will getting a more powerful amp+dac combo make my headphones louder?

[NAMAJAFF]

my phililps x2hr is a tiny bit too quite for me and i want to invest in a more amp+dac combo, will that help my problem?

 

i know that the dac will not affect the volume but i cant get a standalone amp+ standalone dac due to my set up.

 

also ive been looking at the FiiO E10K, what do you think about it?

[OhYou_]

yes

[DrMacintosh]

The dac is responsible for converting your audio to analog sound. This increases your "audio quality."

The amp is your amplifier, responsible for the volume of your analog sound. If you're happy with your dac, all you need is an external amp. A dac+amp will make your music louder assuming the amp part is powerful enough.

[johnt]

The x2hr is not very hard to drive... so definitely an amplifier will help with volume. I use a Schiit stack (Modi+Magni) to drive my x2hr and DT700-250ohm. No complaints driving either one. I also use a Schiit Fulla and that is also a worthy device (simpler too.. single component, one USB wire).

 

What device/motherboard are you currently using to drive your headphones now?

 

Edit: Yup the FiiO E10K should work just fine.

[cmndr]

DAC won't do a thing unless you need a specific feature it offers (e.g. parametric EQ). DACs have been a solved problem (read: can be done very well, fairly cheaply) for years. 

Amps can help a fair bit if you have hard to drive headphones. 

 

For what it's worth the Fiio E10 (non-K) is just barely good enough to drive my HD800 headphones (among the hardest to drive out there). I'm currently using it to apply a bass boost to the signal before feeding my Schiit Vali amp. If I had it to do over again, I'd probably just get a Schiit Magni (at this point I'm convinced solid state is generally the way to go) and skip the Fiio E10 outright. 

[rice guru]

7 hours ago, NAMAJAFF said:

my phililps x2hr is a tiny bit too quite for me and i want to invest in a more amp+dac combo, will that help my problem?

 

i know that the dac will not affect the volume but i cant get a standalone amp+ standalone dac due to my set up.

 

also ive been looking at the FiiO E10K, what do you think about it?

Fiio e10k is pretty trash sounds just ok very clinical for the price, it's also just breaks after years of use.  plenty of better more powerful stuff and even smaller stuff has come out since it's release. For the same price better performance same power though the toppi dx1 exists has a way better dac and overall just a better sounding unit. Or spend more money and get a schiit stack..

[cmndr]

7 hours ago, rice guru said:

Fiio e10k is pretty trash sounds just ok very clinical for the price, it's also just breaks after years of use.  plenty of better more powerful stuff and even smaller stuff has come out since it's release. For the same price better performance same power though the toppi dx1 exists has a way better dac and overall just a better sounding unit. Or spend more money and get a schiit stack..

I can't speak to the e10k but the e10 I have has been going for around a decade without any huge issues. It's been fine for the relatively easy to drive headphones that I have and it's beaten out my laptops by an audible margin at driving HD800 headphones. 

[rice guru]

1 hour ago, cmndr said:

I can't speak to the e10k but the e10 I have has been going for around a decade without any huge issues. It's been fine for the relatively easy to drive headphones that I have. 

E10k's popularity for a long time I've been able to observe how many go bad over time and on a personal level many audio enthusiasts around me has had their break leading to upgrades let along those I know online. Often starting with sudden distortion or crackling on the pot. I generally discourage people for getting as for the performance it's rather over priced as even $20 dongles out perform it. 

[johnt]

1 hour ago, rice guru said:

Often starting with sudden distortion or crackling on the pot.

This happened to me with the Schiit stack... it's definitely not immune to the cheapness problems. I decided to set my Magni at a high level and adjust the volume with my keyboard knob or Stream Deck. I still think it's a good product, but a 2 in 1 is better all around for desk use in my opinion. I hate the web of wires and the silly RCA cables between the devices on my desk.

 

I'm surprised at how more reliable and consistent the Fulla has been to be honest. I wouldn't overlook it for the x2hr... it's more than enough.

[rice guru]

8 hours ago, johnt said:

This happened to me with the Schiit stack... it's definitely not immune to the cheapness problems. I decided to set my Magni at a high level and adjust the volume with my keyboard knob or Stream Deck. I still think it's a good product, but a 2 in 1 is better all around for desk use in my opinion. I hate the web of wires and the silly RCA cables between the devices on my desk.

