cans, or are getting them, get the Dekoni pads. Your skin will thank you. Day 9, 2019.11.13: Sill sounds good. No problems there. This is more of just a status update for my PSU replacement project. I've got some 9V 10VA Talema toroid transformers to go with those AMB boards I mentioned previously. I've got most of my circuit board laid out for replacing the power brick with something more or less simple and linear. Fused at the AC input, fused at both of the AC outputs. The ability to run it 115/230VAC in, and the ability to run it with a single or dual power supply modules. Another few days of refinements and I'll hit the order button for a couple of the prototypes. And yes, this stage is pure auto-router. Day 12, 2019.11.16: Ordered some prototype boards from OSHPark. In about two weeks I should have my low noise, and generally better than power brick, power supply. Day 25, 2019.11.29: Prototypes arrived. I didn't screw up on alignments, but there are definitely tweaks I'll be making to the schematic. Now to assemble and test. Prototype boards: