Do you maybe know what is the sensitivity of Susvara, number AND unit? I see a lot of confusion around it. Hifiman product page has just 83dB without unit, some reviews stated 103dB/V, some headphone power table had 86dB/V and 74dB/mW...
I bought an oldschool FiiO DAC player to have it be my personal music player, so I won't fill my phone with a thousand lossless files. It was more for convenience to order my files rather than the NEED of a dedicated amp for my headphones. It also came with a balance port. I love my FiiO.
Nice video. It doesn't cost many cents on the BOM of electronics to make an excellent headphone/earbud output. This is another area of audio snake oil helping some companies to sell products that serve no actual purpose.
complete agree on NEED. but, i bought a budget, convenience amp for my hifiman he5xx (fiio btr5) and it DID help my headphones in a VERY noticable way: but not because of the amp itself. when i first got my he5xx, i was in love with the soundstage and the "size" of the sound in comparison with my moondrop aria, but the tuning was just kinda off. I decided to try eq, because its free, but in order to eq them to the oratory1990 target, i was looking at a -11db preamp gain. i was already near-maxing out my laptop before eq, so in order to get the most out of it i decided to try the btr5, and if i still didn't like it i would return everything. suprise suprise, the btr5 plus a balanced cable was plenty loud enough with the eq, and now i use them as my daily driver while at home. could i have returned them for a pair of hd6xx? yes, but ive listened to the 6xx and i don't like the imaging/staging, especially with as much as i use my headphones for games, and i can't fix that with eq. point in all of this being that if you really like a headphone but the tuning is just a bit off, then eq and an amp might do wonders, but a better headphone will ALSO do wonders, so its worth looking into a little more than just "you totally need an amplifier" or you "totally don't need an amplifier"
Same here. Don't have things that are "hard to drive" to get to comfortable listening volume, but I like the convenience of just reaching for the dial and lower the volume when needed. Instead of going to the slider in windows or in games. Although I do like the extra bit of oomph on tap when I want to go loud for a minute or two for that one song that I love. And for IEM's I just dial it down a bit. Bottom line is that most people don't NEED an amp, but simply WANT an amp for the convenience and the extra bit of juice should they want it.
An audiophile by definition is someone who wastes money and thinks they can hear the difference. They are no different from Reiki practitioners. It's not about reality, but about how special they are in their abilities.
@@DamnDealDone That's BS. Sure, like any in any industry some people are selling snake oil and there _are_ diminishing returns in gear after a certain price point -- but a good pair of headphones or speakers can make a world of difference.
@@Skrenja where do I say good speakers and headphones don't make a difference? How does that equate to being an audiophile? How does your comment in any single way address my point? It doesn't. Damn, what a dumb comment.
I remember years ago, a guy told me that you need Monster cables to be able to produce sound frequencies up to 96kHz. I simply told him that I'm playing music for humans, not fucking dolphins
@@PayneWewton 1. "Nothing ever happens". 2. If you're a beginner in the Music Industry, people will feed you all kinds of misinformation. Which is why videos like this one is uploaded.
@@SubjectE57 there's no such thing as 100kHz when dealing with audio file exporting. It's 44.1kHz, 48kHz and even 96kHz. Supposedly when working with audio to video stuff, it's either 48 or 96. Even when mastering shit for CD, people claim that 96 is just better. Sonically, I can't hear the difference. Maybe my ears are bad, I dunno. But people claim that higher sample rate equals win. Maybe I'm too much of a young boy but I think I'll stick to my 44.1kHz.
I just found myself with a dead amp three days ago. (Schiit Midgard/Modius stack) I needed a reasonably quick replacement while starting the RMA process. I am now using a very cheap Loxjie p-20 tube amp, which is useable but thin-sounding and not very robust. The best deal I found for a replacement was the Topping A90 amp, with far more power than I'll ever need, since the 5.5watts from the Midgard amp was more than enough for my HD6xx's. The A90 is twice as powerful, with much better "numbers", but I doubt it will be better than the Midgard. I also wonder about DACs. I have a Grace balanced DAC and the Modius DAC, and they sound absolutely the same, though I did no blind tests and so completely subjective. Still, I would like to hear more DACs to find out just how different-sounding they really are.
A guy who owns a very expensive super high end audiophile store near me once told my something that turned out to be very true in a lot of cases. "Amps have the easiest job, they should not eat up to much of your budget." Makes sense if you thing about. All an Amp has to do is take in a signal and make it louder (more powerful). Speakers or Headphones on the other hand have to take a signal and turn it into something completely different. Sound. That requires a lot more things to fall into place. And from my experience a pair of 500 Euro headphones sounds a lot better then a 400 Euro Amp with 100 Euro headphones.
I mean, electricity is also sound. But it's transmitted almost exclusively across the electrons using long-range electrostatic forces (hence it can travel almost at light speed). You just need to drive something big and more electrically neutral in exactly same rhythm as electrons move. And it wouldn't be all that difficult either, if not for inertia or non-linearity of materials bending or whatever.
One thing I love about the audio hobby is fanboy-ism isn't very common, like it is in the tech or firearms hobby. However, the snake oil-ism is out of control in the audio hobby. It wouldn't be too hard to convince an audiophile that casting a magic spell on your headphones and rubbing cat hair and onions on them, will make them sound better. I love that we have people like Uncle Crinacle to teach us what's real and what isn't, as the placebo effect can honestly make that difficult sometimes!
You’re one of those guys whose passion gets others interested about the hobby. I went from looking from a decent pair of headphones to learning so much about audio. Keep pumping out content, it’s contagious.
I wish I could subscribe you a 1000 times 😆 MAN have I fallen for buying an amp to make the headphone quality better 🤣🤣🤣 Thank you so much for sharing what I learned the hard way.
Actually really glad I found this in my research phase. In the process of buying new studio mixing headphones learning a ton about audio equipment in the process. Your humor and insight is awesome! Thanks man
@@fractera Okay but how does that explain the fountain pen component of mechanicalheadpens? Haha. Been into audio and pens for ages but just recently (thanks to lockdowns) got into nice keyboards and ended up with a Ducky One 2 SF. It's a love hate relationship (QC on these is... lacking) but it's still much more comfortable than a membrane board. Also Switch and Click was one of my primary resources for researching and makes me wanna build a full custom lmao
Yeah this video is a godsend, the community honestly led me to believe that I absolutely needed an amp/DAC to get the best out of my headphone experience. Can anyone tell me if 'break-in' is a concept worth worrying about? Several years back I remember being convinced I needed to play continuous sound/music for many hours through my new Audio Technica headphones to break them in
I fell down the same rabbit hole, thinking i needed to spend more and more for "clean power" and "clarity". The placebo was in full effect, and now I've downgraded back to my original setup and fully happy with all my headphones. And that little dongle really is magical. Also yes DON'T fall for that shit, an amp wont fix a shit iem/headphone. if you dont like it you just dont like it
Yep totally and there are dozens of sub-$50 IEMs that thrash more "premium" models all the way up to $150. Only from $200-$400 is where the perfected diminishing improvements in technicalities-tuning-comfort-build-etc. may well be worth splurging for your "dream setup". And with the exception of a few in-ear models I wholeheartedly recommend getting some high-end over ears once you're willing to start paying that much.
I mostly agree with this. The only thing I would draw attention to is damping factor when using lower impedance headphones. You want the output impedance of your source to be "an order of magnitude" (at least 8-10 times) lower than the impedance of your headphones so that the source can effectively control the speakers. Having too high output impedance in relation to your headphones impedance can do wonky things to the bass response. Luckily, the Apple dongle's output impedance is quite low so you don't need an expensive amplifier to get low output impedance. However, it can be a concern when driving headphones straight off of a laptop, phone, or motherboard, for example, because the output impedance of these devices is rarely a concern or even stated anywhere by the manufacturer so you don't typically know what it is. Even most non-Apple dongles have fairly high output impedance (there are exceptions, I know Samsung makes a decent dongle with fairly low output impedance) which can be frustrating with Apple's dongle not playing well with Android. The only way to figure it out would be to either measure it yourself or find someone else who has (which is unlikely). As for devices with headphone jacks, it really is a crapshoot. Some of them have very low output impedance and some of them have insanely high output impedance. The best thing to do would be to get a decent cheap dongle with low output impedance and compare it to the headphone jack in question. Pay particular attention to the bass as that's where the effect of impedance is greatest. If they sound similar than the headphone jack's output impedance is probably fine. If not then it's probably a bit too high for the headphones in question. This is also obviously less of a concern the higher impedance headphones you're using.
Laughed and learned a lot. Your abrupt music stopping when making a point caused me to snicker and laughter amid teaching helps us to REMEMBER. Many thanks! Big thumbs up and subscribed👏
I used to think I could tell a difference with my 6xx plugged into a Q3 with a balanced cable. I then plugged them directly into a Switch Lite out of sheer curiosity and it sounded exactly the same. The placebo effect is real and nobody is above it.
That's indeed super weird because the Nintendo Switch is the only example where I would say that it actually sounds worse when using the HD6XX. On my PC, surface pro and on my phone it's fine, except for the fact that the volume can't get too high on some of these but the switch really gave me the impression that the sound was garbage :D it was the regular switch though, not the lite. For real, my KZ ZS10 pro sound better on it!
I can’t speak regarding the Lite or the OLED, but my OG Switch has quite possibly the worst sounding headphone jack I’ve ever heard haha. Sounds like they might have fixed it for the Lite (or maybe I just got a dud)!
@@PinePizzathey probably have different components in the different models. Maybe the og switch has a crummy dac. Or maybe it's a qc issue - wouldn't be surprised if the cheap dacs in those things have some variability, maybe the one you used just sucks
I fell in this myth when bought my second chifi IEM: BGVP DS1 Pro. People told me repeatedlly that my phone DAC and AMP was garbage and this was the reason the IEM didn't sounded well. So I bought a Topping DAC/AMP combo and the IEM was the same shit.
Yup, there's lots of "amp make your iem" sound better people out there. I have an amp only to power...well, power hungry planar headphones, that's it. Out of curiousity, what did you not like about the BGVP DS1 Pro?
Shit in - shit out. A saying we had in the music studio I worked at. If it's recorded badly no amount of mixing and mastering will make it good. If your headphones suck an amp is only going to amplify the suckage.
@@devote exactly. Don't get me wrong, a proper amp can lower noise floor on IEMs, but not necessary to drive them. Now, for higher-end, insensitive cans and loudspeakers, the benefits of a better amp become more apparent.
I found the noise floor of the headphone jack on my PC was waaay too high, and when I searched online for advice people always said you need at least a 100$+ "entry-level" AMP/DAC to have a good source. But I've read some articles pointing out that the Apple dongle measures very well so I decided to give it a try. For me, it works perfectly fine (well, I'll admit that all I care is noise floor)
Same, through the headphone jack off my laptop I can literally tell you the CPU load, but the type C apple dongle is pretty damn quiet and it has more than adequate sound quality.
Noise floor is the only real difference anyway. That is why it is often good to use an external dac/amp of some sort because at least it is guaranteed to be isolated pretty well.
@@TheAprilChicken some cheap stuff have awfull noise floors tho, like FX Audio X6 MKII have great DAC but if you use it as DAC only to a separate AMP, it's $60 tho and comes with bluetooth reciever with even aptx support for android folks, I personaly use FiiO M3 Pro DAP in USB DAC mode as DAC and a Topping NX1s AMP for which I traded my old FiiO M3K DAP with a friend
Glad I found your channel. I'm not a super audiophile, but I seem to care about nice audio more than your average person. Enjoying the content and your presentation.
IEMs seem really sensitive in some ways. My can headphones though with EQ, still go loud enough off a simple DAC. That's cutting over 6dB of sensitivity for my preferred tuning too lol
I agree. As an HE-1 owner, I don't use the amp that comes with it. Sounds good on its own plugged to a phone.
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i know this is an obvious joke but I won't be able to sleep tonight unless I say it: HE-1 is an electrostatic headphone and as such, you can't plug it in to your phone even if you tried. You *have to* (like it won't work otherwise) get an energizer.
Crin, you're honestly the guy I go to for rankings, reviews and opinions. I trust your judgement and I love your content. You're authentic and entertaining. I have made several purchases because of you and I was never let down. Thank you, really. You make things easy to understand and I can't start to imagine how much work goes into testing, ranking, explaining, making the videos etc. You will get back to 100k in no time and surely surpass it. This channel is gold. Love you brother, you're the best!
I bought a pair of those "secret stash" AKG buds he talked about in a recent video. Genuinely the best headphones I've ever heard. (But to be fair, I am an audio scrub, so don't think I'm comparing them to the cream of the audiophile crop)
I think what people may like from an amp vs not having it is analog control. Not saying analog control is better, but turning a dial is satisfying. That bit of satisfaction they get vs moving a slider in EQ colors their experience positively.
