Scarlett solo(4th gen) as an AMP for DT 770 pro 80ohm ?

[hidro pidro]

Hello I got the DT 770 pro 80ohm for my PC they work fine but they are a bit quite, I can't get a AMP in my country will Scarlett solo(4th gen) serve as a AMP for more volume from the headphones ? the only other option I have is SMSL C200 but it cost 4x times the amount it should because its imported from Europe and it's not in the box without any cables .

 

[staticV3]

Hi @hidro pidro! Welcome to ASR.

will Scarlett solo(4th gen) serve as a AMP for more volume from the headphones ?

That depends entirely on how much volume your current Amp offers.

What I can tell you though is that the Solo 4th Gen is not a particularly good headphone Amp, with very high output impeadnce of 50Ω:


This will result in boosted bass from your DT770 Pro, very low damping factor, and most of the Solo's output power being lost internally as heat.

the only other option I have is SMSL C200

Those are the only options available to you? Solo 4th Gen or C200?

 

[hidro pidro]

That depends entirely on how much volume your current Amp offers.

Currently don't have an amp just PC headphones jack.

 

[hidro pidro]

Those are the only options available to you? Solo 4th Gen or C200?

those 2 and Solid State Logic SSL2

 

[AnalogSteph]

Currently don't have an amp just PC headphones jack.

A lot of the time, that means a 75 ohm output impedance and 1 Vrms and change max. The Scarlett would be a good step forward from that.

So you can't get anything like a Topping L30 II, Sabaj A20h, JDS LAbs Atom Amp or Schiit Magni where you live? Or a decent dongle DAC (Fosi DS2, some FiiO, whatever)?

 

[hidro pidro]

So you can't get anything like a Topping L30 II, Sabaj A20h, JDS LAbs Atom Amp or Schiit Magni where you live? Or a decent dongle DAC (Fosi DS2, some FiiO, whatever)?

Unfortunately not the only thing available is smsl c200 or the scarlett.

 

[staticV3]

A lot of the time, that means a 75 ohm output impedance and 1 Vrms and change max. The Scarlett would be a good step forward from that.

If we assume 1V motherboard output at 80Ω, the Solo 4th gen would boost volume by ~5dB or +40%:


It's not nothing, but when we have 0Ω output impedance dongles with 2V at 80Ω for $15-20, the Solo's performance is pretty meh.

 

[hidro pidro]

the Solo's performance is pretty meh.

what about the smsl c200?

 

[staticV3]

what about the smsl c200?

Good, but likely overkill hence overpriced for your use case.

There are lots of DAC+Amps below $60 on the market that would do a fine job driving the DT770 80Ω, but it seems like none of those are available to you

 

[hidro pidro]

Good, but likely overkill hence overpriced for your use case.

There are lots of DAC+Amps below $60 on the market that would do a fine job driving the DT770 80Ω, but it seems like none of those are available to yo

 

[hidro pidro]

Thank you so much for your help and your time , I'll keep using them like this i kinda found a fix sort of, im using equalizer APO to get a bit more volume i just hope it won't damage my headphones like this.

 

[AnalogSteph]

The cans are unlikely to mind, but I imagine there may be audible distortion at times. Typically when using EQ APO, things get quieter rather than louder due to the need for more headroom.

So you already have the volume cranked to 100% and it's still not loud enough? And the output is definitely set to headphone mode (the software should be asking you what you just plugged in)? Any details on your system? All I can imagine is that you may be plugged into a rear output that insists on being a line out, in which case output impedance would rise to >275 ohms. I've encountered that before, rear panel was line out only and the front panel output was set up for headphones. If the chip itself supports jack retasking, I would look into what drivers are installed for it, the feature may not work with a generic HDA driver.

 

[hidro pidro]

So you already have the volume cranked to 100% and it's still not loud enough?

In certain programs I need or games it is not loud enough but for like Spotify it's fine , I did get used to the Logitech G432 which sounds decently loud for years maybe that's why these headphones sound quieter to me in some cases , I'm happy with them and I don't need an amp for most things but I do find myself wanting a bit more volume sometimes in programs I use the most I would definitely like the headroom.

 

[hidro pidro]

All I can imagine is that you may be plugged into a rear output that insists on being a line out

I'm plugged in the front panel IO headphone jack has headphones and mic icon on it , as for when I plug them in I can choose between line in or mic in.

 

[hidro pidro]

UPDATE: I found the issue and fixed so I plugged my headphones on the rear io panel and there was a new option on Realtek audio interface for headphone power it was set to balanced now I have it on ultimate and they sound way louder and they are performing how I expected out of them.