DAC question

[Kuarinofu]

I've received used Sennheiser HD600 as a gift but my onboard audio (PC) clearly seems unfit to handle these. They sound ok but it feels like there is never enough loudness.

I figured this was happening due to them having high impedance (300). I checked here and there around the internet for a good and very budget option drive these so I bought Topping MX3 DAC.

I connected them through USB and listening to music works great, I know that this DAC is a cheap option (and there is more room for improvement with HD600) but I'm satisfied and I don't really need more.

 

The issue is that I can't really use it for anything else besides music.

YouTube videos play well but seeking always results in audio pausing for a couple of seconds and the DAC constantly clicking. VLC H264 *.mkv's audio lags hard and is unwatchable, playing with the settings doesn't help much. Audio in games just never works as it should, resulting in constant audio cut-outs (pauses) and short sounds don't even play.

 

So here's the question: is this the intended way of this DAC to work? I mean, I get that it was designed for music and sort of constant audio flow, but is there really nothing that can be done to be able to use it as an external audio device just to drive my HD600? Like to eliminate audio cuts and pauses? Or it just can't work this way?

 

I used to have ASUS Xonar Essence STU like 4 years ago and I never had such issues. I know it was much more expensive though.

I tried to contact the guys I bought this DAC from and besides sending me a couple of drivers (none of which seemed fit for my DAC) they were not really that helpful.

[Cyberspirit]

I'm no expert in audio but, sounds like either your DAC is broken or just isn't powerful enough.

I have an fx audio dac-x6 which is a cheap little amp/dac and it has no issues with driving my DT 770 Pros which are 250ohms.

[Derkoli]

2 hours ago, Cyberspirit said:

I'm no expert in audio but, sounds like either your DAC is broken or just isn't powerful enough.

I have an fx audio dac-x6 which is a cheap little amp/dac and it has no issues with driving my DT 770 Pros which are 250ohms.

Unfortunatley impedance isnt really a tell tale sign of how hard a headphone is to drive, such as i had 6 ohm speakers which were harder to drive then 8 ohm ones, as the 8 ohm ones were much more efficient, something like 5 Db/w/m more efficient.

[Derkoli]

2 hours ago, Kuarinofu said:

I've received used Sennheiser HD600 as a gift but my onboard audio (PC) clearly seems unfit to handle these. They sound ok but it feels like there is never enough loudness.

I figured this was happening due to them having high impedance (300). I checked here and there around the internet for a good and very budget option drive these so I bought Topping MX3 DAC.

I connected them through USB and listening to music works great, I know that this DAC is a cheap option (and there is more room for improvement with HD600) but I'm satisfied and I don't really need more.

 

The issue is that I can't really use it for anything else besides music.

YouTube videos play well but seeking always results in audio pausing for a couple of seconds and the DAC constantly clicking. VLC H264 *.mkv's audio lags hard and is unwatchable, playing with the settings doesn't help much. Audio in games just never works as it should, resulting in constant audio cut-outs (pauses) and short sounds don't even play.

 

So here's the question: is this the intended way of this DAC to work? I mean, I get that it was designed for music and sort of constant audio flow, but is there really nothing that can be done to be able to use it as an external audio device just to drive my HD600? Like to eliminate audio cuts and pauses? Or it just can't work this way?

 

I used to have ASUS Xonar Essence STU like 4 years ago and I never had such issues. I know it was much more expensive though.

I tried to contact the guys I bought this DAC from and besides sending me a couple of drivers (none of which seemed fit for my DAC) they were not really that helpful.

I would have a look at the user manual it came with, there could be a website on there to check out.

[Kuarinofu]

31 minutes ago, Derkoli said:

I would have a look at the user manual it came with, there could be a website on there to check out.

This would've been the first thing I'd do, but the manual in the box was minimal and only available in Chinese (and on the website), and there are no driver or firmware updates on the site. There's just no FM to RT.