I do like having a fiio e10k simply for the "volume knob" separate from windows volume, and because it allows me to use shorter cables on my headphones. I got it used maybe 6 years ago for $50 so it feels worth it to me.
@@CCebeci If you use the 1V US dongle in a location where there is a software limit for volume, then you can bypass it. But, the 0.5 V EU dongle has different hardware and will max out at 0.5 V no matter what you do.
knobs and dials and CRT oscilloscopes all dramatically improve sound quality. You can hear bandits saying it was just the wind from the other end of hte map in skyrim if you have a few of those thigns kicking around
Crin, can't you just show the measurements of a headphone like HD800S plugged on apple dongle vs on your Topping A90? I think this really shows if high-end phones doesn't benefit at all if the measurements shows the same exact graph. Isn't it a good test? Thanks man.
You should watch his video on graphs. My expectation is that the difference you get from amps or dacs will not change a moderately smoothed FR graph to any significant degree. The other graphs, maybe???
@@davidcho6145 That’s basically his point. Having (the lack of) differences shown as a graph will be a lot more convincing than the same verbal arguments repeated all over the place
@@BrotherSisterHi nah but you're not getting what David said. If the the differences really do exist they'd be minor, which will not show in smoothened frequency graphs.
@@ishanjoshi5957 If the differences are so minor that they wouldn’t show up on a smoothed frequency response graph, then it would be enough to swing many arguments about amps “fixing” bass response, soundstage, treble extension, etc.
Agree that separate amp isn't automatically 'needed'. However, some areas of this message are maybe oversimplified. Power, Quality, etc. all point to one issue that separate amps strive to solve. Transducer impedance is not linear through the audible frequency range, and this issue is multiplied for multi-driver designs. There will be (relatively) high and narrow impedance peaks (look at any transducer graph) where the transducer resists moving in sometimes several narrow frequency bands. In these areas, amp power is 'sucked-out'. Typically, impedance peaks are in the higher frequencies. When the dynamic signal (music) passes through these frequency regions, and power is 'sucked-out' due to high impedance, the tiny amp cannot supply the current, and typically stops driving the bass with as much authority or clips on the bass notes. The impedance problem is in the highs (usually), but presnts itself as bad bass. Solution is better amplification, or like you said lower impedance transducers. Problem with lower imp transducers is (typically) they dont sound as good.
🎯 Key Takeaways for quick navigation: 01:46 🎛️ *Dedicated Amplifier Not Essential: While amplifiers are crucial in the audio chain, the video emphasizes that a dedicated and expensive amplifier might not be necessary for most users, challenging the notion that you need one.* 03:25 🎧 *Amplifiers Won't Fix Headphones: Dispels the myth that an amplifier can fix headphone sound issues. Advises against investing in an amplifier to address dissatisfaction with headphone tuning; recommends selling or returning the headphones.* 05:46 🔊 *Power and Headphone Impedance: Challenges the idea that more power is always needed, clarifying that headphone impedance and sensitivity determine power requirements. For most headphones and IEMs, power issues are rare, with iems almost never requiring additional power.* 08:30 📊 *Quality of Power Metrics: Criticizes the excessive focus on metrics like Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) and distortion, arguing that beyond a certain point, the improvements are inaudible. Advocates for a focus on subjective enjoyment rather than solely relying on metrics.* 12:54 🎶 *Subjective Improvements: Acknowledges that subjective improvements from amplifiers exist but argues that they are often minor compared to the cost. Stresses that the most significant improvements come from upgrading headphones or transducers.* Made with HARPA AI
There are people in audiophile community who are spending more time to compare gears, and pay all the attention to the 1% difference which requires listeners to fully focus on those minor details instead of the music itself in order to even notice that difference. Then, those people will start to publish their finding with very colorful langage with the intention to let you believe that your muisc listening experience totally depends on those 1% of tiny difference. Spending your hard earned money on headphones or IEMs, don't try to spend more to turn your existing headphones/IEMs into something much better.
I can understand the technical aspect of it. I guess it’s similar with the PC community. It is an engrossing hobby - getting into the weeds of all the complexities and impressive tech. But you’re right - at the end of the day the user gets the exact same experience. Even if there might be different things happening behind the scenes
@@TheHulksMistressI am a PC gamer and maxed it out with best gfx card, 82" oled tv, etc, and just starting to enjoy hifi (d30 pro, tp3255 and tidal)... I dont welcome this new money pit
This is one of the best educational video regarding DACs and headphones amps that I have ever seen. I arrived to the same conclusions after years of painstaking learning, reading reviews, watching youtubers, spending thousand and thousand of dollars in the hobby. Slowly you start to realize most TH-cam reviewers are just plain fake, when you learn what they are claiming to hear is beyond human ears capability regarding DACs and Amps. I love ASR, they measure DACs and Amps, but nowadays almost all of them are completely transparent to human ears, still I want and enjoy to know which one is the king of the hill in specifications, even knowing that I will not hear the difference. Also exposing companies which claim to be the best and charging premium when in reality there are very lousy in the technical part, taking to you audioquest.
My past headphones were all turned beaches and steel series and looking to get out of the purely “gaming headset” market. Does something like a BTR5 fall into the waste category?(currently looking at a pair of HD560S). Want to be able to listen on computer, iPad, iPhone at home.
@@LoneSkag hd560s is easy to drive and apple products tend to have really good dac/amp sections. The quedlix 5k is better than the btr5 though as it has eq
I have a rHead headphone amplifier. It doesn’t have an especially low noise floor (or high SINAD), but because it was designed by a proper audio engineer, he designed it to have a class A resistor-ladder volume pot for extremely good channel matching no matter the volume. This actually improves audible sound quality.
Agreed. The stereo image stability and quality is what I think amps are useful for. I don’t think expensive ones really make sense, but the difference between plugging in a pair of AT-M50x into my Steinberg audio interface and plugging them into my Magni, the sound is way less claustrophobic.
Thank you.BTW , What is more important....? Music or Sound...? Listening is subjective as hell ,so i enjoy my music while somebody else might hate it, coming from the same source, be it headphones or amps.
I'd like to think that all audiophiles are music lovers, but a music lover isn't necessarily an audiophile. Looking to improve one's audio equipment seems to be a natural progression in taking one's love for music to the next level, since you're effectively trying to listen to "more" of the music.
i needed this video a month ago. i literally was having a meltdown over this very topic and everything everywhere said you NEED an amp and couldn't find what i wanted. i finally settled but i wish i had this sooner. it really put a damper on me wanting to go further in this hobby
I just got myself into it without even trying but now I have purchased the classic Sennheiser HD6XX and a simple Topping DX3 Pro+ for which I will use a god damn aux extension cable straight from AliExpress and I will not by tube pre-amp or LPS or anything else I can promise
Damn it your totally right. I just tested my iem’s with and without amp and you don’t need it. But I still like it better. Why do you gotta be so real. Thanks for the great content!
I should have listened to “Uncle Crinnacle”!!! Despite his advice of saving your money & that the Apple dongle was just good enough I decided to buy the $300 Questyle m15!! I just knew THIS would be the game changer for me. All the reviews saying, “Oh it expands the soundstage & brings out more detail”. Did it??? NOPE!! I tested right next to the Apple dongle & my old DragonFly Red & honestly nothing sounded any different than the other!!!! When it comes to DAC/AMPS at least for IEMS’s save your damn money!! They don’t do $hit!!!!
I’m honestly glad I got my Ifi amps a XCan portable and a zen stack but I also got planars that don’t sound the same without one and inevitably use them to listen for everything movies music gaming with a multitude of ccheadphones I’m super happy with the setup and eq with peace gui and apo it’s all pretty amazing
Yeah, you got everything just about right Crinacle. The only reason I have an amp (to be more specific, a receiver) is because of the equipment that I have. For my set up, I have a Pioneer vsx-32 and connected to it is a turntable; an RCA switcher in which I have a tower, a laptop and a aux cable adapter; a roku; and for speakers I have a pair of Sony speakers. I grew up with this kind of set up thanks to my parents and my love for listening to vinyl; later down the road I intend on getting a tape deck. In terms of putting headphones through it, well…I just put a pair of Sony WM-1000XM4 and even then it's just to make sure that no one else hears it; mostly for night time.
I'm surprised by the lack of mention of DAC which is something you need and sometimes also work as an AMP or work in pair so DAC/AMP and often mistaken or confused with AMP
Yea I got a HD6XX and people keep saying my current interface doesn't put out enough juice for comfortably loud experience. Welp, I got a BTR5. It is sure louder but my interface works just fine. But BTR5 itself is really good for many other purposes so I still have it. Imagine watching TV at night with superb audio without disrupting anyone.
@@just__khang Honestly, the 6XX is pretty easy to drive. I have a Schiit Magnius and I find I'm always turning it down for my 6XXs. I have a BTR3 which can also drive it comfortably.
Indeed ... I bought the BTR5 for the Bluetooth features, but with the exception of a pair of HE400se, I don't think I ever really felt like I needed the power from it. It was a well spent $110 and I use it on two PCs plus my phone. I own a pair of Apple dongles for when I am on the road.
I got some headphones recently and I tried them on everything that had a headphone jack to see if I could tell a difference. I couldn't. I mix live audio, so I trust my ears. And there was no difference. Maybe noise floor, but aside from that, indistinguishable.
At least you use your amplifier with audiophile DAPs even better with proper line out. Attaching them to your graphic card headphone jack, laptops, phones are basically bi-amping them. My findings are, buy decent mid tier DAPs and find the right matching impedance amplifier to go with it, it will sound much better
@@boboiboy9350 FiiO M3 Pro got ESS9018, you won't notice any better DAP than that, might be able to see measurable differences but you won't hear it, also you can use it as a DAC on PC or even android phone with OTG support, not sure if it works with iphone tho
Idk, I mostly use audio from my laptop and I found that the built in audio jack sounded quite bad, enough power but lacked clarity. Bought a Fiio BTR5 (I know it's not the best DAC and amp available, but it's definitely good enough for me) and the improvement was honestly very significant. It wasn't unlistenable before but I find that I enjoy music more now.
When plugging in my headphones from my laptop and desktop i can definately tell a difference in quality between the two when a/b them at the same volume. I wouldnt be surprised if the audio jacks are poor on my case as it is extremely cheap and the one on the back of the mobo is blown and works only on the left channel. Audio Science Review has measured a desktop (Dell XPS 8930 RealTek HD Audio Interface Review) and found things such as sinad and jitter to be abissmal and definately in the audible range
DAC ≠ amplifier (though they're often sold together. DACs make an audible difference to the sound "quality". Crin's saying power amplifiers make far less of a difference. If any.
9:25 I think the more important thing to notice is that 96 dB of dynamic range is surely enough for most people because the background noise in your listening environment is usually going to be in 20-30 dB range. When you add 96 dB of dynamic range to it, you're getting into 116-126 dB loud which is going to permantly damage your hearing very very fast. 96 dB dynamic range is literally hearing a pin drop next to jet engine running at full blast. Not possible. That said, there're definitely amps that cannot have noise free performance even for 70 dB dynamic range. The Apple device included in this video is a fringe case where the amp in that thing is much better than expected for such adapters.
Preference for rotary volume control is my only reason for having a discrete portable amplifier. XDuoo XQ-10 was the most affordable way I could find to accomplish that goal.
Just bought myself a second DAC/AMP (needed a different form factor) and even though I do not have very expensive headphones, I can hear difference in what I have. Would I recommend getting a DAC/AMP to someone who can spend 200$ on a set up? Definitely would not, as long as they have something half decent to power the headphone of their choice. Subscribed.
I agree with 99% of the video, but there's an exeption: Tube amps, they really change the sound adding distortion and it's a mattter of taste, they can sound better or worse for the listener and you can change the tubes really changing the sound that you hear, some hybrid amps like SMSL SP100, are cheap and worth a try.
Hey bro I was thinking about to buy a kz zs10 pro x... Now they have option to buy it with a 8-core type-C cable.. now should I buy that?? Or I should buy a external DAC to listen hi-res audio??
One thing I've noticed about iems is that because they're so sensitive, i can hear the noise floor of amplifiers (in this case my phone). Doesn't happen with my MacBook though
@@mirzaangon Alrighty! Thanks. What if the hissing is only during charging? I'll have to buy a dedicated AMP if I want to use my laptop while charging?
