Headphone Amp

Witchdoctor · Mar 8, 2016

Thanks for the insight, I just don't know much about this stuff

Think I will hit the buy button and get this moving in the right direction

Thanks again everyone for the help

ATMINSIDE · Mar 8, 2016

If you don't want to spend quite so much on the DAC/AMP, the one I linked earlier would drive those speakers nicely as well.
It has front and rear connections so you could keep the speakers plugged in and just connect the headphones at the front when ready to use

Witchdoctor · Mar 14, 2016

Thought I would pop in to follow up

the NAD D3020 is absolutely crazy
hooked up some speakers I got at a garage sale for $ 100.00. They have been in the attic for almost a year now
While I am not an expert this is the best sounding music I have ever heard , crazy these little speaker really get after it........... lol
However I do not recommend it for cans, setting 1 on the volume is ear shattering loud
I mean just insanly ridiculously loud. Called them up about it, BTW great people at NAD
they are telling me my cans are of poor quality and recommended these from Beyerdynamic

http://north-america.beyerdynamic.com/shop/dt-770-pro.html

Wondering if they have an interest in this company or are they good cans ? They specifically said to get the 250 ohm set ?
I am not familiar with audio tech, what do the ohm's do ?
Ultimately they are saying if I buy better cans I will be happy with the headphone amp side of the system
They also offered to take the amp back if I was not completely satisfied with it.

Are these cans decent and if not any suggestions with high ohm's

Hope I can get this squared away as I listen to headphones like 60% of the time.
if I can get it worked out I think I will be really pleased with this amp

Thanks

mimart7 · Mar 14, 2016

Witchdoctor said:
Thought I would pop in to follow up

the NAD D3020 is absolutely crazy
hooked up some speakers I got at a garage sale for $ 100.00. They have been in the attic for almost a year now
While I am not an expert this is the best sounding music I have ever heard , crazy these little speaker really get after it........... lol
However I do not recommend it for cans, setting 1 on the volume is ear shattering loud
I mean just insanly ridiculously loud. Called them up about it, BTW great people at NAD
they are telling me my cans are of poor quality and recommended these from Beyerdynamic

http://north-america.beyerdynamic.com/shop/dt-770-pro.html

Wondering if they have an interest in this company or are they good cans ? They specifically said to get the 250 ohm set ?
I am not familiar with audio tech, what do the ohm's do ?
Ultimately they are saying if I buy better cans I will be happy with the headphone amp side of the system
They also offered to take the amp back if I was not completely satisfied with it.

Are these cans decent and if not any suggestions with high ohm's

Hope I can get this squared away as I listen to headphones like 60% of the time.
if I can get it worked out I think I will be really pleased with this amp

Thanks

Those are great cans, but I may have other recommendations.

Do you have a price range in mind?

I do a lot of research on Headfi before making headphone purchases.

Alaric · Mar 14, 2016

I do a lot of research on Headfi before making headphone purchases.

This ^ There are a lot of options. I like Sennheisers , and Grado. If on a budget , the Grado Sr 80i is one heck of a good value. For a little more , Oppo has some very nice headphones now. Surprised the heck out of me.

Witchdoctor · Mar 14, 2016

looking in the 200ish rang I guess, that is what the Beyerdynamic set is?

Research is good, I just do not know what I am looking for other than high ohms ?

Just want a set that sounds good and is honest to the music

I listen to jazz mostly, but also want a set that I can game with

Thanks

7keys · Mar 16, 2016

High ohms doesn't necessarily mean better sound but it does mean your going to have to buy a good amp to power them.
A lot of low ohm have just as good SQ. Although with Beyerdynamics the 600 ohm do sound better.

Do you want a closed or open can?

Witchdoctor · Mar 17, 2016

Need closed so you can't hear them

Still doing a lot of reading on this

Janus67 · Mar 17, 2016

I'm currently reviewing the Beyerdynamic MMX300 headset and it has great sound and closed-back. The headset has super low impedance though (32ohm), but after this experience with their product I think you'd likely be pretty happy with one of their high-impedance units.

Witchdoctor · Mar 17, 2016

Can someone explain to me the difference ?

why make so many sets with different impedance ?

You would think there would be an industry standard ?

does high impedance can sound better or don't they ?

doing research it seems like the Audio Technica M50X are great cans and are only 38 ohms

What is the real deal with this ?

Have read a lot of conflicting information the few days. Seems to be very subjective

I am getting to the point where it seeems like I should make a decision based upon my favorite color ?

ATMINSIDE · Mar 17, 2016

Higher impedance has the potential to sound better than low, but takes a lot more amp to drive.
Of course this assumes similar quality drivers, can shape, and more.

If you're having a minimum volume issue on your current headset/amp combo, with both Windows and the amp turned down, you need to buy higher impedance or get a lower gain amp.
This is part of the reason I like the DAC/AMP I suggested, it works great even with low impedance headsets. The Sennies I pushed on mine were 32 ohm and did just fine at the low end.

7keys · Mar 17, 2016

In the distant past most people were listening to headphones through high ohm home stereo systems, powerful amplifiers, today most people are using portable devices, low ohm. It's due to hardware.

