Dament Posted December 8, 2011 Share Posted December 8, 2011 Hi, I would like to improve the sound of my headphones while listening on my iMac 27 inch 2010 2.8GHz Quad-Core to music (16/44.1 FLAC and 320MP3 + some 24/96 FLAC files).. Would it be better to buy an external amp and DAC? Will this make an big difference in sound quality? I have an low impedance (50ohms) headphones Sennheiser 595HD, any suggestions? Thanks. Link to comment
HiFiInsider Posted December 9, 2011 Share Posted December 9, 2011 An Apogee Duet 2 will make your day. http://www.youtube.com/hifiguy528/videos Link to comment
AudioDoctor Posted December 9, 2011 Share Posted December 9, 2011 How much you want to spend on this device? There are may options, at many prices. No electron left behind. Link to comment
Dament Posted December 9, 2011 Author Share Posted December 9, 2011 It really depends on the difference it would make, but I'd prefer not to spend more than €100 Link to comment
AudioDoctor Posted December 9, 2011 Share Posted December 9, 2011 ;-) Kidding. I have no knowledge of any devices for that price, but that doesn't mean someone else won't. The cheapest I would go is a Apogee Duet 2 for $600 USD. No electron left behind. Link to comment
ESL Posted December 10, 2011 Share Posted December 10, 2011 Look, you really should rethink your budget. My advice is to save for something that does the job and lets you enjoy the music for $400-$600. However, if you are really stuck at $100, and we all have been at some point, then I would suggest the VRM Box if you can find one: http://www.focusrite.com/products/audio_interfaces/vrm_box/ I gave aware a pair of Beyerdynamic DT660 to my brother-in-law and being stuck for something that would get him up & running on a "my first hifi" basis, I ran across this box at a local dealer. Strictly speaking it isn't an interface but if you run it with the mixing simulations defeated, it sounds OK. Best matched with bright headphones, so you are advised to listen first. It worked Plug n' Pray with both Mac & Windows. Martin Link to comment
Dament Posted December 10, 2011 Author Share Posted December 10, 2011 Hi, I do have more to spend but since my headphones didn't cost more than 210 dollars and they sound OK, since the impedance is only 50 ohms, right out of the iMac I thought that it wouldn't be necessary and it would not cost much to get the most out of these easy to drive headphones? Link to comment
Dament Posted December 10, 2011 Author Share Posted December 10, 2011 Hahha, you are already calculating €100 as being $100.. it's still more like $145 at this time Link to comment
HiFiInsider Posted December 10, 2011 Share Posted December 10, 2011 Anyone tried this? http://www.amazon.com/NuForce-uDAC-2-Silver-Headphone-24bit/dp/B003Y5LY1C/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1323534939&sr=8-3 http://www.youtube.com/hifiguy528/videos Link to comment
Dament Posted December 19, 2011 Author Share Posted December 19, 2011 Thanks, looks good! Does it make any difference to use Toslink vs USB or not since it's using asynchronous jitter reduction? Oh and how does an amp drive 16 to 300 ohms properly? Can it vary the impedance when connection different headphones or is it somewhere around 150 so it can do all (which would cause no good bass on my 50 ohm headphones) Also, I read that you should connect 50/8=6,25ohm impedance to my 50 ohm headphones because 1/8 is the best factor for the least distortion?? Am I messing here? Thanks Link to comment
bikemig Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 I can't recommend the nuforce udac 2; it isn't bad (and I have used it with the Sennheiser 595) but the difference between the udac 2 and the headphone out from your mac is, I think, negligible. I'm using the Audio GD Fun which makes a marked improvement. Just because your cans are relatively inexpensive doesn't mean that you need an equally inexpensive amp and dac. You want something that can drive different cans since you may buy something else (the audio gd fun can for example) and you want something where the sound and build quality is first rate. Buy something good or just be happy with your current set up. Macmini (as server)-> AE Express/SB Touch-> Dacmagic plus -> Outlaw RR2150 -> PSB Image T6 (dedicated 2 channel audio system) Macmini (via toslink)-> NAD T747 -> PSB Imagine B/SVS SB2000 subwoofer (home theater) Macbook Pro-> Peachtree idecco->PSB Imagine Minis, Energy ESW-M8 subwoofer, Beyerdynamic DT880 (home office) IMac->audioengine D1 dac->airmotiv 4 (work system) Link to comment
sara29 Posted December 21, 2011 Share Posted December 21, 2011 Thanks for sharing this information. I really like your way of expressing the opinions and sharing the information. It is good to move as chance bring new things in life, paves the way for advancement, etc. But it is well known to everyone that moving to new location with bulk of goods is not an easy task to move or shift from one place to other place because I have experienced about that and I face the problem like that. There I go to village near to my city faced that problem there. blazers for women// blazers for men// women's blazers// mens blazers// school blazer// leather blazer// blazer jacket// corduroy blazer// Link to comment
Dament Posted December 21, 2011 Author Share Posted December 21, 2011 Thanks for your answers! Very helpful. Now if I listen to my iPhone with Sennheiser 595HD would it improve quality to buy this: http://www.sendstation.com/us/products/pocketdock/lineout-usb.html? Link to comment
orgel Posted December 22, 2011 Share Posted December 22, 2011 I have one of those. I use it to connect my iPod Classic to my "secondary" system. Are you saying you'd connect the PocketDock to the iPod and plug the Senns into the PocketDock? My guess is that it might make a very small positive difference in SQ, but nothing mind-blowing. --David Listening Room: Mac mini (Roon Core) > iMac (HQP) > exaSound PlayPoint (as NAA) > exaSound e32 > W4S STP-SE > Benchmark AHB2 > Wilson Sophia Series 2 (Details) Office: Mac Pro > AudioQuest DragonFly Red > JBL LSR305 Mobile: iPhone 6S > AudioQuest DragonFly Black > JH Audio JH5 Link to comment
bikemig Posted December 22, 2011 Share Posted December 22, 2011 I suspect David is right. If the iphone works like the ipod, you get a marginally better sound quality by using a line out (which is what the send station does), then through the variable out or headphone out. I use one of these with my ipod, http://www.amazon.com/FiiO-L3-Line-Cable-iPhone/dp/B003UCESP8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1324588160&sr=8-1, and it should, at least in theory, work better than the headphone out. In practice, I can't really hear much of a difference. Macmini (as server)-> AE Express/SB Touch-> Dacmagic plus -> Outlaw RR2150 -> PSB Image T6 (dedicated 2 channel audio system) Macmini (via toslink)-> NAD T747 -> PSB Imagine B/SVS SB2000 subwoofer (home theater) Macbook Pro-> Peachtree idecco->PSB Imagine Minis, Energy ESW-M8 subwoofer, Beyerdynamic DT880 (home office) IMac->audioengine D1 dac->airmotiv 4 (work system) Link to comment
Dament Posted January 6, 2012 Author Share Posted January 6, 2012 Also I have a Myryad Mi with a 3,5mm jack headphone output, don't know about the impedance though.. Ideally, since my headphones are 50 ohm I need a 50/8=6,25 ohm output impedance? Would using this jack be better than headphone out iMac? Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now