Thank you! Very much of the stuff you can buy is either complete voodoo or can very well be measured, but not heard. A close friend of mine who has all the voodoo equipment you can think of (silver cables - no, not silver-plated, but completely silver, 2000 Euro AMP DAC, Sennheiser HD 800S etc...) was very annoyed when we did a hearing comparison between FLAC and 320 kbit/s MP3s. He couldn't spot the difference. Neither can I. Years ago, I ended up selling my Sennheiser HD800 and am a very happy man with my Beyerdynamic DT 880 and a SoundblasterX G5 amp. For a fraction of the cost of the HD800 alone. To me, the most important thing about head/earphones is the frequency response curve to be as neutral as possible. For a different experience, I can always use a good EQ. Spend the money you saved on one pair of headphones for each scenario that you come across (noise cancelling or IEM for when you're on the go, closed when you don't want to disturb anybody at home and open when you want to enjoy a more "spacious" feel). Maybe even buy a pair of good speakers if you want to feel the bass. You can cover ALL those scenarios (and cover them well!) for less than 2.000 Euros if you don't want to worship the voodoo-gods of audio. That all being said, if you just WANT those gorgeous HD800 S or Hifiman Aryasusavanada-whatever together with a 4.000 Euro-DAC and you can afford it, go for it. It's not about what you NEED, but what makes you happy. Just like cars.
Dude you were right. The little Apple dongle works great with HD 58X. Convenient. Cheap. And sounds good. I’m usually just using YT Music so it not like I’m missing out.
I was considering buying an amp to drive my SSP. I ended up plugging it into an ordinary UGreen soundcard and it actually got amped to the level I needed it to. Talk about Cables next lol
I got a BTR5 just to help a couple pairs of low-sensitivity headphones get to a good volume with reasonable headroom. It's relatively cheap, it's portable, and I swear the noise floor goes down on every headphone I use them with. Pretty sure that little nugget is going to meet my amplification needs for a long time to come.
...and even then I rarely change it once set - since I'm usually pausing music via keyboard shortcuts and shifting volume up/down also by shortcuts depending on song or if I need to talk to someone briefly.
Ok so, as someone who has quite a bit of experience in the car audio enthusiast world and has just started to explore headphones... I know for a fact that with speakers (especially when you're talking about powerful subs... but it does somewhat extend to the wider range of speakers as well.) you need to be very careful about the power output of your amplifier in regards to the nominal operating power of the speakers you are connecting it to... if you have for instance in car audio, a 1000W RMS sub, and an amp that's only capable of outputting 200W, your sub is going to undervolt and it will overdraw the amp which can in some cases pop your amp, or your sub, or both... as in they are donezo, broken forever. So I know that this type of thing must extend to the headphone/desk speaker world as well, logically it must, however I assume the consequences of an underpowered amp are much less than they are in the higher power world... I know myself plugging my dt1990 pro's into my laptop jack I can hear clipping through the headset (unless that's not what I'm hearing then please feel free to enlighten me) but in any case, other headsets I plug in to the laptop don't seem to clip in the same way. This clipping is not present when I use an amp, or my desktop pc headphone jack... I assume the desktop has a more powerful built in sound card which alleviates this issue. Long story short I just don't plug my 1990's into my laptop cause I can't afford to replace my 1990's and don't know enough about the headphone world to know if it's causing them damage or not. Great video though, always appreciate your content.
I'm the exception. I have moderate to severe hearing loss. I can wear my hearing aids with most headphones, but it is not comfortable. I simply use Equalizer APO to slightly increase the preamp level and adjust the equalizer to compensate for the frequency range where I have hearing loss (high frequency, the most common type of hearling loss). Yes, I could increase it too much and cause further damage, but I stick to the increases and settings that my hearing aids are set to. I know better now (yes a little too late). Protect your hearing because once it's gone, it's gone for good. Also, quality hearing aids are not cheap. If you think those $1600 headphones are expensive, try the hearing aids that are $4000 each.
Honestly i've never been able to tell the difference between all my stuff (E10K, Apple dongle, phone, old ass tablet and laptop and so on) besides the noise floor between all these expecially when using IEMs really. The Apple dongle and the phone do very well while the E10K, the old ass tablet and in particular the laptop do get a bit annoying since it's quite noticeable, you actually get huge amount of interference when downloading stuff for example which is certainly interesting.
Hey Uncle Crin, great video! Just one last question to make it all clear, if I spend the money to upgrade from an integrated (in your computer system) amplifier to a dedicated amplifier (“audiophile” ones, so the above $100 type), I should expect diminishing results provided that my current system has enough power according to sensitivity impedance calculator, right?(Other than the sexy volume nob)
I'm not Uncle Crin, but I can help answer it for you. Yes. The first $100 to $200 dollars for a DAC/Amp combo provides literally all you need, keyword NEED. Low ENOUGH noise floor, ENOUGH linearity, ENOUGH power, ENOUGH inputs, ENOUGH outputs. If you want to spend above $200 for a DAC/Amp, more power to you, but you don't need to. Personally, I can't tell the difference between good enough and expensive DACs. Amps maybe, when I need to drive inefficient headphones. For instance, the iFi Zen DAC V2 is the only dac/amp combo 99.9% of people will ever need for a PC.
@@RusticKey thank you! got the magni heresy and using a 2i2as a dac. enjoying the stuff, does make a noticible difference on some of my cans. but most importantly, the volime knob
I got 2 different headphones, they sounded great with my phone, iPad, and PC but they weren’t as loud as I’d like, so I got an amp, now they’re loud enough, and there’s the option to go too loud, however bad it is. I find the Apple usb c dongle more likeable than the lightning one, but both are indeed fine.
In the 80’s we always judged the best amplifiers by the ones with the lowest THD (total harmonic distortion). As far as I know, this is still the best indicator of the quality of amplification.
While trying to better my audio setup from some gaming headsets to something better I have arrived at the conclusion that audio people don't know what they are talking about and the only thing worth testing so far are open back headphones, thanks guys!
I have tried everything - HD 650's, Fostex T40 RP, KOSS PRO 4S, hybrid tube amp, SMSL Dac, el-cheapo desktop DAC/AMP and a selection of IEM's from budget, through middle of the road and finally recently bought KZ AS24 IEM, hooked up to ifi Zen Can V2, DAC/AMP - by far the best SQ so far - faster, more clarity, more detail, more accurate than anything else I've tried, including full size HP - BTW the IEM's are hooked up to SE outlet on Zen Can, with "POWER MATCH" and "TRUEBASS" in "off" position
Back in September, I was getting into the audiophile game and picked up a desktop amp thinking I needed it for everything. Now I only use it on the solemn occasion I want to use my 250 ohm 990s
Hey man, I want to buy the 990 250 ohm and use it with an aux Samsung dongle 🙃 ane people online say it's not having problems with loudness, and the audiophiles respond with WELL BUT THE QUALITY'S SHIT and the bass is low and the trebles are harsh and wonky and idk, something. Can I buy the dt990 250ohm and enjoy Spotify, or will it really change the way they perform in a quality sense and/or be quiet enough to cause frustration? Edit - I'm in the EU and supposedly the dongle here is half the power of the US version?
@@ile_klikow So I would say to get the full range out of them you do need an amplifier. You can still get a great sound out of them, but if you are going to mainly use them without an amp, I'd go with the 80ohm model
@@charredolive thanks for answering :) as I'm a noob now can I also ask if there's going to be a big quality difference with 80 and 250 assuming best possible conditions for both?
I was scared for a second that i fell for these myths too, but then i remembered that the first "hifi "headphone that i bought was the Beyerdynamic Dt 770 pro 250 ohm version. And yeah those fall into those fringe cases.
Yo same boat here. Honestly, though, even without the amp, the volume is still fine just off my pc's headphone jack. Even off my phone they're still perfectly serviceable, just not LOUD loud.
I think it falls into the "limit cases" box but something that can happen quite often with very sensitive IEM and internal DACs (PC or phone) or cheap dongle is the white noise/hissing/distortion noise level is audible and make the experience from somewhat to a lot less enjoyable. In those case finding the dongle which works can indeed make a difference but clearly you don't need a beefy AMP, just something that works and there are plenty of option sub 50$ (even sub 20$ for most case scenarios).
This was delightful. Like watching a stand up comedian talking about audiophiles. I crawled down the rabbit hole years ago, and everything you say here is true. Thanks for a fun video.
Okay so i have an hifiman sundara for the ps5... what amp should i buy and what dac do i have to buy? Please i'm tired i've been looking for dacs and amps for days.
The key to an amplifier is that it is linear and provides the transient dynamic range that a given headphone is capable of. This requires “headroom” to some extent. And it’s the difference between being “loud enough” and properly driving a given headphone. This is well explained in this article: www.audeze.com/blogs/technology-and-innovation/sensitivity-impedance-and-amplifier-power One application that I have found that makes transient dynamics very apparent is video game audio with sudden loud explosions such in titles like Squad or Battlefield. My Asgard 3 provides all the power I will ever need and I bought it brand new with a 5 year warranty for $200. My first and hopefully last dedicated amplifier. One thing I learned about is the Audio hobby is full of delusion, but it doesn’t have to be. And I use an Apple Dongle or even my Xbox Controller for easy to drive headphones and IEM’s. I didn’t choose the products based on measurements.
What you say is probably true, but that article doesn't sound convincing tbh. "Here is an image that shows clipping when you don't have enough headroom", without mentioning where did the graph come from, how did they get the result, what kind of gear they use, how extreme did they drive the source etc. All that they're doing is just explaining their theory, just like how some people insist on burn-in use material science theory and whatnot saying that materials will change it's property when it's flexed and relaxed, then proceed to provide stress-strain curve or something. Is the theory true? Probably yes. Does it translate to the burn-in effect? Apparently not. I'm not saying transient is a myth like burn-in, it's not, it's most probably true. But I think many people kinda overstated the difficulty in achieving good transient. The loud explosion thingy you experienced might be that you just play at higher volume compared to the source you used before. I'm 99% confident that people with mid-fi headphones like sundara or 6xx or he400 etc will not need any amps higher that the standard $100 ones (magni, atom etc), if at all.
@@Summer-xu8qu If you find a better article, please mention it. That one just explained it in a way that I felt was pretty easy to understand, despite the fact that they are trying to sell their planar magnetic drivers as taking better advantage of headroom than dynamic drivers. It comes down to the speed and control of the driver being better, despite the same average volume level. The difference is certainly not night and day but noticeable. Take a given headphone, maybe the 6XX or something similar that is somewhat amp dependent and compare it on an Apple Dongle and a 3.5 watt Asgard 3 with similar volume. There will be a distinctive difference in dynamics, especially “transients”. However, even the article mentions it’s not necessarily something that you can notice in all recordings. Just ones that’s have have specific types of transient spikes. I mention video game explosions for the simple fact that it is something easy to repeat and shows the effect. But find a track with a forceful percussive drum hit, and I’m sure it would also be noticeable. We are absolutely talking about a marginal change of course, my Apple Dongle works well enough for many headphones. That’s why I bothered to mention why I felt like the Asgard 3 was such a good buy at only $200. It can get the most out of almost any headphone.
@@Summer-xu8qu The image doesn't _need_ accurate descriptions of how it was obtained because it isn't there to prove anything. It is there to show something, which is that clipping will occur if you cut off the dynamic range from the top. This doesn't need to be proven with a measurement because it's mathematically true. You might also notice that it doesn't even appear to be a recording of some sort in the first place. There is no gear, no source, just a waveform that has its peaks cut off, which you can just as easily do in software. Why does this not need proof? Well, the relationship between voltage, power and loudness is precisely defined. Limited power or limited voltage means limited loudness, which means there is a maximum amplitude for the waveform. Which gear you use and how you measure it doesn't change that. It's not "their theory", it's physics. _Granted, gear can have an effect here if it applies a limiter. This, if properly implemented, will lower the peaks to a deliverable amplitude, meaning you still lose dynamic range, but it will prevent clipping._ The real question is how much headroom for transient peaks you actually need. This obviously depends on the tracks you listen to, and how much power that headroom equates to depends on your desired listening volume. This question is what I've been trying to find answers for (other and more detailed than the "30 dB" rule of thumb), which is how I got to this video in the first place.
@@justuslm Well obviously, if you push any amp hard enough, it's gonna clip (assuming you don't blow your headphones out first), it's physics, it's common sense, whatever. But if you want to claim that "some amp will not have sufficient headroom for a particular headphones and it will clip during the transients", you have to demonstrate it using a particular amp with a particular headphones to convince people that "see, this is what happens when amp does not have enough headroom", instead of using a theory to "prove" that an arbitrary amp will clip under normal listening volume. Yes, I know that the article is just explaining what transient and headroom is and why it's needed, but in order for the article to not be meaningless, it has to at least demonstrate it using a set of gears irl, if not I can just say "well, that's just in theory, in real life, x amp already have sufficient headroom for most headphones, you don't need anything more than that." ( which is often the argument from people like me) It's not hard to use physics to "prove" something. According to physics, different cable with different thickness, materials and length will have different resistance and different resistance will affect the sound, but does that matter in real life? No? Why? Because below a certain threshold, it doesn't matter. It's the same with headroom. Above a certain threshold, any additional headroom is meaningless. Yes, I agree, the real question here is how much headroom we need. So to say that "X amp sounds better than Y amp because the additional headroom is needed" you need to prove that the Y amp will clip under normal listening volume. And I stand by my statement, the standard $100 dollar magni or atom is sufficient for most of the mid-fi, you won't get any meaningful "headroom" out of a $400+ balanced setup, and certainly not "control", "speed", "refinement" or any that kind of audiophile term. If a $200 headphones need $400+ of amplification to sound good, then it's not a good headphones.
