A total of 41 reviews of this product on Reddit.
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Is there room inside the VU meter for the Pi with case modification? I have a small FiiO Headphone DAC that would probably work… It would be fun to cram this all into a single box.
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Your PC is poop. You need external hardware to prevent sound processing on the motherboard in order to get rid of the noise.
A cheapo Dongle DAC/Amp will do the trick, e.g. FiiO K1.
If you are willed to spend more in order to future proof your system head over to /r/headphoneadvice and ask for a DAC/Amp that suits your needs and budget.
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You may want to read about soundstage vs imaging in headphones. Soundstage being the ability of the headphones to reproduce a sound as being far away from your ears, imaging being the ability to reproduce sounds happening on the “x axis”, if you will, with pinpoint accuracy.
Imagine the sound of a fly buzzing from your left ear to your right ear. Good soundstage representation will allow you to tell how far is that fly, while good imaging will let you hear where that fly is at any given moment.
Now, the SHP9500 didn’t impress me either, and you have a point on unrealistic expectations. I know for sure my first “good” headphones didn’t blow me away.
That being said, your laptop soundcard may be dragging them down a bit. I wouldn’t recommend anything more than a Fiio K1 for easy to drive headphones. It’s a tiny piece of hardware, but it’s way better than any integrated soundcard.
I don’t have any experience with the PC360, but both the 598 and the AD series are great headphones. If you plan to use the primarily for gaming, any of the ADx00 would get my vote.
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Actually, this one: https://www.amazon.ca/K1-Portable-DAC-Headphone-Amplifier/dp/B0189EVGAG/ref=pd_sim_107_10?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=81ZRXHVCE597A1V26AXF
Clips on nicely to my jeans and I got 2 different sized micro-usb to usb-c cables from Amazon or Monoprice, I forget. A short 6 inch and a longer 3 foot. I use the short one mostly and just clip it to the inner pocket, then run the headphone cable to that.
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What are some other good amps for the DT 770 80 ohms? I got these headphones today and I don’t see the great quality everyone is talking about. (Also my first “audiophile” headphones).
I would like to keep the price under $70.
Would the Fiio K1 be good for budget?
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0189EVGAG/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A1UG27DD7KR2HI
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yeah the Stealth 400’s were wireless. had an optical cable that ran from the back of the PS4 to a wireless USB stick that sent audio to the headset.
I’m not looking to spend $400-$600 on an audio set up. all reviews on the Razers were good for sound quality. I guess i’m tech illiterate but what does DAC stand for?
What is the benefits of a $100 DAC compared to this $40 FiiO DAC? https://www.amazon.com/K1-Portable-Headphone-Amplifier-Titanium/dp/B0189EVGAG/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1489420220&sr=1-1&keywords=USB+DAC+Headphone+Amplifier
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Alright, well just give them a week or so of listening and then go back and try your other pair of headphones. You should be able to tell a difference.
The only thing I could recommend would be like a portable DAC/AMP along the lines of this but, that’s just more money. I’m also not 100% on how well it would help the headphones.
You could try asking over in /r/headphones?
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i use https://www.amazon.com/K1-Portable-Headphone-Amplifier-Titanium/dp/B0189EVGAG/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1487355438&sr=8-2&keywords=fiio+usb+dac in the car, but as of late i havent really been using it. if you like i can sell it to you with usbc > micro usb. message me
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Advice on the FiiO K1? I just want a usb-3.5mm converter, but an amp/dac at $40 is pretty good as far as I can tell!
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The only risk is that the one built into your computer is better than that one. There are certainly more expensive ones available (like the FIIO K1) but the one you linked should work.
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So if I were to get something like this and a USB otg cable, would I plug the small end into my phone, big end into the DAC, and aux into the stereo?
Edit: nvm it’s micro USB so I’ll figure that out. But will this DAC work for what I want? I listen to music pretty damn loud and want as little noise as possible with as clear sound as possible.
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I’m not sure why the MDRs are that much louder at the same volume level; 11 Ohms isn’t that big of a difference.