The open cans leak sound so are not that great for taking out.....but they have a better sound stage and positioning for gaming.

Two great headphones in your price range are the ATH m50x and the HD 598, one closed one open. They each have sound quality's with are totally different from the other.

Witchdoctor · Mar 17, 2016

ATMINSIDE said:
Higher impedance has the potential to sound better than low, but takes a lot more amp to drive.
Of course this assumes similar quality drivers, can shape, and more.

If you're having a minimum volume issue on your current headset/amp combo, with both Windows and the amp turned down, you need to buy higher impedance or get a lower gain amp.
This is part of the reason I like the DAC/AMP I suggested, it works great even with low impedance headsets. The Sennies I pushed on mine were 32 ohm and did just fine at the low end.

yes this is the problem with my current set
they are just to loud even with it turned down all the way,
you just crack the volume button and it is crazy
I need more of a swing as I like to listen to low music when I am working
but like itlouder when just surfing or on the forums

for gaming I need a little more room as well

Now there is just not enough volume to play with
i can not hear it or with just a touch of volume it is way to loud

The lady at NAD said higher inpedance would give me more space on the volume and said will sound better too

7Keys, do they make a higher OHM M50X than the 38 as I to am reading a ton of great things about them but fear I will have the same result as opposed to a 250 ohm set ?

This is a stupid question but hear goes,is there a way to adjust this ?

Janus67 · Mar 17, 2016

Some amps have a low/high-gain setting. The micca amp I recommended has a switch that you flip if you are using high-ohm headphones or leave it off (or whatever) for low-ohm.

Witchdoctor · Mar 17, 2016

The one I bought does not have that
However I will have t page through the manual and see if there is something I missed

Went with the NAD because I have one for my home system.
When I saw they made one for this use I was sold
the sound coming from the speakers to only say is breathtaking would not be doing it justice
I I can just get a set of cans that pair with this amp as well as the speakers do I will be in business and happy with my purchase.
I have been reading a lot and have learned a lot
I was hesitant of the ones they recommended thinking they may be affiliated with them
However the DT 770 PRO, 250 Ohms set do seem to be a solid choice in my price range based on reading several reviews on them
sound is so subjective, guess I am just going to have to roll the dice

7keys · Mar 17, 2016

Witchdoctor said:
The one I bought does not have that
However I will have t page through the manual and see if there is something I missed

Went with the NAD because I have one for my home system.
When I saw they made one for this use I was sold
the sound coming from the speakers to only say is breathtaking would not be doing it justice
I I can just get a set of cans that pair with this amp as well as the speakers do I will be in business and happy with my purchase.
I have been reading a lot and have learned a lot
I was hesitant of the ones they recommended thinking they may be affiliated with them
However the DT 770 PRO, 250 Ohms set do seem to be a solid choice in my price range based on reading several reviews on them
sound is so subjective, guess I am just going to have to roll the dice

The reviews are great on those cans. I bought both the M50x and the HD 598 when they were on sale at Christmas on Amazon, just to test them against some DIY headphones I made, they both sounded great. I'm using a Fiio E17 Dac/Amp off my computer,

You can't adjust the ohms.

ATMINSIDE · Mar 17, 2016

Witchdoctor said:
The one I bought does not have that
However I will have t page through the manual and see if there is something I missed

Went with the NAD because I have one for my home system.
When I saw they made one for this use I was sold
the sound coming from the speakers to only say is breathtaking would not be doing it justice
I I can just get a set of cans that pair with this amp as well as the speakers do I will be in business and happy with my purchase.
I have been reading a lot and have learned a lot
I was hesitant of the ones they recommended thinking they may be affiliated with them
However the DT 770 PRO, 250 Ohms set do seem to be a solid choice in my price range based on reading several reviews on them
sound is so subjective, guess I am just going to have to roll the dice

You can definitely get a set of cans to pair well with the amp, I'd probably stay in the 200+ ohm range though.
The Beyer DT770 PRO is a heck of a set from everything I've seen, I'll be shocked if you're disappointed with them.

ITAngel · Mar 17, 2016

I use Focurite Scarlett 2i2 Audio Interface for my audio recording and did use it for gaming for a bit, but I purchase the Creative-Lab Sound Blaster ZX for gaming. Seems to work great but not many people are a fan of creative lab stuff.

Witchdoctor · Mar 17, 2016

ATMINSIDE said:
You can definitely get a set of cans to pair well with the amp, I'd probably stay in the 200+ ohm range though.
The Beyer DT770 PRO is a heck of a set from everything I've seen, I'll be shocked if you're disappointed with them.

Hit the buy button on them,

I will let you guys know how they sound

Thanks for the help

Hey IT, I never had any problems with creative other than a wonky drive every now and again

no different than nVidia or AMD

Witchdoctor · Mar 29, 2016

ATMINSIDE said:
I'll be shocked if you're disappointed with them.

Wow, what a difference
Very happy with this set of headphones , I got the 250 ohm version and they sound really good and seem to make the sound seem like it is in a bigger area, if that makes any sense ? listening to high quality recordings really makes them shine , however they do expose recordings of low quality

Great for Battlefield as the the depth of explosions and machine gun fire in the distance and near are very distinct as opposed to my old cans,

Headphone Amp

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