@@Summer-xu8qu Okay, I can see that argument. Now, I will still argue that you don't need to actually _test_ this, but using specific examples of at least somewhat common amps and heaphones that will result in low headroom would definitely show how realistic it is to expect issues. You can, of course, look up specs and put them in Headphonesty's power calculator (link in the video description) until you find such a matchup (although this, again, depends on how much headroom you need/want), but the article should have given at least one example. To give such an example, the Hifiman Susvara can not be driven by the Qudelix 5k, even in balanced mode, if the desired listening loudness is 80 dB SPL and the desired headroom is 30 dB. It would only reach 107 dB SPL at max output and thus only 27 dB of headroom (this _sounds_ like a small difference but is actually the difference between a desired 502 mW at 5.49 Vrms and a reached 266 mW at 4.00 Vrms). Now, that physics don't "prove" anything in real life is, in my opinion, at least when it comes to loudness, wrong. Yes, physics say that different cables will have different resistance (or impedance, since sound is AC), but they also say that the resistances themselves and also the differences between them are very low and thus won't have any noticeable effect. With that said, let me say that I completely agree that most mid- and even high-fi headphones can be driven by fairly "weak", and thus affordable, amps. This does not go against the maths and the physics, though. But, coming back to my main point, which we agree on, I still can't say for sure how much headroom I need. The article mentions that transients can peak up to 50 dB above the perceived loudness of the track, but this obviously depends on what you listen to, and at which volume. Unfortunately I have neither a way to measure either of those things for myself and my listening habits (although the difference between transient peaks and perceived loudness actually can be calculated from the audio file and doesn't need measuring, but I don't know how to do that), nor do I have any empirical data on whether it makes sense to use the commonly used values of 80 dB SPL listening level and 30 dB headroom or not (physics can't predict people's choices). The reason I want to figure this out, ideally for me personally but alternatively as an empirical average for orientation, is that I'm currently running a setup that peaks at 108 dB. Is that enough for me? The only way to know without the data mentioned above would be to buy a stronger amp and try it, which I obviously want to avoid if it's unnecessary.
Subscribed after watching one of your videos the other day. This is the 2nd video I’ve watched and it’s just as good as the 1st one. Clear and concise and no B.S. Thanks.
You make my day...LOL... as an former audio-addict this is so refreshing. It resonates and saves so much money...... Thank you for your time and effort. Keep on keeping on.. I used to buy expensive stuff, now i have a simple stereo set with reasonable aiwa speakers, enough to get me dancing in the room . That,s what matters to me.
was thinking the same about iems, why the hell they make amp dac with huge amplifiers... what if i want to buy some where most of the cost is to have a great dac and a super amp ? any advice ?
Bought the Dioko and listened (spotify) to it through apple lightning dongle, the sound was detailed but very very thin (mid-midhigh volume). I would describe it has no 'body' across the range. Pluged directly it into my macbook pro and straight away a huge difference (matching similar volume output to the phone), full 'bodied' sound with crisp details. listened back and forth with my iphone to confirm the sound. Just by listening to it, having more 'power' turned me from returning the iem to listening to music for half an hour straight....maybe just me...
I’ve heard the Apple dongle is incredibly quality for its price due to economies of scale. They make a zillion of the things so they have really good components in them that smash most DACS you can find under $100
1. The chips in them is probably pretty cheap to produce (how hard is it to produce a dac chip?) 2. They cheap out on the build, the cable is a complete ass 3. Those dedicated dacs themselves are overpriced in the first place, they're just dac chips packed in a fancy box (sometimes not even metal ones smh) with some extra io. Those ess/ak or whatever dac chip likely also have large enough scale considering there are tons of products out there with those chips in it. That said, apple dongle is still a really good deal, I just wish they'd last longer :'(
It doesn't smash anything. Everything twice the price is usually better (mainly due to higher output power). The point is that the most basic decent thing is fine. You can live with it.
I bought a inexpensive Fiio K3 and It truly changed my M40x. The Bass is significantly punchier and clear now. I can hear instruments I couldn't hear clearly. And I can use AutoEq that lowers preamp. But I agree that for IEMs you don't need it/want it But that's a DAC/AMP combo. I don't know what improvement is from the DAC. I think it's better than my motherboards Realtek.
Got the K3 2021 Edition. There is just no better dac amp combo like it on the market: 99$ delivered, more than enough power to drive even big planars, even works with my phone and has a proper balanced output. To have something thats even just a tiny bit better would cost 500$ or more. The K3 and the Hifiman He400se is the ultimate 250$ audio setup for me.
Try setting up a blind test I thought my amp made a difference until I blind tested. The difference between it and my iPhone disappeared. I simply couldn’t tell once volume matched. HD600 btw
@@scottblues2332 iPhone DACs are decent, most motherboard chips aren't. I can connect the K3 to my Galaxy S9+ and I don't hear much difference with or without it. But I can hear a huge difference when using the PC.
I just got the Sennheiser IE 600 and plugged it to my IPhone 15 pro using the Apple Dongle And I gotta say I’m very underwhelmed Volume wise Is there anyway I can make them sound louder?
5:13 Yes but if you drive a lower powered amplifier to a higher volume level (with higher impedance speakers) don't you get clipping / square wave which obviously affects the sound? The listening volume might be comfortable, but that doesn't mean you have enough 'power' to deliver a decent sound at that volume...
100% agree with this, I had one of those USB-C dongles for my Motorola when I first got my DT770s and the difference between that and the headphone jack was amazing. I would've probably stuck solely to it if my PC could actually run my DTs as well, but even then a £60 BTR3 should give 'em more than enough punch. No need to buy a diablo just because I want to crash cars into walls with DT770s on.
I bought a used pair of Beyerdynamic DT990 Pro 250 ohm headphones off eBay and I figured I'd need to get an amp, but I've lived with it for over a year now and I'm perfectly happy without one. I use them with my phone, 6th Gen iPod classic, desktop PC, and laptop PC. It sounds perfectly fine, better than anything I'd used before (cheap Sony headphones, gaming headsets, earbuds, or my bookshelf speakers I use with my desktop)
Thanks for posting this. I got a pair of Sennheiser 599s recently, and was wondering if I was missing their full potential. It's refreshing to see a perspective that's reasonable, and not hyperbolic. I'm now a subscriber:)
The problem is not that you don't need an amplifier. But when you got a phone that doesn't convert sound to a preamplified level, and sound is of poor quality, an amplifier will bypass the convertion of the phone from digital to analog. However, if you have a good phone like iPhone, you have a big chance that you won't run into the problem of having to fix your sound quality. So yes, if your phone/device can give you quality preamplified sound then ofc you don't need an amplifier, unless ypu really want a much higher level of volume for specific applications. (or obtain different benefits from the amplifier). One of the best uses of a bluetooth amplifier can be turning your wired headphones into wireless ones, ofc you do need to carry the amplifier with you instead of the phone
if I'm buying the Thieaudio Hype 4 then do I need a DAC? I was thinking about getting the Fiio Q3 but I don't know if it's worth spending money on that or buying the far cheaper iPhone 3.5mm audio dongle. You mentioned at time throughout the video that there is no need to get a better DAC. But if I currently have no gear at the moment, and so I would like to buy the hype 4, then which would you recommend: the Fiio Q3 (or a better DAC for the price) OR an iPhone to 3.5 dongle (for my iPhone 13) Thank you, And great videos btw, very entertaining 😄
Thanks for your honest review and opinion... If DAC /AMP is to increase the sound stage but it does depend on various another factors as well.. But if your phone does not have a headphone jack then you can go for one... Nice work 👍
I have a pair of Modhouse Argon mk3, and those need a lot of power to drive. I have to crank the volume on my amp to at least 75% or else the right side is a lot quieter than the left side. I tried cranking the volume up on my computer while lowering the volume on the amp, but that did not correct the issue.
![If you can't hear this then you're not an audiophile [See description for link to followup video]](/img/n.gif)
Remember lads, the operative word here is *_NEED_*
Do you maybe know what is the sensitivity of Susvara, number AND unit? I see a lot of confusion around it. Hifiman product page has just 83dB without unit, some reviews stated 103dB/V, some headphone power table had 86dB/V and 74dB/mW...
I bought an oldschool FiiO DAC player to have it be my personal music player, so I won't fill my phone with a thousand lossless files. It was more for convenience to order my files rather than the NEED of a dedicated amp for my headphones. It also came with a balance port. I love my FiiO.
epic
Nice video. It doesn't cost many cents on the BOM of electronics to make an excellent headphone/earbud output. This is another area of audio snake oil helping some companies to sell products that serve no actual purpose.
complete agree on NEED. but, i bought a budget, convenience amp for my hifiman he5xx (fiio btr5) and it DID help my headphones in a VERY noticable way: but not because of the amp itself. when i first got my he5xx, i was in love with the soundstage and the "size" of the sound in comparison with my moondrop aria, but the tuning was just kinda off. I decided to try eq, because its free, but in order to eq them to the oratory1990 target, i was looking at a -11db preamp gain. i was already near-maxing out my laptop before eq, so in order to get the most out of it i decided to try the btr5, and if i still didn't
like it i would return everything. suprise suprise, the btr5 plus a balanced cable was plenty loud enough with the eq, and now i use them as my daily driver while at home.
could i have returned them for a pair of hd6xx? yes, but ive listened to the 6xx and i don't like the imaging/staging, especially with as much as i use my headphones for games, and i can't fix that with eq. point in all of this being that if you really like a headphone but the tuning is just a bit off, then eq and an amp might do wonders, but a better headphone will ALSO do wonders, so its worth looking into a little more than just "you totally need an amplifier" or you "totally don't need an amplifier"
I bought an O2 amp years ago. After a lot of testing, I determined that I really like the volume wheel on it more than the slider in Windows.
Absolutely, the clicky volume knob of my topping really elevates my audiophile experience.
You should try the Element III. Best knob ever
@@metal571 That's a nice knob
@@SubjectE57 I like knobs
Same here.
Don't have things that are "hard to drive" to get to comfortable listening volume, but I like the convenience of just reaching for the dial and lower the volume when needed.
Instead of going to the slider in windows or in games.
Although I do like the extra bit of oomph on tap when I want to go loud for a minute or two for that one song that I love.
And for IEM's I just dial it down a bit.
Bottom line is that most people don't NEED an amp, but simply WANT an amp for the convenience and the extra bit of juice should they want it.
"Save your money" is the greatest piece of advice you could give to any audiophile
An audiophile by definition is someone who wastes money and thinks they can hear the difference. They are no different from Reiki practitioners. It's not about reality, but about how special they are in their abilities.
Awe man… so I should take back my Apple Airpod Max 🎧 ??
@@DamnDealDone That's BS. Sure, like any in any industry some people are selling snake oil and there _are_ diminishing returns in gear after a certain price point -- but a good pair of headphones or speakers can make a world of difference.
@@Skrenja where do I say good speakers and headphones don't make a difference? How does that equate to being an audiophile? How does your comment in any single way address my point? It doesn't. Damn, what a dumb comment.
AUDIO HOMOPHILE
I remember years ago, a guy told me that you need Monster cables to be able to produce sound frequencies up to 96kHz. I simply told him that I'm playing music for humans, not fucking dolphins
Never happened.
@@PayneWewton
1. "Nothing ever happens".
2. If you're a beginner in the Music Industry, people will feed you all kinds of misinformation. Which is why videos like this one is uploaded.
Why would someone say 96kHz rather than 100? It's so oddly specific.
for my ears, i don’t want higher frequency. bits is what matter to me.
@@SubjectE57 there's no such thing as 100kHz when dealing with audio file exporting. It's 44.1kHz, 48kHz and even 96kHz. Supposedly when working with audio to video stuff, it's either 48 or 96. Even when mastering shit for CD, people claim that 96 is just better. Sonically, I can't hear the difference. Maybe my ears are bad, I dunno. But people claim that higher sample rate equals win. Maybe I'm too much of a young boy but I think I'll stick to my 44.1kHz.
i was browsing amps all day and i really needed to hear you tell me to chill
I just found myself with a dead amp three days ago. (Schiit Midgard/Modius stack) I needed a reasonably quick replacement while starting the RMA process. I am now using a very cheap Loxjie p-20 tube amp, which is useable but thin-sounding and not very robust. The best deal I found for a replacement was the Topping A90 amp, with far more power than I'll ever need, since the 5.5watts from the Midgard amp was more than enough for my HD6xx's. The A90 is twice as powerful, with much better "numbers", but I doubt it will be better than the Midgard.
