Ordered My O2 DAC/Amplifier Combo

[Michael McAllister]

I decided to take the plunge finally.  I ordered my O2 Combo.  To anyone who has one, does it make a nice, audible click when connecting the headphones?  That's a really annoying issue I'm having with my onboard.  I never quite know when a full connection is made.

Secondly, since there are two audio ports, could I in theory connect two different sets of headphones, or am I only able to use one port at a time?  I remember Tyler mentioning as well that this can be used with powered speakers.  I'm really looking forward to that, so I can just use the O2 as my primary PC audio source.  Switching back and forth from the amplifier to the onboard would get annoying after a while.  Oh, I must say that I feel pretty confident ordering this after reading about the 10 year warranty.  That's pretty awesome, Tyler.  Thank you!

Any other tips or tricks I should know about? 

 

P.S.  This should work fine with a powered USB hub, no?

[creatip123]

I decided to take the plunge finally.  I ordered my O2 Combo.  To anyone who has one, does it make a nice, audible click when connecting the headphones?  That's a really annoying issue I'm having with my onboard.  I never quite know when a full connection is made.

Secondly, since there are two audio ports, could I in theory connect two different sets of headphones, or am I only able to use one port at a time?  I remember Tyler mentioning as well that this can be used with powered speakers.  I'm really looking forward to that, so I can just use the O2 as my primary PC audio source.  Switching back and forth from the amplifier to the onboard would get annoying after a while.  Oh, I must say that I feel pretty confident ordering this after reading about the 10 year warranty.  That's pretty awesome, Tyler.  Thank you!

Any other tips or tricks I should know about? 

 

P.S.  This should work fine with a powered USB hub, no?

 

Wait for a few days (or however long the shipping takes), and all that questions will be answered....by yourself...

[ShearMe]

The "input" port can but used as a line-level output for speakers when the ODAC is installed. It should NOT be used to drive headphones, and you wont get volume control if you try.

 

I've never had a jack with a "nice, audible click" as you're describing, unless you count fancy Neutrik locking 1/4" jacks, which the O2 obviously doesn't have.

[rustikles]

(I have one on my desk right now). It actually has 1 audio out and 1 audio in, not two discrete outputs. Not to bum you out, but to be honest I do slightly regret my purchase of this. Maybe it's just me, but I couldn't find any real benefit that I got out of using the thing that was worth its cost. There is a "noticeable" difference in sound quality compared to the much worse solutions I had before, and it'll definitely be great if you have high impedance cans to drive.

 

Don't get me wrong, this may be the best thing since sliced bread for someone. It's just not for me. 

 

I'd go ahead and plug the USB cable directly into your computer as well. It might not make a difference, but why take the chance?

 

I hope you love it though! 

[SSL]

(I have one on my desk right now). It actually has 1 audio out and 1 audio in, not two discrete outputs. Not to bum you out, but to be honest I do slightly regret my purchase of this. Maybe it's just me, but I couldn't find any real benefit that I got out of using the thing that was worth its cost. There is a "noticeable" difference in sound quality compared to the much worse solutions I had before, and it'll definitely be great if you have high impedance cans to drive.

 

Don't get me wrong, this may be the best thing since sliced bread for someone. It's just not for me. 

 

I hope you love it though! 

 

That's why we tell people not to spend money, usually, because all non-asinine amps sound the same.

[ShearMe]

That's why we tell people not to spend money, usually, because all non-asinine amps sound the same.

 

And yet I remember Slick implying once that an O2 was all we ever recommended.

[SSL]

And yet I remember Slick implying once that an O2 was all we ever recommended.

 

Well it must be true because it was in a youtube video.

[ShearMe]

Well it must be true because it was in a youtube video.

 

To be fair, twitch stream

[SSL]

To be fair, twitch stream

 

He mentioned it in the crybabyish audio sub is a bunch of meanies rant, which is now on YT

[Michael McAllister]

That's why we tell people not to spend money, usually, because all non-asinine amps sound the same.

 

I know an amplifier won't make the sound better on a crappy pair of headphones.  I think there might be something amiss with my onboard audio.  My 64 ohms headphones sound fine (Sennheiser HD 280 Pro) but the newer, lower impedance headphones (Sennheiser HD 380 Pro) seem to be harder to drive/quieter.  Sent those back a few weeks ago and figured that I would order an external amp.  That way when I finally decide on which headphones to get, I know that I will be able to power anything that I throw at it.

