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
- Positives:
- Bass toggle is good if you like extra warmth on the low-ends (my Beyer DT 990 and Tin T2 Pro doesn't produce much)
- Has way more power to drive any headphone. For the GAIN toggle, NEVER switch to "HIGH" or the 'max' level. One (default) or two is more than enough to drive any headphone. You also don't need to turn the knob past, say, the "2 o'clock" position
- If you get the BT-module, it includes a volume casing for the knob which protects it from accidental touching/turning.
- Can replace OP-amps quite easily (planning on getting a Burson Audio V5i to see how it changes it up. However, the default OP-amp is sufficient enough)
- You can use a 1/4" jack. (i.e. Don't worry about snapping plugs)
- Great detail for its pricepoint. (Get it around 220USD when it goes on sale. Regularly 260USD)
- Solid construction and built like a tank. (It's actually light for how powerful it is)
- Stupid amount of battery life (13h on USB, 40h on AUX. 40 hours?!?)
- Plethora of input, filter and sampling rate capabilities.
- That sticky pad is REALLY sticky. don't need a band like other solutions.
- Negatives:
- Using the BT module, it produces pretty good sound, however, it isn't as good as say plugging it in with the USB OTG's (minor thing. But having BT is super convenient)
- On the BT module, they should have also put pass-thru's for USB-C charging so you can do both the module AND the DAC/AMP
- Controls on BT-module are kinda awkward. Better to do it on the BT device
- Boost toggle never really worked for me (I have an 250ohm headphones and seems to drive it just fine. Whatever "THRUST" means in the manual. Leave this setting off)
- Have to install a driver on PC. (There are some DAC/AMPs that can be run without one. But it's more of a minor annoyance)
- Shipped in the wrong color. After reading a bunch of reviews, it looks like a lot of people also received the wrong color. Like, what?
- At very low volumes, balance is way off for anything sensitive (especially IEMs). Gets resolved fairly quickly when tuned just a tad more
- Included 3.5mm to 1/4" adapter broke after a week of use. Had to grab a new one. Replaced it with an audio quest adapter and works better than before.
Current audio setup/gear for this amp:- Google Pixel 2 Xl or PC
- Music App: USB Audio Player Pro (Android) or MusicBee (Windows)
- Headphones: Beyerdynamic DT 990 PRO (250 ohm) or Tin T2 Pro
Edit: One new finding and a new photo, and adapter broke