Before I answer your question, do you have the Omni software installed and configured? I’m looking at guides, and it appears that you can choose between 32/300Ω or 600Ω gain. If you just installed it, try the 32Ω setting; that should be enough for your SHPs. If for whatever reason that isn’t loud enough for you, try the 600Ω option with the volume very low, then slowly raise it.
If this doesn’t solve your problem, then you should look into a headphone amp. Might I recommend the FiiO K1? It’s a DAC/Amp combo, but it can get very loud with my X2s, which have a similar impedance to the SHPs.
EDIT: Phrasing, hyperlink
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Rule 1: All requests for purchase advice must be posted in the sticky thread
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Never heard it personally, but here are some useful observations:
100 mW power per channel given 32 ohm load isn’t super high, but it’s relatively good for the price. For reference, the Fiio K1 (similarly priced ~$40) outputs 35 mW given the same load.
The biggest issue is the 5% THD… this is undoubtedly in audible range. I’m guessing this is in max volume, which is not very likely for somebody to be listening in, but 5% is a lot.
This appears to be amp only, no DAC. Even at a budget price-point, I think that having a DAC accompany an amp is necessary for good performance. Without a DAC, you’ll most likely have to double-amp in some occasions (i.e. you’re amplifying an already amplified signal, resulting in the distortion of the first amp being amp’d as well).
With this said, I’d recommend going for a Fiio K1 or saving up for a more powerful DAC and amp. Depending on your headphone, you might not even need an amplifier.
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Using a 3,5mm input would cause double amping if the source device does not have LINEOUT. Nowadays using a DAC/AMP like the FiiO K1 would be the easiest solution, given that your smartphone supports USB OTG.
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Fiio has a great reputation. I can’t imagine finding a decent dac for anything close to $3.
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I have been using the Fiio K1 to great effect with mine.
Edit: Some people have said they had issues with other cables but mine works with this cable – https://smile.amazon.com/Fusion4K-USB-Micro-PROFESSIONAL-foot/dp/B014QK6WPQ/ref=pd_bxgy_23_img_3?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=XDCAE3Y45CTE50YZ924J
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Hopefully we will. The selection is very sparse right now.
This is the only dongle I see at the moment that is stating is has a good, or least better than stock, dac. It has a 24-bit/192khz dac compared to the google one which seems to be 16-bit/ 48/96 khz? / *** or relatively close. It also works with headphones that have inline mic and volume controls. There are no reviews for so it is a gamble right now if their included dac sounds good or better than the stock one.
The really good news is portable usb-c dac/amps are becoming more popular so even if better quality dacs remain sparse then people still have the option for these.
A few I found that are highly rated in my research other dongle alternatives.
Fio K1– Its one of the most popular and well reviewed portable dacs at the moment.
Dragonfly Red / [Dragonfly Black (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01F7L3I14/ref=dp_sp_detail?psc=1) . All the reviews and impressions I’ve read for these devices are that the Black not bad, but Red completely blows it away in terms of sound quality.
SMSL IDEA / Sabaj Da2 – Made by the same factory and using the same chipset under different brand names. These have also been getting rave reviews due to being sub 100 dacs but have the sound quality of much more expensive dacs. Also both come with usb-c otg cables.
Things to keep in mind are that there are some glitches when some of theses are connected to android phone which have work arounds.
*Hissing or screeching when plugging into phone: Start music first and then plug in dac. Changing the usb mode to midi works for some people as well.
To take full advantage of have a usb dac alot of people recommend this app: USB Audio Player PRO
Also the remote and mic on headphone won’t work with these.
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I don’t really need to charge so I ordered this.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0189EVGAG/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Actually will use more power but I’m ok with that. For everything else I can use bluetooth.
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https://www.amazon.com/K1-Portable-Headphone-Amplifier-DAC/dp/B0189EVGAG – K1 is $40 on Amazon. I’d say go for it, M50x doesn’t need a lot to get to its full potential.
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Just get a FiiO K1 or something like an SMSL: iDEA or FiiO E17K if you want to spend ~$100 🙂
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>Are you confident that this could be the solution?
