Do I need a DAC&Amp for my HD 599?

[Ilan Yakov]

Hi,

 

I have recently bought the Sennheiser HD 599 and I am very pleased with the sound quality.

I connect it directly to my mobo Asus ROG Z270E.

I am also using the headphones with my turntable via the mobo's LINE IN and it works great.

 

My question is if I should get a DAC / Amp (or both) at all? considering I am listening to records as well. Would that make a big difference or a noticeable difference at all in this case?

If I should get one, what is your recommendation? Thanks.

[Ilan Yakov]

1 hour ago, huilun02 said:

I'm no audio specialist but I don't have to be one to see that the HD599 doesn't have high impedance (only 50Ω) and your motherboard has onboard headphone amps. Will a discrete sound card or dac/amp improve listening? That I don't know. Ear canal can be of different shape and different people have different sensitivity/preference of certain frequencies. So while some expensive gear might be regarded as an improvement in general, it could turn out to be really bad for you.

That's what I think. And I don't hear any static noise because of using the mobo (I read online that this could be a problem sometimes).

Thanks for your response. Hope some more people will share their thoughts.

[GamerDude]

Honestly, you would yield a better return on your investment with a better headphone (like the HD6XX), the HD599 would hardly scale (if at all) with better gear or hardware in your audio chain. Some headphones, like the HD6XX, scale better with better hardware, like good DAC stack/combo. Save up for better headphone and stick with your onboard audio for the time being.

[Ilan Yakov]

6 hours ago, GamerDude said:

Honestly, you would yield a better return on your investment with a better headphone (like the HD6XX), the HD599 would hardly scale (if at all) with better gear or hardware in your audio chain. Some headphones, like the HD6XX, scale better with better hardware, like good DAC stack/combo. Save up for better headphone and stick with your onboard audio for the time being.

 

Thanks for the answer!

 

Could you recommend the best Headphone AMP & DAC I can get for this future setup?

[oh,hi there]

no,like only the hd 6 series and on.most of the hd 5series have only 50 ohems

[Ilan Yakov]

5 minutes ago, oh,hi there said:

no,like only the hd 6 series and on.most of the hd 5series have only 50 ohems

I see.

Do you think getting HD 6XX would provide a much nicer sound or not a big difference? I have bought the 599 very recently...

If you think I should get the 6XX, which DAC&Headphone AMP should I get for it?

[oh,hi there]

id say yes,but everyone has a diffent sweet spot on inpendence.also what budget amp you have

[Ilan Yakov]

1 minute ago, oh,hi there said:

id say yes,but everyone has a diffent sweet spot on inpendence.also what budget amp you have

Considering I buy a pair of 6XX, less than 150$ for the amp

[oh,hi there]

im not a big nerd in amps,but i would say this https://www.massdrop.com/buy/massdrop-x-alex-cavalli-cth-tube-hybrid-amp but the drop is not active

[GamerDude]

7 hours ago, Ilan Yakov said:

Thanks for the answer!

 

Could you recommend the best Headphone AMP & DAC I can get for this future setup?

That's a rather limited budget, perhaps a Schiit Fulla 2 for the HD6XX then. I'd suggest you don't go half measure (a mistake that cost me a fair bit when I first started on my audio journey). If it were possible, try to audition the headphones and DAC stack/combo that are of interest to you before buying. Sure, you can't audition the HD6XX (unless you have a friend who has one......now, the hard part, getting him to lend it to you for a few days  ), you can audition the HD650 which the HD6XX was made to sound like.

 

For my DAC stack/combos, I'd gotten an Oppo HA-1 and iFi Micro iDSD Black Label (these are combos.....both DAC and amp built into one unit) and a Gustard X12 (DAC only) + H10 (amp only) stack and I can basically power any dynamic/planar magnetic headphone in the market with relative ease. Before these, I'd tried a number of lower end gear and basically found them wanting. As I'm typing this message, I am listening to some music on Spotify Premium (not the best in terms of audio, but great selection of all sorts of music) on my HD6XX + HA-1 and it's a great experience. Been alternating between my HD6XX and my recently acquired ENIGMAcoustics Dharma D1000 and I'm leaning towards the latter (but it's in a totally different price bracket). I'm not suggesting you go balls out and snag high end gear, just be a little smarter than I was when I'd first started out, that's all I'm saying.

 

Go on the net and do some research, look at reviews from good audio sites on gears that you're considering (Z is definitely NOT it, but many seem to like his expletive filled reviews). IF you find anything of interest and within your price range, post back here so some of the excellent audio gurus here can advise you (BTW, ain't one of the gurus here, I tinker, I dabble, but that's about the size of it, Bubba).