audiophile virgin needs some advice

[SweatyWhiteJedi]

Ok so I needed some new earbuds so I decided to go with the Linus recommendation of the Sennheiser IE80. These are great and I have really enjoyed them on my phone and connected to my PC. I have considered getting a DAC or AMP for my PC which has optical audio and standard sound ports as well but my budget is only $50-100.  Are there any in that price range that are actually worth it and should it be a DAC or AMP? I love the look of the tubes on some of the ones I've looked at but I honestly don't know if I should even bother since I don't know anything about them. 

[STRMfrmXMN]

Ok so I needed some new earbuds so I decided to go with the Linus recommendation of the Sennheiser IE80. These are great and I have really enjoyed them on my phone and connected to my PC. I have considered getting a DAC or AMP for my PC which has optical audio and standard sound ports as well but my budget is only $50-100.  Are there any in that price range that are actually worth it and should it be a DAC or AMP? I love the look of the tubes on some of the ones I've looked at but I honestly don't know if I should even bother since I don't know anything about them. 

Is this for mobile use or for PC use? Earbuds are not really the sort of thing you buy an amp for as they're easy to power.

[SSL]

No, no, and no.

[KaminKevCrew]

For IE80s, you won't notice anything, other than the fact that you may very well blow out your ears, or the drivers. There's no point.

[nicon]

Ok so I needed some new earbuds so I decided to go with the Linus recommendation of the Sennheiser IE80. These are great and I have really enjoyed them on my phone and connected to my PC. I have considered getting a DAC or AMP for my PC which has optical audio and standard sound ports as well but my budget is only $50-100.  Are there any in that price range that are actually worth it and should it be a DAC or AMP? I love the look of the tubes on some of the ones I've looked at but I honestly don't know if I should even bother since I don't know anything about them. 

You don't need an amp for monitors. What computer/motherboard are you using. That'll let me know if you'll benefit from a DAC. A good dac (portable) would be the FiiO EO7K or (desktop) E10 Olympus (2).

[h264]

>audiophile virgin

 

Don't do it! It's a trap!

 

[KaminKevCrew]

You don't need an amp for monitors. What computer/motherboard are you using. That'll let me know if you'll benefit from a DAC. A good dac (portable) would be the FiiO EO7K or (desktop) E10 Olympus (2).

No. A dac wouldn't help at all, since dacs only output line out level volume. Also, op doesn't need one in the first place since they don't have any issues with audio right now.

[SSL]

You don't need an amp for monitors. What computer/motherboard are you using. That'll let me know if you'll benefit from a DAC. A good dac (portable) would be the FiiO EO7K or (desktop) E10 Olympus (2).

 

Please go and learn what the difference between an amp and DAC is.

[nicon]

Please go and learn what the difference between an amp and DAC is.

 

No. A dac wouldn't help at all, since dacs only output line out level volume. Also, op doesn't need one in the first place since they don't have any issues with audio right now.

I know. Those are amp+dac combos. I know what a dac does. They were just suggestions IF they wanted to buy one.

[KaminKevCrew]

I know. Those are amp+dac combos. I know what a dac does. They were just suggestions IF they wanted to buy one.

You called them dacs, and that is not what they are. This still doesn't change the fact that the op wouldn't benefit from one in the first place. Not to mention. The gain in the fiio is probably pretty high for a pair of in ears.

[nicon]

You called them dacs, and that is not what they are. This still doesn't change the fact that the op wouldn't benefit from one in the first place. Not to mention. The gain in the fiio is probably pretty high for a pair of in ears.

True. Depends on what computer he is using though. If he is using a cheap laptop, then he probably would benefit from a DAC/amp combo, the sound card on the laptop won't be as good as the DAC in a combo unit. Also, you can adjust gain on the Fiio, and on gain level 6, the standard volume is pretty quiet on my "easy to drive" Momentums, so he'd be fine. 

 

The sound card on his pc will prob. be good enough for 99% of users, so i'd save the $80 and not get one. @SweatyWhiteJedi

[patrick3027]

Please go and learn what the difference between an amp and DAC is.

Both are useless though IMHO.

[KaminKevCrew]

Both are useless though IMHO.

Without either, headphones wouldn't work. Nor would any digital audio.

[spwath]

Without either, headphones wouldn't work. Nor would any digital audio.

And even if you take his intended meaning, they are not useless.

If you have a hard to drive headphones and onboard can not get it to loud enough levels, amps are useful. And if your onboard is garbage, DACs are useful. And if you have a DAC, an amp is needed (other than those power DAC things or whatever)

[KaminKevCrew]

And even if you take his intended meaning, they are not useless.

