So my DAC and AMP are on the way and now I learn it will make no difference over my Smartphone

[john5220]

So I came across this youtube video AFTER I purchased my D30 topping and my Liquid Spark AMP for $200

Now its too late to cancel the order and now I feel like a fool? because Oluv says there is no difference between a onboard laptop / smartphone and a $1000 AMP and DAC

Ooh boy now do i feel like a moron, jesus christ. Wish I knew this, I mean have you guys noticed any improvement in sound quality by going with dedicated AMP and DAC?

I will be using a HD58x with it, the funny thing tho is I can notice a clear difference between my PC motherboard and my $40 PC Sound card so maybe I could notice the difference with this DAC AMP combo? or did I just waste my money here?

 

[TLEDDY]

Oluv might Be mistaken.

 

[john5220]

Oluv might Be mistaken.

Please tell me he is mistaken because I have huge buyers remourse right now and this thing is being shipped to a freight forwarder which will send it to me in the caribbean so I can't even refuse the package at this point I have to pay for it.

Please tell me this $208 wasn't a bad decision and it is worth it!!!

I know I can hear a very very clear difference and improvement of my motherboard crystal sound 2 and my xonar DG sound card so maybe I will hear an improvement with this DAC and AMP I do like metal boxes with volume knobs also.

 

[pozz]

There are two factors apart from noise and distortion that affect headphone amp quality: output impedance and power delivery. Headphones amps will typically deliver more power (even to difficult headphones) and have a lower output impedance. You can't know unless you measure, but that's generally the case.

There's one main factor which dominates subjective reviews: the lack of critical listening training or technical knowledge.

I wouldn't say listening training is necessary beyond finding assurance that you are unlikely to perceive differences between any amount of moderate distortion.

I would say some degree technical knowledge is very necessary because you will waste less time with random or exaggerated claims, and be generally less stressed about purchases.

Chill and enjoy your stack.

 

[raif71]

Oluv did say that his iphone volume was close to max so if it was me, this is a no no (personal preference). In this case it is worth it to get the dac and amp. I'm sure the volume that you'll use will be less than half with the external amp (again this is my personal preference). Happy listening John.

 

[Gabs]

Maybe the HD600 is not a resolving headphone, maybe it's his binaural mic.
;-) ;-)

But anyway, you will tell us if you ear differences, it's interresting !

A month ago I compared the Apple Dongle, Chord Mojo, and Fiio X3III with a lot of headphones. The dongle seemed to me the most neutral, the Mojo a little warmer (in a good way imo), and the X3III dull, not resolving, messy in the bass department. Of course it's subjective, but it was there.
There is something I cannot trust, but nevertheless say, is that the output of my 2015 macbookpro (Cirrus Logic) sounded really great to me, maybe comparable to the Apple dongle, and managed effortlessly my HE400i.

Everything depends on the match between the amp and the headphones. If the headphones are not demanding, then you would probably ear little to no difference.

Somebody knows if the HD58x is a demanding one ?

 

[Eirikur]

You worry too much Once you start using it you'll quickly forget the cost!

• Topping D30 is a competent DAC in an attractive package (if you like silver)
• Monoprice Liquid Spark is a competent headphone amplifier

With this stack you can be sure to exclude (potential) PC problems from the equation and have a more convenient connection point + physical volume knob. You get some features that the PC cannot offer, like a dedicated clock for the digital audio part and native DSD decoding.

Do you need it? Not sure, my motivation for wanting an external DAC (Topping D10) is mainly potential clock issues, e.g. many PCs run their clocks in spread spectrum modes which is something you don't want for audio (my NUC doesn't even give access to this setting).
Do I (and will you) really hear the difference? Again, not sure, but it gives me piece of mind that I'm not injecting (subliminal) jitter noise into an otherwise pristine digital signal.

 

[Sgt. Ear Ache]

you probably won't notice any very big improvement in SQ. However, if your headphones happen to be of the difficult to drive variety the amp will definitely do the job. Smartphones have good dacs in them already...