[Derkoli]

1 minute ago, Kuarinofu said:

This would've been the first thing I'd do, but the manual in the box was minimal and only available in Chinese (and on the website), and there are no driver or firmware updates on the site. There's just no FM to RT.

Odd. do you have any other headphones to try with the dac? wonder if the impedance is throwing it off. also try to turn the dac to full volume then the source audio down to give the dac more dynamic headroom

[Kuarinofu]

12 minutes ago, Derkoli said:

Odd. do you have any other headphones to try with the dac? wonder if the impedance is throwing it off. also try to turn the dac to full volume then the source audio down to give the dac more dynamic headroom

I do, will try that, thanks!

[Derkoli]

1 minute ago, Kuarinofu said:

I do, will try that, thanks!

If it is that you'll need a seperate amp that is rated to drive 300 ohm headphones, but its odd that dac doesnt have line out, so you'd have to convert the front jack to dual RCA's to interface with the new amp if you do have to buy one.

[Kuarinofu]

4 hours ago, Derkoli said:

If it is that you'll need a seperate amp that is rated to drive 300 ohm headphones, but its odd that dac doesnt have line out, so you'd have to convert the front jack to dual RCA's to interface with the new amp if you do have to buy one.

I tested it with my Edifier H880 (24 ohms) and the results were different, but not for long. Audio cuts were almost unnoticeable (very short), VLC worked just fine, but when I launched a game to test audio (Diablo III) these headphones started doing lots of crackling sounds (which were really scary, I was afraid it would hurt my headphones) but still worked. Then I launched Heroes of the Storm and in around 2-3 minutes audio started to cut again before going completely silent. Then I tried to run a video from YouTube and a track with AIMP but got an error message that the audio device was busy and the sound was gone until I restarted.

 

-

 

I followed some steps on DAC troubleshooting I found on Reddit, and it seems like this issue is almost gone. I might have to test this for some time anyway because I'm not sure what did it. I disabled all audio devices except the MX3, ran it through USB 2.0 (why did I plug it into 3.0 in the first place is beyond me), and adjusted Windows power saving settings not to power off USB temporarily. This is so weird.

Edited June 1, 2019 by Kuarinofu
update

[Derkoli]

2 hours ago, Kuarinofu said:

I tested it with my Edifier H880 (24 ohms) and the results were different, but not for long. Audio cuts were almost unnoticeable (very short), VLC worked just fine, but when I launched a game to test audio (Diablo III) these headphones started doing lots of crackling sounds (which were really scary, I was afraid it would hurt my headphones) but still worked. Then I launched Heroes of the Storm and in around 2-3 minutes audio started to cut again before going completely silent. Then I tried to run a video from YouTube and a track with AIMP but got an error message that the audio device was busy and the sound was gone until I restarted.

 

-

 

I followed some steps on DAC troubleshooting I found on Reddit, and it seems like this issue is almost gone. I might have to test this for some time anyway because I'm not sure what did it. I disabled all audio devices except the MX3, ran it through USB 2.0 (why did I plug it into 3.0 in the first place is beyond me), and adjusted Windows power saving settings not to power off USB temporarily. This is so weird.

This is extremely weird.. I run my DAC through usb aswell and get no issues which makes this even weirder.. im wondering if the dac is screwed at this point..

[Cyberspirit]

@Kuarinofu Are you using Dolby Atmos or anything like that? I've had issues with spatial sound apps when my audio format was set to above the lowest.

 

Spoiler

 

 

[Kuarinofu]

2 hours ago, Derkoli said:

This is extremely weird.. I run my DAC through usb aswell and get no issues which makes this even weirder.. im wondering if the dac is screwed at this point..

I hope it's fine.

17 minutes ago, Cyberspirit said:

@Kuarinofu Are you using Dolby Atmos or anything like that? I've had issues with spatial sound apps when my audio format was set to above the lowest.

 

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No, no additional stuff. It's fine now anyway, hopefully.