Need help before pulling the trigger on my first dac/amp and headphone

[RedPanda42]

To give some context I have never been into audio before mostly because I didn't have a setup that could take advantage of it. I do now but don't have the knowledge yet to feel like I can make a good decision. I've been pouring over guides and have read hundreds of pages of reviews on this site and elsewhere but it's still not enough to make me confident in my choices. I have some special circumstances that make my options limited. I don't sit at a desk like most people but in a recliner about 5 feet away. Therefore any dac/amp that doesn't have a remote control is disqualified. Sadly from what research I have done that eliminates 99% of all options. There really is no workaround for this, I don't want to do some janky setup where I string a super long power cord and then I have a cord from the headphone draping over me sideways.

As far as my headphone choice I also have limited options because my head is much larger than average, most hats don't fit me and almost all "gamer" headsets don't either. Most of the time the earcups end halfway down my ear which is painful. Because of that I have narrowed down my choice to some Sennheiser (which I had one a long time in the past and know they fit me) or a new one I hadn't heard of before doing this research being the Hifiman Edition XS. I saw a lot of reviews saying the Hifiman was some incredible headphone that blew away the competition for it's price and I was just about to get it when I started seeing all the complaints that they break easily and have lots of qc issues. I have a bit of money but not enough to be able to easily replace expensive equipment all the time. I really want things I can count on for a good number of years. Still just to see if I can get other options to fit on my head I was planning on ordering a couple of Sennheisers (HD 550 and 600) and the Hifiman to see which, if any of them felt good on my head. Before getting any of them I was leaning towards the 550 as my main choice but don't want to commit until I get a chance to try all of them and figure out the dac/amp situation.

I have found these candidates for dac/amp but I can't figure out which one would actually best suit my current and future needs.

Nobsound Q4 USB Audio Gaming Dac: https://a.co/d/39f2aUD This one is the cheapest, but from researching the mentioned headphones I think it can only partially run the 550 and neither of the other two very well. I liked it because it seemed like a good way to dip my toe in without committing a lot of money before I know what I am really doing or what I need. But buying disposable junk that I would just have to upgrade later also doesn't appeal to me.

S.M.S.L DL200: https://a.co/d/5Rkh0IH This one and the next seem like a good step up and probably the best middle ground choice. I read through a big review on this site about it. But it seemed like there were some small complaints about it and it is also quite large which isn't a deal breaker but also not a positive.

Fosi Audio ZH3: https://a.co/d/1D9p3uT I found out about this one while researching the previous and it seemed like a better deal all around. Had less complaints while still being in the same price range and from what I can tell should be able to fully power any of the headphones I mentioned.

Topping DX5 II: https://a.co/d/bxkVEkv Finally this one looks like a large improvement over the others, I like the idea of being able to buy one and never having to think about it again for the rest of my life. But I just don't know if it's worth it or if I am paying for a bunch of stuff I will never use.

Doing some light research I have found conflicting information on how long dac/amp's can be expected to last. Some say they can break in just a couple of years but I found others saying they can basically last a lifetime. For something like that Topping I don't mind spending a bit extra if it means I'll have something that will last me a decade or two. Is that actually possible? Is it likely? How long does this kind of technology actually last? What about the screens on them, wouldn't they break sooner and then you are forced to replace them even if it still technically works? If they can't be expected to last that long it's pushing my choice down to the cheaper options.

For some final context I don't see myself ever being willing to spend more than 500-600 dollars max on a headphone. Maybe I could be convinced in the future but right now I am trying to keep my total budget for the headphone and dac/amp near or below that number. All that being said I would really appreciate any advice on my situation, maybe there is something I have overlooked.

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[DVDdoug]

I won't attempt a specific recommendation...

I guess you don't have a local audio/video store where you can listen and check comfort?

Almost of the "sound quality" comes from the headphone's frequency response. See The Harman Curve. All of the reviews here show the frequency response compared to the Harman Curve.

Also see Understanding Headphone Measurements (video).

It's helpful if you have (or have assess to) a headphone that closely matches the Harman Curve, or that can be equalized to closely-match. Then you'll have an idea about how YOUR personal preference compares to the Harman standard.

The DAC & headphone amp aren't usually critical as long as you have enough output voltage/power to go as loud as you want without distortion. Often the headphone output on your computer or phone is adequate (but you won't get remote control). I don't know about the Hifiman Edition XS, but some planar headphones have low sensitivity and need a higher-output headphone amp to go "loud"

Doing some light research I have found conflicting information on how long dac/amp's can be expected to last. Some say they can break in just a couple of years but I found others saying they can basically last a lifetime.

Solid state electronics can almost "last forever" if not electrically or environmentally abused. If there is a manufacturing defect it will usually fail after a short period of time. Beyond that, failures tend to be random with an (almost) equal probability of a failure in the first month or the 100th month... Of course as time goes by the odds of an eventual failure go up. Certain types of capacitors deteriorate and my eventually die but that's usually many years (with some famous exceptions).

You can't really get failure statistics... You're more likely to read about defects/failures of popular items because more people own it. And by the time the manufacturer has collected meaningful statistics (which they will keep secret anyway), the product may have been replaced by an updated model. And if it's cheap enough and lasts a few years, the manufacturer may never know about failures that are thrown in the trash or repaired by 3rd parties.

For some final context I don't see myself ever being willing to spend more than 500-600 dollars max on a headphone.

