Should I get a (dedicated) amp?

[JayGould]

I am using the Sennheiser HD 650.

I currently have two setups:

1. Topping E30 DAC + Douk U3 Amp ($40 on Amazon)
2. TempoTec Sonata HD Pro II

I can't really hear any difference in sound quality between the two. If anything, I think things may sound better using just the Sonata (I think my Douk amp may be faulty).

My question is: Would I notice a difference if I got a better dedicated amp (like the JDS Atom) and paired it with either the Sonata (then used as DAC only) or my E30? Or will the Sonata provide all the power necessary to get the most out of my 650s?

 

[Helicopter]

I am using the Sennheiser HD 650.

I currently have two setups:

1. Topping E30 DAC + Douk U3 Amp ($40 on Amazon)
2. TempoTec Sonata HD Pro II

I can't really hear any difference in sound quality between the two. If anything, I think things may sound better using just the Sonata (I think my Douk amp may be faulty).

My question is: Would I notice a difference if I got a better dedicated amp (like the JDS Atom) and paired it with either the Sonata (then used as DAC only) or my E30? Or will the Sonata provide all the power necessary to get the most out of my 650s?

Depends how loud you are listening, but you will probably get an audible improvement with a more powerful amp at moderate to loud listening levels, especially with dynamic music, like classical.

 

[DanielT]

EQ, since our ear canals are different, so the same headphones on two different people can sound different ... really different:

How about EQ with headphones?

You who do EQ with headphones . EQ setting,it's based on subjective, liking and taste in terms of sound, right? Subjectively because frequency curves and headphones are pretty pointless (how measure?) to start with because our ears look different, right? Or what do I know there may be special...

audiosciencereview.com

Edit:
Since EQ is necessary, choose headphones with the lowest distortion. FR you will still have to fix it yourself, if you want it to sound good. However, the level of distortion is not something you can fix, it is what it is.

 

[DonR]

I found the Douk to be greatly influenced by the PSU feeding it. While the supplied USB cable was OK, the bass response was improved considerably by feeding it from a good 19V laptop supply.

 

[kestrel4]

I found the Douk to be greatly influenced by the PSU feeding it. While the supplied USB cable was OK, the bass response was improved considerably by feeding it from a good 19V laptop supply.

My Douk buzzed when the USB power cable was plugged into anything connected to the sound source. Happened with both PC and Playstation. I had to find a different USB power source. Now it is perfectly quiet.