What dac/amp

[Janettebot]

Hello, I am planning on getting a pair of akg k712 pros and I am looking for a dac/amp because my computer has recently started having NBC g noisy headphone output I.e. hiss and buzz. And I am looking at getting either a cyrus soundkey or audirect beam 2SE. Which would compliment the k712s better and drive them well ? Thanks in advance.

[starry]

I hate to be that person to just link this, but its really helpful:

 

 

[rice guru]

2 hours ago, Janettebot said:

Hello, I am planning on getting a pair of akg k712 pros and I am looking for a dac/amp because my computer has recently started having NBC g noisy headphone output I.e. hiss and buzz. And I am looking at getting either a cyrus soundkey or audirect beam 2SE. Which would compliment the k712s better and drive them well ? Thanks in advance.

fpr that price range I would get a ifi hip dac or if power is a concern the fiio k5 pro for not that much more money is a much better amp and decent DAC

[H713]

Those AKG headphones are a pretty easy load for a headphone amp. They're reasonably sensitive and about 60 ohms (obviously that is a nominal value that will change with frequency). 

 

I had a Fiio K5 Pro on my bench a while back, and my measurements pretty much matched the ones over at ASR (as much as it pains me to give credit to Amir, his measurements of electronics tend to be accurate). It's a little high, but probably not going to be too audible. That said, from an academic standpoint it pains me to see a mundane solid-state headphone amp with higher THD+N than many large power amplifiers (assuming both are operating at optimal power levels, since the higher gain of power amps usually results in more noise).

 

I would avoid both the Cyrus Soundkey and the  Audirect Beam 2SE. This isn't about measurements (didn't even get to looking at those), it's the lack of an analog volume control. PC volume control is annoying at best, and it's not a great solution because you only utilize the full dynamic range of the DAC when PC volume control is turned all the way up. The bigger issue, however, is the inconvenience- a pot or a fader feels far, far more natural to use than anything in software, at least in my opinion. 

 

What's your budget for this thing? 

[Janettebot]

5 hours ago, H713 said:

Those AKG headphones are a pretty easy load for a headphone amp. They're reasonably sensitive and about 60 ohms (obviously that is a nominal value that will change with frequency). 

 

I had a Fiio K5 Pro on my bench a while back, and my measurements pretty much matched the ones over at ASR (as much as it pains me to give credit to Amir, his measurements of electronics tend to be accurate). It's a little high, but probably not going to be too audible. That said, from an academic standpoint it pains me to see a mundane solid-state headphone amp with higher THD+N than many large power amplifiers (assuming both are operating at optimal power levels, since the higher gain of power amps usually results in more noise).

 

I would avoid both the Cyrus Soundkey and the  Audirect Beam 2SE. This isn't about measurements (didn't even get to looking at those), it's the lack of an analog volume control. PC volume control is annoying at best, and it's not a great solution because you only utilize the full dynamic range of the DAC when PC volume control is turned all the way up. The bigger issue, however, is the inconvenience- a pot or a fader feels far, far more natural to use than anything in software, at least in my opinion. 

 

What's your budget for this thing? 

After the k712s I have £70 for a dac/amp, I've managed to find the soundblaster g3 and I'm looking into that for £50. Is that any good?

[The Torrent]

On 2/21/2021 at 12:23 PM, Janettebot said:

After the k712s I have £70 for a dac/amp, I've managed to find the soundblaster g3 and I'm looking into that for £50. Is that any good?

i would just buy an apple dongle for 10 quid and a usb to usb c adapter if ur pc doesn't have usb c my bet itll sound better than the soundblaster.

[rice guru]

36 minutes ago, The Torrent said:

i would just buy an apple dongle for 10 quid and a usb to usb c adapter if ur pc doesn't have usb c my bet itll sound better than the soundblaster.

the samsung dobngle is a little better for $4 more, and sound blaster products generally aren't too bad