I own a Topping D10. It does everything I could possibly need from a dac and it allows me to bypass the crummy headphone jack on my laptop. I also own a liquid spark and it's a very nice little headphone amp that does a great job driving my 400i headphones. But, my Fiio E10k does just as well, only with the volume knob turned up a little higher. In terms of SQ i don't know if I could tell the difference in a blind test.

 

[john5220]

Ooh ok well I suppose this is one way for me to satisfy that itching curiosity I always had will let u guys know how it sounds

There is a substantial upgrade for me going from my motherboard to sound card xonar dg even tho the mb has good sound chip so hopefully I get that same experience going to the new stack

 

[Willem]

Much depends of course on where you came from. Iphones are known for very good inbuilt DACs, but the same is not true for all internal DACs of other phones or of laptops. There are some pretty horrible ones (and there are measurements to prove this). Something similar applies to headphone outputs. Some have little power, and if they have a high output impedance they may also have a skewed frequency response.
The other end of the comparison deserves attention too: this tube thing that he uses as a comparison with his IPhone does not inspire confidence. Even so, the importance of electronics is often overrated.

 

[Martin]

IMMHO, I can tell you from personal experience that with my hearing there is VERY little difference between FLAC played on my iPhone XS over Bluetooth to my Plantronics Backbeat Pro 2 and on my Raspberry Pi Volumio through my Topping DX7s over my Beyerdynamic DT1990 Pro with Dakoni velour earpads and one of Solderdudes filters. They both sound excellent to me. I’m sure there are likely measurable differences between the two setups but they both sound damn good.

When I’m on a plane or away from my system I use the portable/wireless solution. When I’m at home I use my desktop/wired solution. I am happy with both and do not feel I wasted my hard earned money.

Martin

 

[bravomail]

So I came across this youtube video AFTER I purchased my D30 topping and my Liquid Spark AMP for $200

Now its too late to cancel the order and now I feel like a fool? because Oluv says there is no difference between a onboard laptop / smartphone and a $1000 AMP and DAC

Ooh boy now do i feel like a moron, jesus christ. Wish I knew this, I mean have you guys noticed any improvement in sound quality by going with dedicated AMP and DAC?

I will be using a HD58x with it, the funny thing tho is I can notice a clear difference between my PC motherboard and my $40 PC Sound card so maybe I could notice the difference with this DAC AMP combo? or did I just waste my money here?

Topping D30 and Liquid Spark won't be my choice for $200. So I cannot speak to these two (my choice goes to Modi3/Magni3).
But, in general, going from PC to external DAC/Amp there will be improvement.
As for phone sound - it all depends on phone model and its implementation. Driving 58x may not be hard, but driving it properly is a different story (you will need one of them LG G7/8 or V10/20/30/35/40/50 or Samsung S7e). Plus, I have no use for phone in my listening - I either use PC to watch youtube, netflix, amazon prime or to game - neither of which is fulfilled by phone. And I listen to some music while I'm driving, but it goes over bluetooth, in which headphone jack has no use. Bluetooth gives so much convenience besides the music - making and receiving calls, messages etc.
As for buyers remorse - how cheap r u? $200 is too much? Ppl in this forum spend thousands on things which stay in their basements, never used.

 

[john5220]

Topping D30 and Liquid Spark won't be my choice for $200. So I cannot speak to these two (my choice goes to Modi3/Magni3).
But, in general, going from PC to external DAC/Amp there will be improvement.
As for phone sound - it all depends on phone model and its implementation. Driving 58x may not be hard, but driving it properly is a different story (you will need one of them LG G7/8 or V10/20/30/35/40/50 or Samsung S7e). Plus, I have no use for phone in my listening - I either use PC to watch youtube, netflix, amazon prime or to game - neither of which is fulfilled by phone. And I listen to some music while I'm driving, but it goes over bluetooth, in which headphone jack has no use. Bluetooth gives so much convenience besides the music - making and receiving calls, messages etc.
As for buyers remorse - how cheap r u? $200 is too much? Ppl in this forum spend thousands on things which stay in their basements, never used.