I also wonder about DACs. I have a Grace balanced DAC and the Modius DAC, and they sound absolutely the same, though I did no blind tests and so completely subjective. Still, I would like to hear more DACs to find out just how different-sounding they really are.
A guy who owns a very expensive super high end audiophile store near me once told my something that turned out to be very true in a lot of cases. "Amps have the easiest job, they should not eat up to much of your budget."
Makes sense if you thing about. All an Amp has to do is take in a signal and make it louder (more powerful). Speakers or Headphones on the other hand have to take a signal and turn it into something completely different. Sound. That requires a lot more things to fall into place. And from my experience a pair of 500 Euro headphones sounds a lot better then a 400 Euro Amp with 100 Euro headphones.
I mean, electricity is also sound. But it's transmitted almost exclusively across the electrons using long-range electrostatic forces (hence it can travel almost at light speed).
You just need to drive something big and more electrically neutral in exactly same rhythm as electrons move. And it wouldn't be all that difficult either, if not for inertia or non-linearity of materials bending or whatever.
That's why I love the new generation of Class D amps. They are cheap, small, simple and effective. Less power, less heat and less distortion
The best upgrade you get from a dedicated amplifier is the physical volume knob
That's so true, and for portable use my shanling UP4 spoilt me. I can't go back to volume rockers.
…followed by a bass-boost switch (in my case).
You can get that from a DAC. My presonus one even has separate knobs for headphones and monitors!
Can think of a few more things, a decent DAC, enough current to play at loud levels.
You open up most of them further with silver cables. The sound stage will improve too.
One thing I love about the audio hobby is fanboy-ism isn't very common, like it is in the tech or firearms hobby. However, the snake oil-ism is out of control in the audio hobby. It wouldn't be too hard to convince an audiophile that casting a magic spell on your headphones and rubbing cat hair and onions on them, will make them sound better. I love that we have people like Uncle Crinacle to teach us what's real and what isn't, as the placebo effect can honestly make that difficult sometimes!
Yeah "burning" headphones thesis even proves that further.
OK that's a slight bit of a lie but you are also not completely wrong
So the $350 a month to my enchantress isn’t making my music sound better?
Dude you picked some expensive ass hobbies 😂😂🙏
Please tell me more about the cat hair and onions method. I need my Koss Porta pros to sound like Sundaras.
You’re one of those guys whose passion gets others interested about the hobby. I went from looking from a decent pair of headphones to learning so much about audio. Keep pumping out content, it’s contagious.
And I'm homeless
help
I wish I could subscribe you a 1000 times 😆 MAN have I fallen for buying an amp to make the headphone quality better 🤣🤣🤣 Thank you so much for sharing what I learned the hard way.
wait what piximperfect was here?
Unmesh won't notice this.
You need 1000times for your helpfull photoshops trips
Actually really glad I found this in my research phase. In the process of buying new studio mixing headphones learning a ton about audio equipment in the process. Your humor and insight is awesome! Thanks man
Aww man I fell for all of these myths back when I was shopping around.
Love seeing my hobbies overlap like this
Cool to see the other channel I follow a lot be here
@@fractera both probably use computers a decent amount
@@fractera Okay but how does that explain the fountain pen component of mechanicalheadpens? Haha. Been into audio and pens for ages but just recently (thanks to lockdowns) got into nice keyboards and ended up with a Ducky One 2 SF. It's a love hate relationship (QC on these is... lacking) but it's still much more comfortable than a membrane board. Also Switch and Click was one of my primary resources for researching and makes me wanna build a full custom lmao
Yeah this video is a godsend, the community honestly led me to believe that I absolutely needed an amp/DAC to get the best out of my headphone experience. Can anyone tell me if 'break-in' is a concept worth worrying about? Several years back I remember being convinced I needed to play continuous sound/music for many hours through my new Audio Technica headphones to break them in
I fell down the same rabbit hole, thinking i needed to spend more and more for "clean power" and "clarity". The placebo was in full effect, and now I've downgraded back to my original setup and fully happy with all my headphones. And that little dongle really is magical.
Also yes DON'T fall for that shit, an amp wont fix a shit iem/headphone. if you dont like it you just dont like it
Of course if you have high impedance headphones the sound will be distorted at medium volumes, or it won't get that loud
Yep totally and there are dozens of sub-$50 IEMs that thrash more "premium" models all the way up to $150. Only from $200-$400 is where the perfected diminishing improvements in technicalities-tuning-comfort-build-etc. may well be worth splurging for your "dream setup". And with the exception of a few in-ear models I wholeheartedly recommend getting some high-end over ears once you're willing to start paying that much.
A DAC Will do More to sound than a AMP in 90% of cases. Sure, a tube AMP Will sound different than a solid state but other than that...
As a proud value-based consumer, this speaks to my soul. Diminishing returns hit pretty early in this hobby, and it's important to acknowledge that.
And the longer you’re a fan, the more your hearing degrades
@@Snoop_Dugg unless you like closed backs and very low volumes so as to still be aware of the outside
What do you think about DACs?
@@aravindpallippara1577 my TV goes above 15? What has my life been up to this points?
@@Snoop_Dugg
What if you don't listen at very loud volume?
I mostly agree with this. The only thing I would draw attention to is damping factor when using lower impedance headphones. You want the output impedance of your source to be "an order of magnitude" (at least 8-10 times) lower than the impedance of your headphones so that the source can effectively control the speakers. Having too high output impedance in relation to your headphones impedance can do wonky things to the bass response. Luckily, the Apple dongle's output impedance is quite low so you don't need an expensive amplifier to get low output impedance. However, it can be a concern when driving headphones straight off of a laptop, phone, or motherboard, for example, because the output impedance of these devices is rarely a concern or even stated anywhere by the manufacturer so you don't typically know what it is. Even most non-Apple dongles have fairly high output impedance (there are exceptions, I know Samsung makes a decent dongle with fairly low output impedance) which can be frustrating with Apple's dongle not playing well with Android. The only way to figure it out would be to either measure it yourself or find someone else who has (which is unlikely). As for devices with headphone jacks, it really is a crapshoot. Some of them have very low output impedance and some of them have insanely high output impedance. The best thing to do would be to get a decent cheap dongle with low output impedance and compare it to the headphone jack in question. Pay particular attention to the bass as that's where the effect of impedance is greatest. If they sound similar than the headphone jack's output impedance is probably fine. If not then it's probably a bit too high for the headphones in question. This is also obviously less of a concern the higher impedance headphones you're using.
Laughed and learned a lot. Your abrupt music stopping when making a point caused me to snicker and laughter amid teaching helps us to REMEMBER.
Many thanks! Big thumbs up and subscribed👏
I used to think I could tell a difference with my 6xx plugged into a Q3 with a balanced cable. I then plugged them directly into a Switch Lite out of sheer curiosity and it sounded exactly the same. The placebo effect is real and nobody is above it.
That's indeed super weird because the Nintendo Switch is the only example where I would say that it actually sounds worse when using the HD6XX. On my PC, surface pro and on my phone it's fine, except for the fact that the volume can't get too high on some of these but the switch really gave me the impression that the sound was garbage :D it was the regular switch though, not the lite. For real, my KZ ZS10 pro sound better on it!
Sorry but the switch sound is pretty awful. I need to go through Bluetooth with it otherwise it just spoils any enjoyment out of my session x)
I can’t speak regarding the Lite or the OLED, but my OG Switch has quite possibly the worst sounding headphone jack I’ve ever heard haha. Sounds like they might have fixed it for the Lite (or maybe I just got a dud)!
@@PinePizzathey probably have different components in the different models. Maybe the og switch has a crummy dac. Or maybe it's a qc issue - wouldn't be surprised if the cheap dacs in those things have some variability, maybe the one you used just sucks
I just liked my dac because it has a knob on it
I fell in this myth when bought my second chifi IEM: BGVP DS1 Pro. People told me repeatedlly that my phone DAC and AMP was garbage and this was the reason the IEM didn't sounded well. So I bought a Topping DAC/AMP combo and the IEM was the same shit.
Yup, there's lots of "amp make your iem" sound better people out there.
I have an amp only to power...well, power hungry planar headphones, that's it.
Out of curiousity, what did you not like about the BGVP DS1 Pro?
Shit in - shit out. A saying we had in the music studio I worked at. If it's recorded badly no amount of mixing and mastering will make it good. If your headphones suck an amp is only going to amplify the suckage.
@@devote exactly. Don't get me wrong, a proper amp can lower noise floor on IEMs, but not necessary to drive them.
Now, for higher-end, insensitive cans and loudspeakers, the benefits of a better amp become more apparent.
🤭
Because Topping is shit.
I found the noise floor of the headphone jack on my PC was waaay too high, and when I searched online for advice people always said you need at least a 100$+ "entry-level" AMP/DAC to have a good source. But I've read some articles pointing out that the Apple dongle measures very well so I decided to give it a try. For me, it works perfectly fine (well, I'll admit that all I care is noise floor)
Same, through the headphone jack off my laptop I can literally tell you the CPU load, but the type C apple dongle is pretty damn quiet and it has more than adequate sound quality.
Noise floor is the only real difference anyway. That is why it is often good to use an external dac/amp of some sort because at least it is guaranteed to be isolated pretty well.
@@TheAprilChicken Noise indeed matters more than distortion!
@@TheAprilChicken some cheap stuff have awfull noise floors tho, like FX Audio X6 MKII have great DAC but if you use it as DAC only to a separate AMP, it's $60 tho and comes with bluetooth reciever with even aptx support for android folks, I personaly use FiiO M3 Pro DAP in USB DAC mode as DAC and a Topping NX1s AMP for which I traded my old FiiO M3K DAP with a friend
For me it would be worth paying the $100+ just to have a nice volume knob on an AMP/DAC, that's why I like the zen dac, great knob-feel.
Glad I found your channel. I'm not a super audiophile, but I seem to care about nice audio more than your average person. Enjoying the content and your presentation.
I like how honest crinacle is with headphones and amps!
I never got any problem in "getting enough volume" from connecting my 300 ohm and
IEMs seem really sensitive in some ways. My can headphones though with EQ, still go loud enough off a simple DAC. That's cutting over 6dB of sensitivity for my preferred tuning too lol
I agree. As an HE-1 owner, I don't use the amp that comes with it. Sounds good on its own plugged to a phone.
i know this is an obvious joke but I won't be able to sleep tonight unless I say it: HE-1 is an electrostatic headphone and as such, you can't plug it in to your phone even if you tried. You *have to* (like it won't work otherwise) get an energizer.
I thought the tubes looked kinda wierd so i took them off
@@sug8056 I took out the mechanism of the tube elevating. Gets kinda boring after a while
@@triangle9254 Works well as a space heater too
@ better yet, he1 is hard wired into the amp. You can't use it with a different amp
Crin, you're honestly the guy I go to for rankings, reviews and opinions. I trust your judgement and I love your content. You're authentic and entertaining. I have made several purchases because of you and I was never let down. Thank you, really. You make things easy to understand and I can't start to imagine how much work goes into testing, ranking, explaining, making the videos etc. You will get back to 100k in no time and surely surpass it. This channel is gold. Love you brother, you're the best!
Absolute shill
I bought a pair of those "secret stash" AKG buds he talked about in a recent video.
Genuinely the best headphones I've ever heard. (But to be fair, I am an audio scrub, so don't think I'm comparing them to the cream of the audiophile crop)
Eww stop, crin is not a god
Crin is pretty credible for his testing but not everything he said is right. Never completely trust someone's rank unless you have tested it yourself
@@3ngan498 he's not a god, but he's a good advisor if I can say so
I think what people may like from an amp vs not having it is analog control. Not saying analog control is better, but turning a dial is satisfying. That bit of satisfaction they get vs moving a slider in EQ colors their experience positively.
I do like having a fiio e10k simply for the "volume knob" separate from windows volume, and because it allows me to use shorter cables on my headphones. I got it used maybe 6 years ago for $50 so it feels worth it to me.
It's funny I have a dac but still use windows volume. I should put in a short cut to use the mouse wheel with shift or ctrl for volume ;p
The U.S. dongle puts out 1 Volt - but the European dongle only puts out ½ a Volt.
What? Why?
@@vsevolodalipov4375 i think they limited it so people wouldnt blast there headphones leading to hearing damage lol
You can bypass this limitation by UAPP.
@@CCebeci is there an ios app that will do it?
@@CCebeci If you use the 1V US dongle in a location where there is a software limit for volume, then you can bypass it. But, the 0.5 V EU dongle has different hardware and will max out at 0.5 V no matter what you do.