With headphones, there is almost no correlation between price and sound quality. You'll see that if you sort the reviews here by price and "recommended". ...But the higher your budget the more choice you have.

 

[antcollinet]

Where are you getting your opinion on the performance of the different devices? If not already, then by far the best source is here - with measurement-led reviews. Although we have no info here on field reliability, but then any "complaints" based assessment is flawed in any case.

To find a review here, type into Google “ 'Name of device' site:audiosciencereview.com" that will normally find a review if it has been done or a local discussion thread if it hasn't been reviewed.

Out of your list of three, the big advantage of the topping is the built-in parametric EQ, which can be used to dial out any frequency response errors that all 'phones' have - even ones resulting in the interface of the 'phones to your particular head.

If you don't get the topping, you should really plan on another way of doing parametric EQ. What will your source be? Some sources (eg wiim streamers) can also do parametric EQ.


Do you also plan to listen with speakers?

 

[RedPanda42]

What will your source be?

The source would be my PC, mostly just playing games or listening to music on youtube. No plans on speakers because I live in an apartment and don't want to make a lot of noise.

 

[JustAnandaDourEyedDude]

The source would be my PC, mostly just playing games or listening to music on youtube. No plans on speakers because I live in an apartment and don't want to make a lot of noise.

I came up with a different setup than what you are currently considering. I mostly consume YouTube videos on my computer. I have watched quite a few music videos, but for the past almost four years my consumption has been mostly YT videos about geopolitics and war. I run MSWin 10 (going to update to 11 soon) on my computer. I push music out from my computer to a FiiO BTA30 Pro bluetooth transmitter/receiver (about $145). The BTA30 Pro transmits via bluetooth to a Qudelix-5K bluetooth receiver/DAC/amp that I clip to my shirt pocket or collar. I use a pair of IEMs plugged into the Qudelix to listen to the music. The BTA30 Pro and Qudelix connect using the LDAC protocol, so this is supposedly indistinguishable from CD quality sound (a tiny LED lighting up white instead of green confirms that the LDAC bluetooth pairing is established). The sound quality seems flawless to me.

The battery runtime of the Qudelix is four to five hours for my IEMs and volume level. I have two Qudelix units, and alternate listening between them, while re-charging the one that just ran out of juice. Since the battery re-charges faster than it gets used up playing music, I effectively get infinite batter runtime with the pair of Qudelix, and could listen from the moment I awake until I go to sleep. I had the clip on one of the Qudelix units fail with one of the tiny springs disappearing into my carpet, so I had to eventually replace that Qudelix unit. The clip on the other Qudelix has developed a slight lateral wobble, so I would guess that this is a design weakness with the clips, or perhaps it is just the clumsy asymmetric way I open and close the clip to fasten it to my clothes. The Qudelix has a Parametic EQ app that you run on your mobile phone (I do not know if Qudelix supplies a MSWin app), but I do not use PEQ.

The advantage of the bluetooth connection is that I can get up from my listening chair and go to the fridge or the restroom or just pace about while continuing to listen. The advantage of the IEMs is that they weigh far less than headphones. When I am at a bookstore or grocery or department store, I use IEMs with a DAP in my pocket.

The Qudelix has both 3.5mm single-ended and 2.5mm balanced outputs. The music is plenty loud enough for me through the 3.5mm (I listen at about half the volume range), and I could get it to go louder if I use the 2.5mm output instead. My preference is to listen at moderate volumes. I use fairly sensitive IEMS with a low average resistance of 16 ohms. The Qudelix can also drive headphones if that is your preference. If you wind up with high-impedance and low-sensitivity headphones that are hard to drive to satisfying volumes, the Qudelix may not be up the task and you would need a desktop DAC and powerful headphone amp. Amir shows a bar chart of sensitivity in his Topping HANE IEM review, and manufacturers will typically quote impedances and sensitivities.

In your case, a big advantage of IEMs over headphones is that with IEMs the head size issue goes away, and you get a much larger pool of 'phones to choose from. I would go with IEMs that have detachable/replaceable cables with MMCX or 2-pin connectors at the IEM end. I would guess that one can get the same quality of sound with an IEM at a lower price than with a headphone. I use two pairs of IEMs, one plugged into each Qudelix so that I do not even have to bother with plugging in and unplugging the IEMs each time I switch between Qudelix units.

During long listening sessions, your ears may start to ache depending on how much you pushed the IEMs into your ear canals, thus the discomfort may be more than with headphones. A recurrent cost with IEMs may be due to periodically replacing the ear tips (or disinfecting them) to avoid ear infections. Since I do not share IEMs with anyone, I do not bother to replace the ear tips. I have been using the same ear tips (rather expensive ones from Final Audio) for a few years, though I do have spares, and have not developed any infection. YMMV. However, that is not medical advice, and if you choose to follow my example, you do so at your own risk Another disadvantage of IEMs is that they are necessarily closed-back it seems. When I do an occasional video call with a friend, I pull the IEM out of one ear so I can hear myself speak. For this reason, I am considering getting a pair of open-back headphones for use during video chats.

(I actually route the music from my computer through a Topping D10s balanced DAC to get an optical link to the FiiO, and thus avoid any possibility of ground noise, but I believe this is an unnecessry precaution).

 

[RedPanda42]

I came up with a different setup than what you are currently considering.

Thanks for the info I appreciate the alternate perspective.