[Michael McAllister]

@MayflowerElectronics Curious, how long do orders usually take to ship?

[MayflowerElectronics]

@MayflowerElectronics Curious, how long do orders usually take to ship?

 

Usually the next business day. I'm heading to Logans today to do some videos so everything that's supposed to go out today will be pushed back till Monday. After that it should be 3 business days to CA.

[Michael McAllister]

Usually the next business day. I'm heading to Logans today to do some videos so everything that's supposed to go out today will be pushed back till Monday. After that it should be 3 business days to CA.

 

Thanks! 

[xtroria]

And yet I remember Slick implying once that an O2 was all we ever recommended.

O2 + odac is at least $50 more expensive than schiit stack though...

[MayflowerElectronics]

O2 + odac is at least $50 more expensive than schiit stack though...

No its not.

[creatip123]

I think there might be something amiss with my onboard audio.  My 64 ohms headphones sound fine (Sennheiser HD 280 Pro) but the newer, lower impedance headphones (Sennheiser HD 380 Pro) seem to be harder to drive/quieter.  

 

Read this little, fun experiment: http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/290749-the-impedance-ballad-image-heavy/

[Michael McAllister]

Read this little, fun experiment: http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/290749-the-impedance-ballad-image-heavy/

 

Are you saying it makes sense as to why the Sennheiser HD 380 Pro was harder to drive than my Sennheiser HD 280 Pro and is not necessarily indicative of a problem with my onboard audio?

[creatip123]

Are you saying it makes sense as to why the Sennheiser HD 380 Pro was harder to drive than my Sennheiser HD 280 Pro and is not necessarily indicative of a problem with my onboard audio?

 

Read it again, until you understand why the biggest impedance headphone, 64 ohms, was actually the loudest, louder than the 32 ohms one.....

[Techotic]

The Monoprice Amp/DAC would of sufficed.  It's on sale @ $88 by the way.

[xtroria]

Read it again, until you understand why the biggest impedance headphone, 64 ohms, was actually the loudest, louder than the 32 ohms one.....

Please don't quote HE-6 impedance again

 

The Monoprice Amp/DAC would of sufficed.  It's on sale @ $88 by the way.

 

Monoprice amp/dac is good, but it's not optimal for low impedance gears such as IEMs. If you're going to drive something like fidelio x2 or most orthos, O2 would do a better job 

[Techotic]

The Monoprice is more than enough for what he has (Sennheiser HD 280 Pro) and anything else he gets later, at 1/3 of the cost of the 02/ODAC.  I have both, and they sound the same.

[NannerBeans]

The Monoprice Amp/DAC would of sufficed.  It's on sale @ $88 by the way.

It's not a sale. They cut the price by $9 and took away free shipping so the price is still the same since base shipping to the US is $9. 

 

 

Monoprice amp/dac is good, but it's not optimal for low impedance gears such as IEMs. If you're going to drive something like fidelio x2 or most orthos, O2 would do a better job 

It's fine for IEMs although idk why you would want it for IEMs...

 

Also I got my o2/odac for $230 with a 1/4" headphone output and a 3.5mm ODAC output. 

[Michael McAllister]

The Monoprice is more than enough for what he has (Sennheiser HD 280 Pro) and anything else he gets later, at 1/3 of the cost of the 02/ODAC.  I have both, and they sound the same.

 

The 280 Pro works fine on my onboard...  The 380 Pro is what was harder to drive hence I sent it back to Amazon.  I now will have an amplifier capable of driving anything on the market.  I'm considering the HD 600s for my next headphone.

[NannerBeans]

The 280 Pro works fine on my onboard...  The 380 Pro is what was harder to drive hence I sent it back to Amazon.  I now will have an amplifier capable of driving anything on the market.  I'm considering the HD 600s for my next headphone.

The HD600 is a very nice headphone but I think the AKG K7xx just edges it out. They are extremely similar though so they actually might sound the same to you. 

[Techotic]

I now will have an amplifier capable of driving anything on the market.  I'm considering the HD 600s for my next headphone.

 

I'm just saying the Monoprice Amp/DAC would of done the exactly the same thing, but at a much reduced cost.  I have both the 02/ODAC and Mono and can't tell the difference, at least with my ears.