Ooh ok yes good point $200 isnt that much you are right

The only slight issue I see now is maybe the liquid spark wont look good physically together? Not sure how you guys find the outer appearance of the spark together with the d30

Maybe instead of staking the spark onto of the d30 i can have them side by side which will look nicer?
Yeah I can see why someone would pick a schiit stack cause of the identical design but Amir did recommend the spark over schiit which is why i got it plus as a matter of morale principle head fi banned Amir and NwAvGuy because they revealed schiit had flaws so yeah that's kinda why I didn't buy schiit

 

[garbulky]

So I came across this youtube video AFTER I purchased my D30 topping and my Liquid Spark AMP for $200

Now its too late to cancel the order and now I feel like a fool? because Oluv says there is no difference between a onboard laptop / smartphone and a $1000 AMP and DAC

Ooh boy now do i feel like a moron, jesus christ. Wish I knew this, I mean have you guys noticed any improvement in sound quality by going with dedicated AMP and DAC?

I will be using a HD58x with it, the funny thing tho is I can notice a clear difference between my PC motherboard and my $40 PC Sound card so maybe I could notice the difference with this DAC AMP combo? or did I just waste my money here?

Oluv is either deaf or he has a crap amp. Don't worry. I have used the HD600, HD6xx and HD700 extensively. I have also used them with smartphones (a range of iphones, tablets, laptops) as well as a variety of headphone amplifiers. The iphones have the ability to provide enough volume for comfortable listening. But there is a difference with a quality headphone amplifier in the sound. In short it sounds better with a good beefy headphone amplifier. And all headphone amps don't sound the same with the sennheisers but especially when compared to an iphone. Note: these are non blind subjective impressions. But there is no way in hell I would just use my smartphone to listen to my HD600 if I had the choice.
Having said that I have listened to headphone amps that were quite weak and they didn't necessarily sound all that different. Your liquid spark seems like it would be nicely up to the task.

Case in point I am listening with a very beefy headphone amp called the Emotiva Bas-X A-100 in direct drive mode with the jumper bypassed. It weighs 11 pounds. I'm not saying that's what you need but I would like to see a smartphone compete with it

 

[john5220]

Oluv is either deaf or he has a crap amp. Don't worry. I have used the HD600, HD6xx and HD700 extensively. I have also used them with smartphones (a range of iphones, tablets, laptops) as well as a variety of headphone amplifiers. The iphones have the ability to provide enough volume for comfortable listening. But there is a difference with a quality headphone amplifier in the sound. In short it sounds better with a good beefy headphone amplifier. And all headphone amps don't sound the same with the sennheisers but especially when compared to an iphone. Note: these are non blind subjective impressions. But there is no way in hell I would just use my smartphone to listen to my HD600 if I had the choice.
Having said that I have listened to headphone amps that were quite weak and they didn't necessarily sound all that different. Your liquid spark seems like it would be nicely up to the task.

Case in point I am listening with a very beefy headphone amp called the Emotiva Bas-X A-100 in direct drive mode with the jumper bypassed. It weighs 11 pounds. I'm not saying that's what you need but I would like to see a smartphone compete with it

Hey do you notice a decent audible improvement with your dedicated amp and dac compared to your smartphone?

 

[garbulky]

Hey do you notice a decent audible improvement with your dedicated amp and dac compared to your smartphone?

I think I covered that in my post. (It's YES).

 

[john5220]

I think I covered that in my post. (It's YES).

Wow nice I cant wait got my new amp and dac to arrive. I will have to put them side by side on my desk cause I think the liquid spark and the d30 will look ugly stacked onto of eachother. Wish I had gotten the a30 but it didn't score good in review and Amir recommended the spark over the A30

I hope the spark looks beautiful in person

 

[cookiefactory]

...and this is why it’s an uphill battle. One person telling you what you want to hear outweighs all the science in the world.

 

[john5220]

I just realized my spark wont go to waste cause I was told I needed it if I wanted to eq my headphones for edm for slamming bass or if I am buying a bass head headphone as without a powerful amp I will get low volume bass

Well I feel better now

 

[Sgt. Ear Ache]

...and this is why it’s an uphill battle. One person telling you what you want to hear outweighs all the science in the world.

yup.