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So I've been wondering about getting really into Hi-Fi and was considering getting some sennheiser HD 6XX however...
The way I listen to music is either on my WH-1000XM3 or my Steelseries arctic pro. This is hooked up to USB on my PC, so here is my question. How do i get the most out of those pairs of Sennheiser headphones? I dont have a dedicated amp or dac only thing I could use is what I get on my motherboard z270-f from asus which they claim has a good dac?
But im unsure if I could just get an amp and connect it to? what? My mobo dosent have RCA? it has spdif but thats a digital standard so I would need a dac aswell then right?
Sorry for being a big noob I hope someone knows their stuff and can help me! Cheers :D
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keyboard_arrow_downkrakus
3
Feb 8, 2020
I have the 6XX
I use the Apogge Groove
great but not cheap
can get a refurb at their site for < $
https://apogeedigital.com/products/groove
psuKinger
110
Jan 7, 2020
My experience as a 6XX owner has been that more power = better results. The low end fills in more (in a tasteful/classy way, not a rumbly/thumpy/beats-by-dre way) when supplied with an abundance of watts. Straight off my phone < straight off my laptop < Small Portable Fiio Q1 DAC/AMP < Schiit Jotunheim single-ended connection < Schiit Jotunheim Balanced XLR output
The Jotunheim is rated to (a lot) more power output over it's XLR output then it's single-ended. Once I got a 3rd party XLR cable for the 6XX from Periapt, and used that with my Jot, the low end frequencies that I had thought were missing with the 6XX suddenly showed up, and these became pretty versatile "all-around" performers, not just "great for jazz/vocals/easy-listening" headphones....
Michael-Q
243
Jan 7, 2020
If you wanted to add just an amp to your setup, you could use a 3.5mm trs to RCA cable. The cable plugs into your 3.5mm headphone jack on the motherboard and the rca inputs of an amp.
You could try the headphones without an amp. With my motherboard, it sounded pretty good and decently loud until I wanted to use EQ (which lowers all sound levels before boosting the frequencies you want - I needed an amp to get things loud enough again). From there using more sensitive headphones I could hear a slight buzz from the mother board which led me to buy a DAC.
(Edited)
pslayer1
274
Jan 5, 2020
To get the most out of the 6xx you'll need a DAC and amp. The DAC would connect to your computer via USB and then the DAC to amp via RCA (or XLR).
saran47
15
Jan 5, 2020
Just my 2 cents, ive had them for over a year and I literally just run them straight from my laptop (surface book 2) and phone (oneplus 5 and pixel 3a) and they sound great, loud enough to hear music on flights (not recommended tho for them obviously being open back, it was either them or the plane headphones so i went with sound quality) but anyways they still sound amazing. I bought the Drop CTH + Cavalli dac/amp (what a ton of reviews said was the best value for the 6XX) on sale for $220 and listening music off those vs a home audio reciever vs just straight from my devices I couldn't notice much of a difference besides soundstage a little bit and definitely not worth the money I spent. Basically if you have a 3.5mm output, use em straight, and go from there, the 6XX are so so so so so freaking worth it like wow they sound good but if youre trying to deal with only a usb sound output, when I had the dac, it took a usb input so you could invest in a dac but again, I dont think its worth it. Good luck!
RayF
22218
Jan 5, 2020
saran47@andylillec
They work fine without an amp unless you're the sort of person who confuses the sound of vibrating body panels on your '89 Pontiac Sunbird with "base response".
See my comprehensive review here:
https://drop.com/talk/9773/i-recently-bought-the-massdrop-version-of-the-6-xx-but-now-im-confuse-because-i-find-out-i-will-not-/2208696
(Edited)
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