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Schiit Hel or other Headset Compatible DAC/Amps

Gatordaddy

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I'm looking for an inexpensive dac/amp that can be used with headphones/headsets. The Fulla and the Hel seem to be the two options available. Can anyone provide interpretation of their AP-555 test suite for the Hel? Or is the information provided in this suite insufficient to fully determine performance?

Are there other headset compatible DAC/Amps on the market that would be transparent and relatively inexpensive?
 

bunkbail

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Schiit Hel measures great, tons of power and audibly transparent.
 

ZeDestructor

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You could also just get a splitter and put the headphone part through any of the usual dac/amp serious and have the mic go through the built-in mic port.
 
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Gatordaddy

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Schiit Hel measures great, tons of power and audibly transparent.

Looking at the AP-555 reports, i can see that distortion and noise are lower for the HEL compared to the Fulla, and that power is way higher than I would need. What's going on with their IM charts though? Or is that typical behavior that near maximum output IM can jump to as high as 20db down. Does this appear to be based on the heresy or non-heresy architecture?

You could also just get a splitter and put the headphone part through any of the usual dac/amp serious and have the mic go through the built-in mic port.

This is true, I could, but I like the idea of a simplified setup. I am considering going this way with an Atom. Cheap, transparent, and preamp capability are tempting
 

rG-tom

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You could also just get a splitter and put the headphone part through any of the usual dac/amp serious and have the mic go through the built-in mic port.

This most likely won't work as you'll end up with ground loop issues, there's only a single ground on a 4-pole lead and if they're not on the same device you're gonna have a problem (source: I have tried exactly this, and I'm now trying to find the right USB device that has good headphone amp and microphone input!)

I like the look of the Fulla 3, looks as close as I've seen so far!
 

Veri

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Looking at the AP-555 reports, i can see that distortion and noise are lower for the HEL compared to the Fulla, and that power is way higher than I would need. What's going on with their IM charts though? Or is that typical behavior that near maximum output IM can jump to as high as 20db down. Does this appear to be based on the heresy or non-heresy architecture?



This is true, I could, but I like the idea of a simplified setup. I am considering going this way with an Atom. Cheap, transparent, and preamp capability are tempting
Hel is similar to heresy architecture.
 

ZeDestructor

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This most likely won't work as you'll end up with ground loop issues, there's only a single ground on a 4-pole lead and if they're not on the same device you're gonna have a problem (source: I have tried exactly this, and I'm now trying to find the right USB device that has good headphone amp and microphone input!)

I like the look of the Fulla 3, looks as close as I've seen so far!

Good point, I didn't consider that at all.

I personally just went and glued a modmic to the left earcup of my headphones, so for me it's just not really a concern these days, and I have complete freedom to pick whatever headphones I want. There's even a USB version of the modmic these days, for even more convenience.
 

rG-tom

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Good point, I didn't consider that at all.

I personally just went and glued a modmic to the left earcup of my headphones, so for me it's just not really a concern these days, and I have complete freedom to pick whatever headphones I want. There's even a USB version of the modmic these days, for even more convenience.

Boom pro offers that same freedom (as long as the headphones have, or you are willing to mod them to have, a 3.5mm input); only a single cable to worry about is the biggest benefit, and it's a much neater solution. You are confined by your source though having a microphone input though which is annoying in its own right!
 
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ZeDestructor

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Boom pro offers that same freedom (as long as the headphones have, or you are willing to mod them to have, a 3.5mm input); only a single cable to worry about is the biggest benefit, and it's a much neater solution. You are confined by your source though having a microphone input though which is annoying in its own right!

That was a compromise I wasn't willing to do, since I have plans for running balanced cabling in the name of big power :p Also have plans to run not-3.5mm-capable stuff like the HD800S.
 
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