But Crin, you didn't address the fact that knobs improve the sound.
The Lord Super*Review has spoken
knobs and dials and CRT oscilloscopes all dramatically improve sound quality. You can hear bandits saying it was just the wind from the other end of hte map in skyrim if you have a few of those thigns kicking around
Crin, can't you just show the measurements of a headphone like HD800S plugged on apple dongle vs on your Topping A90? I think this really shows if high-end phones doesn't benefit at all if the measurements shows the same exact graph. Isn't it a good test? Thanks man.
You should watch his video on graphs. My expectation is that the difference you get from amps or dacs will not change a moderately smoothed FR graph to any significant degree. The other graphs, maybe???
Remember if ur eu it’s half the power
@@davidcho6145 That’s basically his point. Having (the lack of) differences shown as a graph will be a lot more convincing than the same verbal arguments repeated all over the place
@@BrotherSisterHi nah but you're not getting what David said. If the the differences really do exist they'd be minor, which will not show in smoothened frequency graphs.
@@ishanjoshi5957 If the differences are so minor that they wouldn’t show up on a smoothed frequency response graph, then it would be enough to swing many arguments about amps “fixing” bass response, soundstage, treble extension, etc.
Agree that separate amp isn't automatically 'needed'. However, some areas of this message are maybe oversimplified. Power, Quality, etc. all point to one issue that separate amps strive to solve. Transducer impedance is not linear through the audible frequency range, and this issue is multiplied for multi-driver designs. There will be (relatively) high and narrow impedance peaks (look at any transducer graph) where the transducer resists moving in sometimes several narrow frequency bands. In these areas, amp power is 'sucked-out'. Typically, impedance peaks are in the higher frequencies. When the dynamic signal (music) passes through these frequency regions, and power is 'sucked-out' due to high impedance, the tiny amp cannot supply the current, and typically stops driving the bass with as much authority or clips on the bass notes. The impedance problem is in the highs (usually), but presnts itself as bad bass. Solution is better amplification, or like you said lower impedance transducers. Problem with lower imp transducers is (typically) they dont sound as good.
🎯 Key Takeaways for quick navigation:
01:46 🎛️ *Dedicated Amplifier Not Essential: While amplifiers are crucial in the audio chain, the video emphasizes that a dedicated and expensive amplifier might not be necessary for most users, challenging the notion that you need one.*
03:25 🎧 *Amplifiers Won't Fix Headphones: Dispels the myth that an amplifier can fix headphone sound issues. Advises against investing in an amplifier to address dissatisfaction with headphone tuning; recommends selling or returning the headphones.*
05:46 🔊 *Power and Headphone Impedance: Challenges the idea that more power is always needed, clarifying that headphone impedance and sensitivity determine power requirements. For most headphones and IEMs, power issues are rare, with iems almost never requiring additional power.*
08:30 📊 *Quality of Power Metrics: Criticizes the excessive focus on metrics like Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) and distortion, arguing that beyond a certain point, the improvements are inaudible. Advocates for a focus on subjective enjoyment rather than solely relying on metrics.*
12:54 🎶 *Subjective Improvements: Acknowledges that subjective improvements from amplifiers exist but argues that they are often minor compared to the cost. Stresses that the most significant improvements come from upgrading headphones or transducers.*
Made with HARPA AI
There are people in audiophile community who are spending more time to compare gears, and pay all the attention to the 1% difference which requires listeners to fully focus on those minor details instead of the music itself in order to even notice that difference. Then, those people will start to publish their finding with very colorful langage with the intention to let you believe that your muisc listening experience totally depends on those 1% of tiny difference.
Spending your hard earned money on headphones or IEMs, don't try to spend more to turn your existing headphones/IEMs into something much better.
So so true
It's funny that it's actually kinda difficult to find audiophile musicians, no wonder why.
I can understand the technical aspect of it. I guess it’s similar with the PC community. It is an engrossing hobby - getting into the weeds of all the complexities and impressive tech. But you’re right - at the end of the day the user gets the exact same experience. Even if there might be different things happening behind the scenes
Wenge zhu: sometimes it's 0%..
@@TheHulksMistressI am a PC gamer and maxed it out with best gfx card, 82" oled tv, etc, and just starting to enjoy hifi (d30 pro, tp3255 and tidal)... I dont welcome this new money pit
This is one of the best educational video regarding DACs and headphones amps that I have ever seen. I arrived to the same conclusions after years of painstaking learning, reading reviews, watching youtubers, spending thousand and thousand of dollars in the hobby. Slowly you start to realize most TH-cam reviewers are just plain fake, when you learn what they are claiming to hear is beyond human ears capability regarding DACs and Amps.
I love ASR, they measure DACs and Amps, but nowadays almost all of them are completely transparent to human ears, still I want and enjoy to know which one is the king of the hill in specifications, even knowing that I will not hear the difference. Also exposing companies which claim to be the best and charging premium when in reality there are very lousy in the technical part, taking to you audioquest.
My past headphones were all turned beaches and steel series and looking to get out of the purely “gaming headset” market. Does something like a BTR5 fall into the waste category?(currently looking at a pair of HD560S). Want to be able to listen on computer, iPad, iPhone at home.
@@LoneSkag hd560s is easy to drive and apple products tend to have really good dac/amp sections. The quedlix 5k is better than the btr5 though as it has eq
I have a rHead headphone amplifier. It doesn’t have an especially low noise floor (or high SINAD), but because it was designed by a proper audio engineer, he designed it to have a class A resistor-ladder volume pot for extremely good channel matching no matter the volume. This actually improves audible sound quality.
Agreed. The stereo image stability and quality is what I think amps are useful for. I don’t think expensive ones really make sense, but the difference between plugging in a pair of AT-M50x into my Steinberg audio interface and plugging them into my Magni, the sound is way less claustrophobic.
Mates. The apple dongle is obviously designed by engineers
@@zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz__11:32 is about you
Thank you.BTW , What is more important....? Music or Sound...? Listening is subjective as hell ,so i enjoy my music while somebody else might hate it, coming from the same source, be it headphones or amps.
I'd like to think that all audiophiles are music lovers, but a music lover isn't necessarily an audiophile. Looking to improve one's audio equipment seems to be a natural progression in taking one's love for music to the next level, since you're effectively trying to listen to "more" of the music.
i needed this video a month ago. i literally was having a meltdown over this very topic and everything everywhere said you NEED an amp and couldn't find what i wanted. i finally settled but i wish i had this sooner. it really put a damper on me wanting to go further in this hobby
What did you get?
I just got myself into it without even trying but now I have purchased the classic Sennheiser HD6XX and a simple Topping DX3 Pro+ for which I will use a god damn aux extension cable straight from AliExpress and I will not by tube pre-amp or LPS or anything else I can promise
@@adnaannamazee9763 top 80 questions that will never be answered
Guy is very direct , honest and technically accurate. Thanks for addressing some myth issues.
And that sincere outro, love it
Damn it your totally right. I just tested my iem’s with and without amp and you don’t need it. But I still like it better. Why do you gotta be so real. Thanks for the great content!
I should have listened to “Uncle Crinnacle”!!! Despite his advice of saving your money & that the Apple dongle was just good enough I decided to buy the $300 Questyle m15!! I just knew THIS would be the game changer for me. All the reviews saying, “Oh it expands the soundstage & brings out more detail”. Did it??? NOPE!! I tested right next to the Apple dongle & my old DragonFly Red & honestly nothing sounded any different than the other!!!! When it comes to DAC/AMPS at least for IEMS’s save your damn money!! They don’t do $hit!!!!
thanks man, just cancelled my purchase 😂
Wait, you just told us not to buy an expensive AMP/DAC and just buy dongle right? But....how about an expensive dongle?
I’m honestly glad I got my Ifi amps a XCan portable and a zen stack but I also got planars that don’t sound the same without one and inevitably use them to listen for everything movies music gaming with a multitude of ccheadphones I’m super happy with the setup and eq with peace gui and apo it’s all pretty amazing
For me personally, the simpler, the better when it comes to audio. Also, more gain stages usually means more noise.
yes well that has been a mantra for many decades
Yeah, you got everything just about right Crinacle. The only reason I have an amp (to be more specific, a receiver) is because of the equipment that I have. For my set up, I have a Pioneer vsx-32 and connected to it is a turntable; an RCA switcher in which I have a tower, a laptop and a aux cable adapter; a roku; and for speakers I have a pair of Sony speakers. I grew up with this kind of set up thanks to my parents and my love for listening to vinyl; later down the road I intend on getting a tape deck. In terms of putting headphones through it, well…I just put a pair of Sony WM-1000XM4 and even then it's just to make sure that no one else hears it; mostly for night time.
My eventual introduction to audiophile gear ended up being the Apple 3.5mm adapter and Samson SR850, loving the experience so far.
I've just bought superlux hd668b aswell , it is fun new experience .
identical to my experience. i love my sr850s so much
@@mahmoud1737 i have some of those superlux headphones. Great for $30 i paid. But sometimes the treble is too high
@@MiguelY22 i turn down the volume when this happens but overall it's amazing i keep listening to it and enjoy it
its garbage@@mahmoud1737
I'm surprised by the lack of mention of DAC which is something you need and sometimes also work as an AMP or work in pair so DAC/AMP and often mistaken or confused with AMP
Guys this thing is too short. Am I able to attach an extension cable without losing sound quality?
I'll stick to my Fiio BTR5, and even before finishing the video, I can agree no one NEEDS to spend that much
Ive seen someone stick a UTS5 upside down on a HD600 with an adapter as well
Yea I got a HD6XX and people keep saying my current interface doesn't put out enough juice for comfortably loud experience. Welp, I got a BTR5. It is sure louder but my interface works just fine. But BTR5 itself is really good for many other purposes so I still have it. Imagine watching TV at night with superb audio without disrupting anyone.
@@just__khang Honestly, the 6XX is pretty easy to drive. I have a Schiit Magnius and I find I'm always turning it down for my 6XXs. I have a BTR3 which can also drive it comfortably.
Indeed ... I bought the BTR5 for the Bluetooth features, but with the exception of a pair of HE400se, I don't think I ever really felt like I needed the power from it. It was a well spent $110 and I use it on two PCs plus my phone. I own a pair of Apple dongles for when I am on the road.
bro that's not cheap
I got some headphones recently and I tried them on everything that had a headphone jack to see if I could tell a difference. I couldn't. I mix live audio, so I trust my ears. And there was no difference. Maybe noise floor, but aside from that, indistinguishable.
What headphones and devices combination did you try? I am genuinely intrigued by your statement.
At least you use your amplifier with audiophile DAPs even better with proper line out. Attaching them to your graphic card headphone jack, laptops, phones are basically bi-amping them. My findings are, buy decent mid tier DAPs and find the right matching impedance amplifier to go with it, it will sound much better
@@boboiboy9350 FiiO M3 Pro got ESS9018, you won't notice any better DAP than that, might be able to see measurable differences but you won't hear it, also you can use it as a DAC on PC or even android phone with OTG support, not sure if it works with iphone tho
Idk, I mostly use audio from my laptop and I found that the built in audio jack sounded quite bad, enough power but lacked clarity. Bought a Fiio BTR5 (I know it's not the best DAC and amp available, but it's definitely good enough for me) and the improvement was honestly very significant. It wasn't unlistenable before but I find that I enjoy music more now.
I experience the same thing too, ended up buying dac/amp dongle to fix things up.
When plugging in my headphones from my laptop and desktop i can definately tell a difference in quality between the two when a/b them at the same volume. I wouldnt be surprised if the audio jacks are poor on my case as it is extremely cheap and the one on the back of the mobo is blown and works only on the left channel. Audio Science Review has measured a desktop (Dell XPS 8930 RealTek HD Audio Interface Review) and found things such as sinad and jitter to be abissmal and definately in the audible range
DAC ≠ amplifier (though they're often sold together. DACs make an audible difference to the sound "quality". Crin's saying power amplifiers make far less of a difference. If any.
@@supergranular crin needs to make a vid about DACs next it seems lmao
9:25 I think the more important thing to notice is that 96 dB of dynamic range is surely enough for most people because the background noise in your listening environment is usually going to be in 20-30 dB range. When you add 96 dB of dynamic range to it, you're getting into 116-126 dB loud which is going to permantly damage your hearing very very fast.
96 dB dynamic range is literally hearing a pin drop next to jet engine running at full blast. Not possible.
That said, there're definitely amps that cannot have noise free performance even for 70 dB dynamic range. The Apple device included in this video is a fringe case where the amp in that thing is much better than expected for such adapters.
6:00 Hifiman Sundara has that impedance and sensitivity. Volume was too weak for me using my computer so I got a Fiio K5
Preference for rotary volume control is my only reason for having a discrete portable amplifier. XDuoo XQ-10 was the most affordable way I could find to accomplish that goal.
