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
Sound quality in headphones has 3 general categories:
Lo-fi (less than $300) Mid-fi ($300-$900) Hi-fi (over $1000)
Lo-fi isn't worth your time because if you decide that headphone listening is for you, it will INEVITABLY lead you to trying something in the mid-fi range. You might as well skip the lo-fi step altogether.
If you could trust my advice, you would find the budget for hi-fi headphones. But, I know you won't, so I'll at least suggest a few strong mid-fi options such as the TH-X00 here on Massdrop, AudioQuest Nighthawk, HiFiMan HE-400S (or i if on sale). I recently listened to the B&W P5 and it was an impressively solid mid-fi offering. A few more tips:
1. This isn't the 90s. Avoid conventional plastic dynamic drivers. Planar, electrostatic, bio-cellular = good. There a re a FEW exceptions that use unique technologies.
2. Don't be tempted by the HD600/650/6XX, etc. They are mid-fi performers from a technical perspective, but are very boring you WILL get tired of them, just skip them altogether. Also they are old school plastic dynamic driver junk, avoid.
3. The difference between closed and open is *** NOT *** as large as many would have you think. Ignore this factor, concentrate on performance.
4. Class A = best, class A/B = good, class D = junk (unless you pay huge $).
5. Desktop-sized DACs and amps perform better than small portable units.
6. Headphones ALL require SIGNIFICANT break-in (think 200-800 hours). The used market IS your friend: not only do you save money you save time on break-in.
1. this is true 2. Probably out of his price range. 3. The difference is enough in this case to affect him. He can't have people here his sound, so sound isolation is a must. Therefore open back is a no go. 4. Google this. From my understanding it's just different types of amplification and d is the most efficient. 5. The fiio e10k dac/amp is an awesome start to getting in to higher end audio. However I can't weigh in too much more on this point. 6. Headphone break in is a thing, I do not know however, where you got the idea of 200-800 hours from. It's like a few hours to a week. Also used market is a good idea but don't go get ratty headphones. Also Massdrop is your friend
OP: M50x's were my first 'high end' headphones and as many before me have said is a very good place to start. They are easy to drive sound great are very comfortable and are well built.