Yes, this is the purpose of an AMP, and all portable DACs have built in AMPs since they are needed for it to work. A portable DAC will connect over USB and output over 3.5mm. A portable AMP will take a 3.5mm in and output over another 3.5mm connector.
Portable DAC & AMP: Fiio K1 (75mW @ 16 Ohms) $39.98
Much more powerful one: Fiio Q1 (190mW @ 32 Ohms) $69.99
Portable AMP only: Fiio A1 (78mW @ 16 Ohmes) $27.99
More powerful one: Fiio A3 (450mW @ 16 Ohmes / 270mW @ 32 Ohmes) $59.99
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> it seems like the high quality of some headphones may be partially wasted without an amp. Is that correct?
correct
> Would this be an issue with any of the typical headphones, including sound quality?
Yes, if your onboard codec is not working, our you have bad cabling from the mobo header to the front ports, a headphone with regular 3.5mm jacks will not work correctly.
> If so, is there another workaround?
Yes buying an external digital analog converter and amplifier that handles all sound processing outside the PC.
Some questions I have for you:
- What kind of microphone are you using? USB desktop mic (e.g. Snowball), USB desktop mic with monitor function (e.g. Yeti), or a microphone plus audio interface (e.g. ATH AT2020 + Focusrite Scarlett 2i2)
Preliminary recommendation (might change once you answered my questions)
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FiiO K1, you have to realize that this soundcard is hot garbage.
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Check out the FiiO K1
https://www.amazon.com/K1-Portable-Headphone-Amplifier-Titanium/dp/B0189EVGAG
It’s a nice addition to your PC audio setup at a very low cost.
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The FiiO K1 is a great match for the 32 Ohm version.
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Also, wrong sticky thread 😛
If you can afford a little over $50, try this one, an AQ Dragonfly clone.
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Yup the MBP should power both of your headphones with absolute ease and without any noise.
Anything more expensive than an E10k Would be absolute overkill for those headphones.
The SRH400 is 105dB/mW @ 44 Ohm
The SHP9500 is 101dB/mW @ 32 Ohm
You could easily power both headphones with a FiiO K1
Also make sure to disable enhancements on your PC and check if the codec is set to stereo output!
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Where were you last week?! I just dropped 40 bucks on this. Kinda kicking myself.
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> via vt2021 chip
never heard of that brand, but that probably means that it sounds really terrible. The explanation of why a high output impedance source doesn’t sound good with a low impedance headphone is pretty long- here is an article about damping
> Could a amp fix that? or better buy a proper dac + amp (USB) when I find the money?
yes absolutely. I suggest you check out the FiiO K1
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Hi there,
your post has been reported for violating Rule 1 of this subreddit and I’ll have to remove it.
ooh and get the FiiO K1
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I think that the $40 FiiO K1 fits your criteria.
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This will fix your issue given that your headphones are happy with >35 mW（32Ω/THD+N＜1%).
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If you don’t wanna spring for an E10K, you could try this: http://www.amazon.com/K1-Portable-Headphone-Amplifier-Titanium/dp/B0189EVGAG?ie=UTF8&keywords=fiio q1&qid=1464371661&ref_=sr_1_3&sr=8-3
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This will likely work for you. I use the big brother to this (Q1) and it really improved the sound on my Chromebooks (Flip and Toshiba CB2).
http://www.amazon.com/K1-Portable-Headphone-Amplifier-Titanium/dp/B0189EVGAG
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As has been said, it’s really not the best. It uses the standard SD 810 DAC and the associated amp gives a very weak output. As someone who likes to use decent quality, high impedance portable headphones (but also loves the 6P) this is quite annoying.
I’ve seen people on reddit and XDA having success using the Fiio K1 as an external DAC and AMP combo. I’ve not tried it myself, but I’m thinking of picking one up.
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Has anyone tried the Fiio K1?
Wondering basically how it stacks up to the more expensive Schiit Fulla or Fiio e10k.
I saw dalethorn’s review, he seemed to like it a lot!