Just bought myself a second DAC/AMP (needed a different form factor) and even though I do not have very expensive headphones, I can hear difference in what I have. Would I recommend getting a DAC/AMP to someone who can spend 200$ on a set up? Definitely would not, as long as they have something half decent to power the headphone of their choice. Subscribed.
I agree with 99% of the video, but there's an exeption: Tube amps, they really change the sound adding distortion and it's a mattter of taste, they can sound better or worse for the listener and you can change the tubes really changing the sound that you hear, some hybrid amps like SMSL SP100, are cheap and worth a try.
you can get tube preamps tho, like I just ordered last night ;D cheap tubey goodness
first vid of yours i've watched and you touched on some really good points, thanks for the video!
Hey bro I was thinking about to buy a kz zs10 pro x... Now they have option to buy it with a 8-core type-C cable.. now should I buy that?? Or I should buy a external DAC to listen hi-res audio??
I have the Hifiman Arya and when I upgraded from the topping A30 to the burson soloist I thought the difference was day and night
When the video starts with "save your money" you know its a honest and good video
One thing I've noticed about iems is that because they're so sensitive, i can hear the noise floor of amplifiers (in this case my phone). Doesn't happen with my MacBook though
Yes I had that problem when I bought my IEMs but with the apple dongle it's fine. Some devices just have bad DACs.
New to IEMs and this hobby in general. Is noise floor the hissing sound I get when I plug my IEMs to my laptop? If so, how to cheaply get rid of that?
@@khanfarm321 yup, it's the hissing sound. A cheap way could be to buy an "attenuator" like iematch, or to buy a dongle if your laptop has USB C
Though sometimes with laptops, it could be that the noise is there because it's charging. Make sure that's not the case
@@mirzaangon Alrighty! Thanks. What if the hissing is only during charging? I'll have to buy a dedicated AMP if I want to use my laptop while charging?
Thank you! Very much of the stuff you can buy is either complete voodoo or can very well be measured, but not heard. A close friend of mine who has all the voodoo equipment you can think of (silver cables - no, not silver-plated, but completely silver, 2000 Euro AMP DAC, Sennheiser HD 800S etc...) was very annoyed when we did a hearing comparison between FLAC and 320 kbit/s MP3s. He couldn't spot the difference. Neither can I.
Years ago, I ended up selling my Sennheiser HD800 and am a very happy man with my Beyerdynamic DT 880 and a SoundblasterX G5 amp. For a fraction of the cost of the HD800 alone. To me, the most important thing about head/earphones is the frequency response curve to be as neutral as possible. For a different experience, I can always use a good EQ. Spend the money you saved on one pair of headphones for each scenario that you come across (noise cancelling or IEM for when you're on the go, closed when you don't want to disturb anybody at home and open when you want to enjoy a more "spacious" feel). Maybe even buy a pair of good speakers if you want to feel the bass.
You can cover ALL those scenarios (and cover them well!) for less than 2.000 Euros if you don't want to worship the voodoo-gods of audio.
That all being said, if you just WANT those gorgeous HD800 S or Hifiman Aryasusavanada-whatever together with a 4.000 Euro-DAC and you can afford it, go for it. It's not about what you NEED, but what makes you happy. Just like cars.
Dude you were right. The little Apple dongle works great with HD 58X. Convenient. Cheap. And sounds good. I’m usually just using YT Music so it not like I’m missing out.
I was considering buying an amp to drive my SSP. I ended up plugging it into an ordinary UGreen soundcard and it actually got amped to the level I needed it to. Talk about Cables next lol
I got a BTR5 just to help a couple pairs of low-sensitivity headphones get to a good volume with reasonable headroom. It's relatively cheap, it's portable, and I swear the noise floor goes down on every headphone I use them with. Pretty sure that little nugget is going to meet my amplification needs for a long time to come.
Nugget, Dankpods I assume?
@@ll-oj4rk there's a lot of dankpods viewers here
Everyone knows the only reason to have an amplifier is the analog volume knob.
This.
It's just quality of life stuff.
also super clutch when your pc is not close to you.
truuuuuuee
Best combo to have in your car...volume knob and subwoofer bass knob.
...and even then I rarely change it once set - since I'm usually pausing music via keyboard shortcuts and shifting volume up/down also by shortcuts depending on song or if I need to talk to someone briefly.
Ok so, as someone who has quite a bit of experience in the car audio enthusiast world and has just started to explore headphones... I know for a fact that with speakers (especially when you're talking about powerful subs... but it does somewhat extend to the wider range of speakers as well.) you need to be very careful about the power output of your amplifier in regards to the nominal operating power of the speakers you are connecting it to... if you have for instance in car audio, a 1000W RMS sub, and an amp that's only capable of outputting 200W, your sub is going to undervolt and it will overdraw the amp which can in some cases pop your amp, or your sub, or both... as in they are donezo, broken forever. So I know that this type of thing must extend to the headphone/desk speaker world as well, logically it must, however I assume the consequences of an underpowered amp are much less than they are in the higher power world... I know myself plugging my dt1990 pro's into my laptop jack I can hear clipping through the headset (unless that's not what I'm hearing then please feel free to enlighten me) but in any case, other headsets I plug in to the laptop don't seem to clip in the same way. This clipping is not present when I use an amp, or my desktop pc headphone jack... I assume the desktop has a more powerful built in sound card which alleviates this issue. Long story short I just don't plug my 1990's into my laptop cause I can't afford to replace my 1990's and don't know enough about the headphone world to know if it's causing them damage or not.
Great video though, always appreciate your content.
I'm the exception. I have moderate to severe hearing loss. I can wear my hearing aids with most headphones, but it is not comfortable. I simply use Equalizer APO to slightly increase the preamp level and adjust the equalizer to compensate for the frequency range where I have hearing loss (high frequency, the most common type of hearling loss). Yes, I could increase it too much and cause further damage, but I stick to the increases and settings that my hearing aids are set to. I know better now (yes a little too late). Protect your hearing because once it's gone, it's gone for good. Also, quality hearing aids are not cheap. If you think those $1600 headphones are expensive, try the hearing aids that are $4000 each.
are those covered by insurance?
@@kimutone2970 No. There are few insurance plans that cover hearing aids. Mine does not.
Headphones > Amplifiers
what a controversial opinion
well said
Headphoness > dacs > audio file > software > amplifiers
audio file( I mean not shitty file ) > headphone > dac /amp > player
Honestly i've never been able to tell the difference between all my stuff (E10K, Apple dongle, phone, old ass tablet and laptop and so on) besides the noise floor between all these expecially when using IEMs really.
The Apple dongle and the phone do very well while the E10K, the old ass tablet and in particular the laptop do get a bit annoying since it's quite noticeable, you actually get huge amount of interference when downloading stuff for example which is certainly interesting.
Those are all pretty low-tier dac/amps though.
Hey Uncle Crin, great video! Just one last question to make it all clear, if I spend the money to upgrade from an integrated (in your computer system) amplifier to a dedicated amplifier (“audiophile” ones, so the above $100 type), I should expect diminishing results provided that my current system has enough power according to sensitivity impedance calculator, right?(Other than the sexy volume nob)
I'm not Uncle Crin, but I can help answer it for you. Yes. The first $100 to $200 dollars for a DAC/Amp combo provides literally all you need, keyword NEED. Low ENOUGH noise floor, ENOUGH linearity, ENOUGH power, ENOUGH inputs, ENOUGH outputs. If you want to spend above $200 for a DAC/Amp, more power to you, but you don't need to. Personally, I can't tell the difference between good enough and expensive DACs. Amps maybe, when I need to drive inefficient headphones. For instance, the iFi Zen DAC V2 is the only dac/amp combo 99.9% of people will ever need for a PC.
@@RusticKey thank you! got the magni heresy and using a 2i2as a dac. enjoying the stuff, does make a noticible difference on some of my cans.
but most importantly, the volime knob
I got 2 different headphones, they sounded great with my phone, iPad, and PC but they weren’t as loud as I’d like, so I got an amp, now they’re loud enough, and there’s the option to go too loud, however bad it is. I find the Apple usb c dongle more likeable than the lightning one, but both are indeed fine.
In the 80’s we always judged the best amplifiers by the ones with the lowest THD (total harmonic distortion). As far as I know, this is still the best indicator of the quality of amplification.
While trying to better my audio setup from some gaming headsets to something better I have arrived at the conclusion that audio people don't know what they are talking about and the only thing worth testing so far are open back headphones, thanks guys!
This man gets it.
I have tried everything - HD 650's, Fostex T40 RP, KOSS PRO 4S, hybrid tube amp, SMSL Dac, el-cheapo desktop DAC/AMP and a selection of IEM's from budget, through middle of the road and finally recently bought KZ AS24 IEM, hooked up to ifi Zen Can V2, DAC/AMP - by far the best SQ so far - faster, more clarity, more detail, more accurate than anything else I've tried, including full size HP - BTW the IEM's are hooked up to SE outlet on Zen Can, with "POWER MATCH" and "TRUEBASS" in "off" position
@@rogeliogamboa7644 tf did you just say to me
Back in September, I was getting into the audiophile game and picked up a desktop amp thinking I needed it for everything. Now I only use it on the solemn occasion I want to use my 250 ohm 990s
Hey man, I want to buy the 990 250 ohm and use it with an aux Samsung dongle 🙃 ane people online say it's not having problems with loudness, and the audiophiles respond with WELL BUT THE QUALITY'S SHIT and the bass is low and the trebles are harsh and wonky and idk, something.
Can I buy the dt990 250ohm and enjoy Spotify, or will it really change the way they perform in a quality sense and/or be quiet enough to cause frustration?
Edit - I'm in the EU and supposedly the dongle here is half the power of the US version?
@@ile_klikow So I would say to get the full range out of them you do need an amplifier. You can still get a great sound out of them, but if you are going to mainly use them without an amp, I'd go with the 80ohm model
@@charredolive thanks for answering :) as I'm a noob now can I also ask if there's going to be a big quality difference with 80 and 250 assuming best possible conditions for both?
Wish more youtubers would explain things easier like this guy. Over-explaining tech DONT make you sound smart. Subscribed.
This is a really great video. Man, You deliver great info in a funny way. It's addictive! Thanks for the info.
I was scared for a second that i fell for these myths too, but then i remembered that the first "hifi "headphone that i bought was the Beyerdynamic Dt 770 pro 250 ohm version. And yeah those fall into those fringe cases.
@@YouMystMe I think they do "work" but on really low volumes?? Idk for sure
Yo same boat here. Honestly, though, even without the amp, the volume is still fine just off my pc's headphone jack. Even off my phone they're still perfectly serviceable, just not LOUD loud.
someone did the amp thing for me when i bought the shuoer tape pro, turns out it was just one of the worst earphones i could have chosen
I think it falls into the "limit cases" box but something that can happen quite often with very sensitive IEM and internal DACs (PC or phone) or cheap dongle is the white noise/hissing/distortion noise level is audible and make the experience from somewhat to a lot less enjoyable.
In those case finding the dongle which works can indeed make a difference but clearly you don't need a beefy AMP, just something that works and there are plenty of option sub 50$ (even sub 20$ for most case scenarios).
This was delightful. Like watching a stand up comedian talking about audiophiles. I crawled down the rabbit hole years ago, and everything you say here is true. Thanks for a fun video.
Okay so i have an hifiman sundara for the ps5... what amp should i buy and what dac do i have to buy? Please i'm tired i've been looking for dacs and amps for days.
The key to an amplifier is that it is linear and provides the transient dynamic range that a given headphone is capable of. This requires “headroom” to some extent. And it’s the difference between being “loud enough” and properly driving a given headphone. This is well explained in this article:
www.audeze.com/blogs/technology-and-innovation/sensitivity-impedance-and-amplifier-power
One application that I have found that makes transient dynamics very apparent is video game audio with sudden loud explosions such in titles like Squad or Battlefield. My Asgard 3 provides all the power I will ever need and I bought it brand new with a 5 year warranty for $200. My first and hopefully last dedicated amplifier. One thing I learned about is the Audio hobby is full of delusion, but it doesn’t have to be. And I use an Apple Dongle or even my Xbox Controller for easy to drive headphones and IEM’s. I didn’t choose the products based on measurements.
What you say is probably true, but that article doesn't sound convincing tbh. "Here is an image that shows clipping when you don't have enough headroom", without mentioning where did the graph come from, how did they get the result, what kind of gear they use, how extreme did they drive the source etc. All that they're doing is just explaining their theory, just like how some people insist on burn-in use material science theory and whatnot saying that materials will change it's property when it's flexed and relaxed, then proceed to provide stress-strain curve or something. Is the theory true? Probably yes. Does it translate to the burn-in effect? Apparently not.
