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Considering diving in: amp vs. amp/DAC question

ishouldbeking

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(Apologies if this is a double-post; I borked the last one.)

Hi all. Long time reader, first time caller. I've been dabbling with headphones for years without taking the plunge into dedicated headphone amps or DACs, but as I start to consider more power hungry cans, I'm thinking it might be time to upgrade my source. I'm familiar with the various brands and options, but I'm trying to decide whether I should be considering a DAC as I prepare to jump in.

Here's a quick rundown of my current home office setup: I use a pair of 80 ohm Beyerdynamic DT770's out of the headphone jack of an Anker dock, which connects to my Lenovo Thinkpad yoga. The thinkpad's headphone jack is anemic, so I stick to the Anker's 3.5 mm jack, which is louder but still comes close to the limit when trying to power the Beyers. Additional considerations: I don't have much desk space, so an all-in-one is appealing. And ideally I'd like to use whatever gear I get as a springboard (and justification) for getting a nicer set of headphones. Maybe a Sennheiser 6xx to start, someday an Audeze LCD2 or open-back ZMF. (A man can dream.)

At the moment I'm considering one of two basic paths: (1) amp/DAC options like the Fiio K5 Pro (appealing all-in-one design and price point) or the newer Schiit Asgard 3 (with the optional DAC card, seems intriguing for $299) or (2) just getting a headphone amp, like a JDS Atom (sounds great on paper, despite the plastic build) or any of the other dozens of viable amp options.

Question time:
1. Given my setup and goals, should I even be considering a DAC at this point?
2. How would you be thinking about this upgrade process if you were in my shoes?
 
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ishouldbeking

ishouldbeking

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That is part of the plan, but the 770 and even my 58x (which I keep at work) can use up most of the usable volume from my dock's headphone jack. Figured it made sense to add some power to the equation and see how my existing cans perform.
 

Cahudson42

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Budget? $300 - $400?

HE400i - $199
JDS Atom $99
Apple dongle USB DAC $9 (into PC USB)

The DAC is likely almost never the weakest link. If you want to spend more, Topping D10 @ $90
 

M00ndancer

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I would start with a JDS Atom to cure the power issue, and ditch the Anker dock connecting the amp directly to the thinkpad. If you are worried about the quality (not power) of the sound you can get the Apple dongle. (USB-C)

See above ^
 

twsecrest

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That is part of the plan, but the 770 and even my 58x (which I keep at work) can use up most of the usable volume from my dock's headphone jack. Figured it made sense to add some power to the equation and see how my existing cans perform.
Topping DX3 Pro or Xduoo XD-05, both are DAC/amps.
 
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ishouldbeking

ishouldbeking

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This is all very helpful—thanks for all the responses. Even though I use the lightning dongle with my iPhone all the time, I hadn’t considered using the Apple USB-C dongle with my laptop.

Possibly dumb follow up question: if I don’t have a USB-C port on my thinkpad, is there any issue adding in a USB-A adapter into the mix and connecting the Apple dongle to that?
 

Cahudson42

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A usb-c female to usb-a male adapter should not cause a problem. I'm using one now to a Fire 7" micro-usb OTG cable that has a female usb-a on the other end, adapter, usb-c Apple dongle, Liquid Spark. The Apple has low output on Android, but the output is easily adjusted in Windows.

And with the$$ saved on a DAC, you might be able to try some open back phones to see if you like them..I use the 101db SHP9500 into a Trek K88 tablet 3.5mm when walking around, and the less efficient HE400i with the dongle/LS fixed setup..
 
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ishouldbeking

ishouldbeking

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A usb-c female to usb-a male adapter should not cause a problem. I'm using one now to a Fire 7" micro-usb OTG cable that has a female usb-a on the other end, adapter, usb-c Apple dongle, Liquid Spark. The Apple has low output on Android, but the output is easily adjusted in Windows.

And with the$$ saved on a DAC, you might be able to try some open back phones to see if you like them..I use the 101db SHP9500 into a Trek K88 tablet 3.5mm when walking around, and the less efficient HE400i with the dongle/LS fixed setup..

Much appreciated. I do love my open-back Sennheiser 58x, which is what I use at work--definitely curious to try some more!
 
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ishouldbeking

ishouldbeking

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I wanted to circle back and provide a quick update, as this thread was very helpful in my quest:

I wound up getting a JDS Labs Atom for the home office, which I now run through an Apple USB-C dongle (with a random USB adapter to connect to the standard USB port on my thinkpad). About a month later, I also jumped on a black friday deal and picked up a Sennheiser 6xx for an absurd price, and I couldn't be happier. The Atom easily powers my DT 770 80 ohm cans, and there was a noticeable difference in the low end response once I increased the available power. The dongle sounds noticeably less congested than running straight out of the thinkpad's headphone jack; not a huge difference from the docking station's output, but that's fine. The 6xx sounds as great as I had been led to believe.

I am still curious whether there would be any noticeable benefit to having a dedicated non-dongle DAC, but I suspect the difference would be pretty minimal if anything (perhaps slightly higher output from a dedicated standalone DAC, but power isn't really an issue now that I have the Atom anyway).

Thanks again for the recommendations.
 
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