 

I'm surprised at how more reliable and consistent the Fulla has been to be honest. I wouldn't overlook it for the x2hr... it's more than enough.

it happened to me oto on my liquid spark but all I did was just clean the pot by taking it apart.not amp with the knob is really immune to this problem.It's just a matter of how easy is it to fix with bigger amps they are gernally easy to take apart and fix. I dont really mid wires as I just take care to wire manage stuff. I prefer different untis as I tend to mix and match gear a lot. I also am admittedly very much an enthusiast and hobbyist. I would look into cleaning up the pot on your magni though it is fairly easy to do. the current redition fulla is honestly great if it was more available aroudn the world I would just be recommending it for most people everywhere.

[cmndr]

Would you mind linking to any sources on e10 reliability? I'm not disbelieving you, I'm mostly just curious. I would have thought that something like this (solid state based DAC/Amp combo) would basically just keep going for decades. It's the type of thing that's hard to mess up. 

[rice guru]

5 hours ago, cmndr said:

Would you mind linking to any sources on e10 reliability? I'm not disbelieving you, I'm mostly just curious. I would have thought that something like this (solid state based DAC/Amp combo) would basically just keep going for decades. It's the type of thing that's hard to mess up. 

It's honestly mostly anecdotal cause I've had several friends including myself break theirs and we don't abuse our gear. There is a decent amount of results that show up when you look it up. Again these days I just try to not reccomend not even because of my anecdotal reliability issues. I just don't think it s a good product anymore in the current audio market which has in recent years rapidly developed especially in the budget space. That makes the fiio e10k obsolete in its current price point. Even without my claimed durability problems it doesn't change the fact that it's just not a good product anymore and gets outperformed by cheaper gear. 

[NAMAJAFF]

On 5/9/2023 at 3:40 AM, rice guru said:

Fiio e10k is pretty trash sounds just ok very clinical for the price, it's also just breaks after years of use.  plenty of better more powerful stuff and even smaller stuff has come out since it's release. For the same price better performance same power though the toppi dx1 exists has a way better dac and overall just a better sounding unit. Or spend more money and get a schiit stack..

both the toppi and the schiit are triple the price of the fiio. im not an audiophile by any means i just want my headphones to be louder. any strong amps youd recommend for not too much money? the fiio e10k and the Fosi Audio Q4 Headphone Amplifier are very close in price. there is the FiiO K3 for a bit more. what do you think?

[rice guru]

1 hour ago, NAMAJAFF said:

both the toppi and the schiit are triple the price of the fiio. im not an audiophile by any means i just want my headphones to be louder. any strong amps youd recommend for not too much money? the fiio e10k and the Fosi Audio Q4 Headphone Amplifier are very close in price. there is the FiiO K3 for a bit more. what do you think?

For you application of the k3 since you will be using the unbalanced out on the unit it will be even weaker than the e10k. Just to make sure what I reccomended was the topping dx1 which should be cheaper if not the same price as  the fiio e10k in most places. Thes is the zen air dac which should be the same price as the k3. If your in the US this is an excellent budget option right now cause it's on sale https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=33304. You can buy a 3.5mm to RCA cable to use this with your mother board very powerful amp certainly more than you need. 

[NAMAJAFF]

On 5/11/2023 at 2:35 AM, rice guru said:

For you application of the k3 since you will be using the unbalanced out on the unit it will be even weaker than the e10k. Just to make sure what I reccomended was the topping dx1 which should be cheaper if not the same price as  the fiio e10k in most places. Thes is the zen air dac which should be the same price as the k3. If your in the US this is an excellent budget option right now cause it's on sale https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=33304. You can buy a 3.5mm to RCA cable to use this with your mother board very powerful amp certainly more than you need. 

found the topping dx1 and its barely cheaper than the k5. do you recommend it over the e10k? the e10k is 92$ and the dx1 is 115$

 

i intend on it being my last dac+amp

 

the Creative Sound Blaster X4 is 186$. ive heard alot of good stuff about it but its expensive.

 

unfortunately the amp dac market is dry af in my country. here is a link of the amazon page if youre interested in browsing it.

[rice guru]

2 hours ago, NAMAJAFF said:

found the topping dx1 and its barely cheaper than the k5. do you recommend it over the e10k? the e10k is 92$ and the dx1 is 115$

 

i intend on it being my last dac+amp

 

the Creative Sound Blaster X4 is 186$. ive heard alot of good stuff about it but its expensive.

 

unfortunately the amp dac market is dry af in my country. here is a link of the amazon page if youre interested in browsing it.

At that point I would get a k5 you get substantially more amp. For the price. 

[NAMAJAFF]

8 hours ago, rice guru said:

At that point I would get a k5 you get substantially more amp. For the price. 

lol i guess so. i think ill get the e10k since it should be louder and its reasonably affordable.