A few questions on DACs/Amps

[cpd]

I have a pair of Senn Momentum over the ears and a pair of older Grado 125's. For convenience, my source is mainly my iphone or ipad and I generally listen to Spotify on "Extreme" (they claim 320kb/s) resolution. So here are my questions:

1) Will I notice a significant improvement if I purchase a dedicated DAC/Amp considering the sources I use?

2) If so, does anyone have a recommendation for bedside setups to consider for use with my idevices? Is something like the Nuforce iDo sufficient or are there better DAC/Amps to use along with a second device to get the music off the idevice while bypassing the idevice DAC?

Thanks in advance.

 

[vaf]

I'm in the same boat you are. I've got a pair of Senn HD598's and I've been toying around with the notion of getting a headphone amp/DAC but I haven't yet pulled the trigger on anything. I can tell you from experience though that my 598's have sounded much better through my receiver (Pioneer 1015-tx) than they do straight from my phone. I'm looking into the headphone amp/DAC is because my headphone port on my receiver has recently stopped functioning almost altogether . I guess it is almost 10 years old and I beat the crap out of it in college. Regardless...

I have a Galaxy S4, not sure how the DAC in my phone measures up to the iPhone, or how you'll hook this up with the iPhone. If you are interested in going the route of the amp/DAC you'll need some manner of cable to drive the signal from your iPhone proprietary port (i think). The 3.5mm jack only puts out an analog signal that is already run through the phones internal DAC so I'm not sure how much impact that would really have on the sound quality. Not sure how you do that with the iPhone.

With the S4 I'm going to need a USB OTG cable. This cable has pins shorted in a manner that automatically causes the phone to default to digital audio output through the micro USB port. From there to the DAC and amp. I'm sure they have something like this for the iPhone.

This is all info I've gathered over the last week or so from this and other forums. I could be off on some of those points, but figured I'd reply anyway since I'm in the same situation. So far I've been looking at two headphone amps in particular that have gotten universally good reviews from what I've been reading.

Project Ember - $300 ish range
MP-301 MK3 - $350 ish range

I'm kind of partial to the MP-301 as I've been shopping around for a pair of bookshelf speakers as well. However, I'm sure there are other good amps in that (and lower) price ranges. I'm still shopping around. Haven't spent too much time researching DAC's yet. Hope this helps.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

I swear, I need to open DAC/Headphone amp company. $10 in components and $1000 retain price.
I would buy a 100ft yacht in no time.

Honestly - use lossless sources and better headphones.

 

[agarwalro]

So far I've been looking at two headphone amps in particular that have gotten universally good reviews from what I've been reading.

Project Ember - $300 ish range
MP-301 MK3 - $350 ish range

I'm kind of partial to the MP-301 as I've been shopping around for a pair of bookshelf speakers as well. However, I'm sure there are other good amps in that (and lower) price ranges. I'm still shopping around. Haven't spent too much time researching DAC's yet. Hope this helps.

In the $300 range for a headphone amp, also look at the O2 + ODAC Combo.

 

[swspiers]

I swear, I need to open DAC/Headphone amp company. $10 in components and $1000 retain price.
I would buy a 100ft yacht in no time.

Honestly - use lossless sources and better headphones.

Please! I would love to hear what you design and build. Count me in on a kickstarter campaign, especially if you can sell good gear at a reasonable price.

OP: the least value is in upgrading the DAC. But an amp can give you more current and power, which can tend to make things sound better. Decent amps from Fiio start at $50

Lossless is a red-herring, and there is nothing wrong with your headphones.

 

[connieflyer]

I have have been using the Ember with a Mullard CV4024 tube and the Emotiva UDA-2 for quite awhile now and it is much better sounding than the headphone output of either of my Haram Kardon amps. The asus Essense STX sound card on my pc was fairly good but once I got the Ember setup it was far better, larger soundstage, depth of sound, and ariculation. I am using the Sennheiser HD-650's. Great sound and relaxing. Listen for hours without fatigue.

 

[connieflyer]

Well skipping the dac is a possiblity, as is holding your breath until you choke. First I did not have a dac, and it was good, then I had a dac and it was better. Go figure.

 

[tyhjaarpa]

In the $300 range for a headphone amp, also look at the O2 + ODAC Combo.

This is most recommended headphone amp I know. Don't have personal experience on headphone amps as I use my receiver to amp my Semmheiser HD600.