If you have a hard to drive headphones and onboard can not get it to loud enough levels, amps are useful. And if your onboard is garbage, DACs are useful. And if you have a DAC, an amp is needed (other than those power DAC things or whatever)

You mean a pre amp? They still need headphone amps.

[spwath]

You mean a pre amp? They still need headphone amps.

No, some other thing people were talking about in some other thread. It was like a month ago.

[KaminKevCrew]

No, some other thing people were talking about in some other thread. It was like a month ago.

Huh.

[SSL]

Both are useless though IMHO.

 

Do elaborate.

[patrick3027]

Do elaborate.

Step 1: buy a decent pair of headphones

Step 2: enjoy

I can't hear the difference between a pair of headphones playing directly from a PC and a pair of headphones used with a DAC. I know the theory behind DACs (the inbuilt DAC of your PC is crap and you need an external one to get the 'best' sound quality). I myself don't hear the difference and think the $100 or $200 you're gonna spend on a DAC are much better spent on a better pair of headphones.

EDIT: and on the amps, I've never considered a pair of headphones with an impedance that big that I needed an amp. The pair I own with the biggest impedance is the Audio-Technica M50s and they don't need an amp when hooking them up on an external DAC.

[KaminKevCrew]

Step 1: buy a decent pair of headphones

Step 2: enjoy

I can't hear the difference between a pair of headphones playing directly from a PC and a pair of headphones used with a DAC. I know the theory behind DACs (the inbuilt DAC of your PC is crap and you need an external one to get the 'best' sound quality). I myself don't hear the difference and think the $100 or $200 you're gonna spend on a DAC are much better spent on a better pair of headphones.

EDIT: and on the amps, I've never considered a pair of headphones with an impedance that big that I needed an amp. The pair I own with the biggest impedance is the Audio-Technica M50s and they don't need an amp when hooking them up on an external DAC.

First off, m50x should be an $80 headphone. Also, all dacs that you can plug headphones into have an amp. Don't be daft. Thirdly, Impedance has nothing to do with how hard a headphone is to drive.

[patrick3027]

First off, m50x should be an $80 headphone. Also, all dacs that you can plug headphones into have an amp. Don't be daft. Thirdly, Impedance has nothing to do with how hard a headphone is to drive.

1. That's personal taste, I think the M50s are AMAZING for the price and are much better than other headphones in the same price-range (the Sennheiser Momenum On-Ear hurt like hell and have basically the same sound as the Beats Solo2 for example)

2. So? My point is you don't need to spend money on an extra amp.

3. I'm learning something here, mind to explain?

[KaminKevCrew]

1. That's personal taste, I think the M50s are AMAZING for the price and are much better than other headphones in the same price-range (the Sennheiser Momenum On-Ear hurt like hell and have basically the same sound as the Beats Solo2 for example)

2. So? My point is you don't need to spend money on an extra amp.

3. I'm learning something here, mind to explain?

Yeah, I'll explain, however, I do have to say that the other two headphones you mentioned are not regarded as good for the price either.

Sensitivity is what determines whether or not a headphone is hard to drive. Impedance doesn't actually mean much. Impedance is mainly important for pairing with the output Impedance of you source. You want, at the very least, am 8:1 headphone Impedance to source output Impedance ratio, otherwise the damping factor is going to change the frequency response of your headphones. Does that cover it? If you have any more questions about it, I would point you to a thread called "the Impedance ballad" here on ltt. (I'm on mobile, so I can't link it directly...)

[SSL]

1. That's personal taste, I think the M50s are AMAZING for the price and are much better than other headphones in the same price-range (the Sennheiser Momenum On-Ear hurt like hell and have basically the same sound as the Beats Solo2 for example)

2. So? My point is you don't need to spend money on an extra amp.

3. I'm learning something here, mind to explain?

 

All other nonsense aside, the M50 is stupidly easy to drive. Try a planar or an AKG headphone and you'll find that things may be a little less cut and dried.

[xtroria]

All other nonsense aside, the M50 is stupidly easy to drive. Try a planar or an AKG headphone and you'll find that things may be a little less cut and dried.

 

YOU MEAN HE-6??? Aside being a headphone you could drive with a speaker amp, it sounds amazing

[SSL]

YOU MEAN HE-6??? Aside being a headphone you could drive with a speaker amp, it sounds amazing

 

gg my hype experience.