I'm not saying transient is a myth like burn-in, it's not, it's most probably true. But I think many people kinda overstated the difficulty in achieving good transient. The loud explosion thingy you experienced might be that you just play at higher volume compared to the source you used before. I'm 99% confident that people with mid-fi headphones like sundara or 6xx or he400 etc will not need any amps higher that the standard $100 ones (magni, atom etc), if at all.
@@Summer-xu8qu If you find a better article, please mention it. That one just explained it in a way that I felt was pretty easy to understand, despite the fact that they are trying to sell their planar magnetic drivers as taking better advantage of headroom than dynamic drivers. It comes down to the speed and control of the driver being better, despite the same average volume level. The difference is certainly not night and day but noticeable. Take a given headphone, maybe the 6XX or something similar that is somewhat amp dependent and compare it on an Apple Dongle and a 3.5 watt Asgard 3 with similar volume. There will be a distinctive difference in dynamics, especially “transients”. However, even the article mentions it’s not necessarily something that you can notice in all recordings. Just ones that’s have have specific types of transient spikes. I mention video game explosions for the simple fact that it is something easy to repeat and shows the effect. But find a track with a forceful percussive drum hit, and I’m sure it would also be noticeable. We are absolutely talking about a marginal change of course, my Apple Dongle works well enough for many headphones. That’s why I bothered to mention why I felt like the Asgard 3 was such a good buy at only $200. It can get the most out of almost any headphone.
@@Summer-xu8qu The image doesn't _need_ accurate descriptions of how it was obtained because it isn't there to prove anything. It is there to show something, which is that clipping will occur if you cut off the dynamic range from the top. This doesn't need to be proven with a measurement because it's mathematically true. You might also notice that it doesn't even appear to be a recording of some sort in the first place. There is no gear, no source, just a waveform that has its peaks cut off, which you can just as easily do in software.
Why does this not need proof? Well, the relationship between voltage, power and loudness is precisely defined. Limited power or limited voltage means limited loudness, which means there is a maximum amplitude for the waveform. Which gear you use and how you measure it doesn't change that. It's not "their theory", it's physics.
_Granted, gear can have an effect here if it applies a limiter. This, if properly implemented, will lower the peaks to a deliverable amplitude, meaning you still lose dynamic range, but it will prevent clipping._
The real question is how much headroom for transient peaks you actually need. This obviously depends on the tracks you listen to, and how much power that headroom equates to depends on your desired listening volume.
This question is what I've been trying to find answers for (other and more detailed than the "30 dB" rule of thumb), which is how I got to this video in the first place.
@@justuslm Well obviously, if you push any amp hard enough, it's gonna clip (assuming you don't blow your headphones out first), it's physics, it's common sense, whatever. But if you want to claim that "some amp will not have sufficient headroom for a particular headphones and it will clip during the transients", you have to demonstrate it using a particular amp with a particular headphones to convince people that "see, this is what happens when amp does not have enough headroom", instead of using a theory to "prove" that an arbitrary amp will clip under normal listening volume. Yes, I know that the article is just explaining what transient and headroom is and why it's needed, but in order for the article to not be meaningless, it has to at least demonstrate it using a set of gears irl, if not I can just say "well, that's just in theory, in real life, x amp already have sufficient headroom for most headphones, you don't need anything more than that." ( which is often the argument from people like me)
It's not hard to use physics to "prove" something. According to physics, different cable with different thickness, materials and length will have different resistance and different resistance will affect the sound, but does that matter in real life? No? Why? Because below a certain threshold, it doesn't matter. It's the same with headroom. Above a certain threshold, any additional headroom is meaningless. Yes, I agree, the real question here is how much headroom we need. So to say that "X amp sounds better than Y amp because the additional headroom is needed" you need to prove that the Y amp will clip under normal listening volume. And I stand by my statement, the standard $100 dollar magni or atom is sufficient for most of the mid-fi, you won't get any meaningful "headroom" out of a $400+ balanced setup, and certainly not "control", "speed", "refinement" or any that kind of audiophile term. If a $200 headphones need $400+ of amplification to sound good, then it's not a good headphones.
@@Summer-xu8qu Okay, I can see that argument. Now, I will still argue that you don't need to actually _test_ this, but using specific examples of at least somewhat common amps and heaphones that will result in low headroom would definitely show how realistic it is to expect issues. You can, of course, look up specs and put them in Headphonesty's power calculator (link in the video description) until you find such a matchup (although this, again, depends on how much headroom you need/want), but the article should have given at least one example.
To give such an example, the Hifiman Susvara can not be driven by the Qudelix 5k, even in balanced mode, if the desired listening loudness is 80 dB SPL and the desired headroom is 30 dB. It would only reach 107 dB SPL at max output and thus only 27 dB of headroom (this _sounds_ like a small difference but is actually the difference between a desired 502 mW at 5.49 Vrms and a reached 266 mW at 4.00 Vrms).
Now, that physics don't "prove" anything in real life is, in my opinion, at least when it comes to loudness, wrong. Yes, physics say that different cables will have different resistance (or impedance, since sound is AC), but they also say that the resistances themselves and also the differences between them are very low and thus won't have any noticeable effect.
With that said, let me say that I completely agree that most mid- and even high-fi headphones can be driven by fairly "weak", and thus affordable, amps. This does not go against the maths and the physics, though.
But, coming back to my main point, which we agree on, I still can't say for sure how much headroom I need. The article mentions that transients can peak up to 50 dB above the perceived loudness of the track, but this obviously depends on what you listen to, and at which volume. Unfortunately I have neither a way to measure either of those things for myself and my listening habits (although the difference between transient peaks and perceived loudness actually can be calculated from the audio file and doesn't need measuring, but I don't know how to do that), nor do I have any empirical data on whether it makes sense to use the commonly used values of 80 dB SPL listening level and 30 dB headroom or not (physics can't predict people's choices).
The reason I want to figure this out, ideally for me personally but alternatively as an empirical average for orientation, is that I'm currently running a setup that peaks at 108 dB. Is that enough for me? The only way to know without the data mentioned above would be to buy a stronger amp and try it, which I obviously want to avoid if it's unnecessary.
Subscribed after watching one of your videos the other day. This is the 2nd video I’ve watched and it’s just as good as the 1st one. Clear and concise and no B.S. Thanks.
You make my day...LOL... as an former audio-addict this is so refreshing. It resonates and saves so much money......
Thank you for your time and effort.
Keep on keeping on.. I used to buy expensive stuff, now i have a simple stereo set with reasonable aiwa speakers, enough to get me dancing in the room . That,s what matters to me.
Your new glasses fit you more. Shows more of that "Don't try to talk me into your bullshitery."
Really enjoying learning from you. Thanks for all the great info you put out for us.
was thinking the same about iems, why the hell they make amp dac with huge amplifiers... what if i want to buy some where most of the cost is to have a great dac and a super amp ? any advice ?
Bought the Dioko and listened (spotify) to it through apple lightning dongle, the sound was detailed but very very thin (mid-midhigh volume). I would describe it has no 'body' across the range. Pluged directly it into my macbook pro and straight away a huge difference (matching similar volume output to the phone), full 'bodied' sound with crisp details. listened back and forth with my iphone to confirm the sound. Just by listening to it, having more 'power' turned me from returning the iem to listening to music for half an hour straight....maybe just me...
I’ve heard the Apple dongle is incredibly quality for its price due to economies of scale. They make a zillion of the things so they have really good components in them that smash most DACS you can find under $100
yeah that's good large scale products work
1. The chips in them is probably pretty cheap to produce (how hard is it to produce a dac chip?)
2. They cheap out on the build, the cable is a complete ass
3. Those dedicated dacs themselves are overpriced in the first place, they're just dac chips packed in a fancy box (sometimes not even metal ones smh) with some extra io. Those ess/ak or whatever dac chip likely also have large enough scale considering there are tons of products out there with those chips in it.
That said, apple dongle is still a really good deal, I just wish they'd last longer :'(
It doesn't smash anything. Everything twice the price is usually better (mainly due to higher output power). The point is that the most basic decent thing is fine. You can live with it.
It is really good, I just wish Android had better native compatibility with it, it sounds horribly low vol if your phone is not root :(
@@Kaijv completely apples fault for designing it to not work with android properly sadly, they are competitors after all
Thanks for this video. The audio world needs it.
I bought a inexpensive Fiio K3 and It truly changed my M40x. The Bass is significantly punchier and clear now. I can hear instruments I couldn't hear clearly. And I can use AutoEq that lowers preamp. But I agree that for IEMs you don't need it/want it
But that's a DAC/AMP combo. I don't know what improvement is from the DAC. I think it's better than my motherboards Realtek.
Got the K3 2021 Edition. There is just no better dac amp combo like it on the market:
99$ delivered, more than enough power to drive even big planars, even works with my phone and has a proper balanced output.
To have something thats even just a tiny bit better would cost 500$ or more.
The K3 and the Hifiman He400se is the ultimate 250$ audio setup for me.
Try setting up a blind test
I thought my amp made a difference until I blind tested. The difference between it and my iPhone disappeared. I simply couldn’t tell once volume matched. HD600 btw
@@scottblues2332 iPhone DACs are decent, most motherboard chips aren't. I can connect the K3 to my Galaxy S9+ and I don't hear much difference with or without it. But I can hear a huge difference when using the PC.
I just got the Sennheiser IE 600 and plugged it to my IPhone 15 pro using the Apple Dongle
And I gotta say I’m very underwhelmed Volume wise
Is there anyway I can make them sound louder?
buy a better amp?
5:13 Yes but if you drive a lower powered amplifier to a higher volume level (with higher impedance speakers) don't you get clipping / square wave which obviously affects the sound? The listening volume might be comfortable, but that doesn't mean you have enough 'power' to deliver a decent sound at that volume...
100% agree with this, I had one of those USB-C dongles for my Motorola when I first got my DT770s and the difference between that and the headphone jack was amazing. I would've probably stuck solely to it if my PC could actually run my DTs as well, but even then a £60 BTR3 should give 'em more than enough punch. No need to buy a diablo just because I want to crash cars into walls with DT770s on.
Im using a usbc dongle but it always causes a crackle in my left earbud or headphone. Have any idea why?
I bought a used pair of Beyerdynamic DT990 Pro 250 ohm headphones off eBay and I figured I'd need to get an amp, but I've lived with it for over a year now and I'm perfectly happy without one.
I use them with my phone, 6th Gen iPod classic, desktop PC, and laptop PC. It sounds perfectly fine, better than anything I'd used before (cheap Sony headphones, gaming headsets, earbuds, or my bookshelf speakers I use with my desktop)
Thanks for posting this. I got a pair of Sennheiser 599s recently, and was wondering if I was missing their full potential. It's refreshing to see a perspective that's reasonable, and not hyperbolic. I'm now a subscriber:)
It depends. If you have at least apple dongle, then you're good. Same would not be true for HD600.
The problem is not that you don't need an amplifier. But when you got a phone that doesn't convert sound to a preamplified level, and sound is of poor quality, an amplifier will bypass the convertion of the phone from digital to analog. However, if you have a good phone like iPhone, you have a big chance that you won't run into the problem of having to fix your sound quality. So yes, if your phone/device can give you quality preamplified sound then ofc you don't need an amplifier, unless ypu really want a much higher level of volume for specific applications. (or obtain different benefits from the amplifier). One of the best uses of a bluetooth amplifier can be turning your wired headphones into wireless ones, ofc you do need to carry the amplifier with you instead of the phone
if I'm buying the Thieaudio Hype 4 then do I need a DAC? I was thinking about getting the Fiio Q3 but I don't know if it's worth spending money on that or buying the far cheaper iPhone 3.5mm audio dongle. You mentioned at time throughout the video that there is no need to get a better DAC. But if I currently have no gear at the moment, and so I would like to buy the hype 4, then which would you recommend: the Fiio Q3 (or a better DAC for the price) OR an iPhone to 3.5 dongle (for my iPhone 13)
Thank you,
And great videos btw, very entertaining 😄
i recently got into audio more seriously and this channel has been so fucking helpful
I only wanted to have a small, cheap, standalone amp. So I bought a Fiio A1. Been very happy with it so far. And it drives my Sennheiser HD 280 Pros.
Thanks for your honest review and opinion... If DAC /AMP is to increase the sound stage but it does depend on various another factors as well.. But if your phone does not have a headphone jack then you can go for one... Nice work 👍
I have a pair of Modhouse Argon mk3, and those need a lot of power to drive. I have to crank the volume on my amp to at least 75% or else the right side is a lot quieter than the left side. I tried cranking the volume up on my computer while lowering the volume on the amp, but that did not correct the issue.
Can i plug it into amp using convertible aux pin into my amp for playing guitar ??? Willl that work???