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

pozz said:
Dude: "research" is not reading every opinion you can on performance, taking everything you're told at face value and trying to come to some internal consensus about what to do. You have to have some means of weighing what you read and developing a sense of judgment and a useful sense of scepticism. The important thing is understanding how someone, the opinion-giver, came to their conclusions. Here, you can expect informed answers backed up with evidence.

You didn't waste $200 and your current headphones are excellent—so excellent that they are used in studios for mixing music.

For example, this is how I would judge the stuff you read about the Xonar DG:
  • I searched for and found these specs posted on the Asus website and these measurements made by a reviewer. However, both are not useful indicators of quality because the test rig and measurement conditions aren't described. Armed with this knowledge, you can safely throw out almost every listed performance metric that's thrown around as simply uninformative. (To understand why please read this note by Rane, which states which conditions need to be stated to make measurement results meaningful and comparable to others. If you don't understand even after reading, that's fine, but then you also have to admit to yourself that you don't know enough to come to a conclusion.)
  • Amir made this review of a Asus Xonar U7 Mk2. Output impedance was measured at 22 ohms. This means headphones of less than 200 ohms or so will show frequency response changes. Given the weak heaphone amp module, 5mW at 300 ohm and 22mW at 33 ohm, this means that neither you nor most other users can even use high impedance headphones. Despite that, the audible changes aren't something people can detect unless they know what to listen for, in other words, unless they are trained.
  • The conclusion I would reach, on the basis of measured information and without ever listening, is that the Xonar DG (apparently $70 on Amazon, or maybe $45), and the more expensive Xonar U7 MK2 ($90 on Amazon), are both bad choices for someone who cares about sound quality. Aside from the output impedance issue, weak headphone amplifiers will be driven into clipping when listening and will easily produce audible distortions for those who know what distortion sounds like.
  • By the way, as a side note, listing dB versions for the Xonar DG is an incredibly misleading and wrong way to advertise a product.
View attachment 39142

Finally, listening for audible differences in electronics as a test of their quality is a waste of time. Quality tests are done with gear. Go with the numbers and learn what they mean. Learn to slow down and admit that you don't know, and learn to not get hung up on the judgments of others. Otherwise you will be stuck trying to decide whose opinion you trust more, which is not the right way to make decisions.

If any of the above is unclear, please ask.

When a person is obviously young and suffering, it's best to just be patient.
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Wish This could be stickied for new people like myself to actually see and understand how important this post is
 
MRC01 said:
You can find someone on the internet saying anything. Some say it makes no difference, others say the difference is a chorus of angels. What matters is your opinion.


The LCD 2, 3 and 4 do have some of the best bass response of any headphone. As close as you can get to ruler flat from subsonic well into the upper mids. And some of the lowest measured bass distortion of any headphone. That's an objective fact confirmed with measurements. However, whether this is a "huge step up", how much difference it makes, is entirely subjective. Human hearing is less sensitive to distortion in the bass. The HD58x is among the best headhpones both in measurements and subjective listening, and costs several times less than the LCD.

Your setup is not audiophile ridiculous, but a reasonable approach to the best sound for the dollar. In headphone audio, the first few hundred bucks you spend (if spent wisely) gets you 98% of the best available sound at any price. Enjoy it!
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wow holy shit thanks I didn't know my hd58x was soooo good.

Well now I appreciate them a million times more :D
 
Coming from the land of fine rum and smoke, you sure are wound up. How about waiting until you actually get the stuff, and listen to it for at least a few days before freaking out and jumping off the cliff? You are getting a very transparent DAC, and better, cleaner power from the amp compared to a sound card.
Dude, listen to these guys, they are good people that have your best interest in mind.
 
john5220 said:
wow holy shit thanks I didn't know my hd58x was soooo good. ... Well now I appreciate them a million times more :D
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Jude at Head-Fi measured them when they first came out. He has a good measurement rig and knows what he's doing.
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/massdrop-x-sennheiser-hd-58x-jubilee-review-measurements.867972/
I think I read somewhere that the drivers have been improved to reduce the 5.5 kHz response bump. If not, a simple parametric EQ something like -6 dB @ 5.5 kHz, Q=2 should do the trick.
On second check, yes they did revise it. Here are measurements from SBAF:
https://www.superbestaudiofriends.o...p-hd58x-revised-review-and-measurements.6530/
In short: excellent measurements all around: FR linearity, low distortion, and clean fast spectral decay.
 
john5220 said:
wow holy shit thanks I didn't know my hd58x was soooo good.

Well now I appreciate them a million times more :D
Click to expand...
What do your ears tell you? Do YOU like the way they sound? That's what matters most, not what some audio elitists say on many of these kinds of forums.
Trust the measurements, but also, trust your ears with headphones.
 
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frogmeat69 said:
What do your ears tell you? Do YOU like the way they sound? That's what matters most, not what some audio elitists say on many of these kinds of forums.
Trust the measurements, but also, trust your ears with headphones.
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For whatever reason the built in sound card in the motherboard sounds muffled and the S7 Edge I have sounds like some stuff are missing in the music but not all music, if I play something I love like Yosi Horikawa - Fluid . flac I can detect that the S7 Edge sounds off, not sure if thin is the word but that is what it sounds like.

Apparently music like this seem to scale the higher the audio equipment. Offcourse could be my brain playing tricks on me but that is what it sounds like to me. Well 2 more days wait to see what this new setup can do, I am positive it will bring a nice experience I am no longer worried.

So far from the data I have seen this is indeed a solid choice, I guess I will know if it sounds to my liking soon enough. Tests show that it is worlds apart from my Xonar DG I suppose this is what is important
 
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john5220 said:
I play something I love like Yosi Horikawa - Fluid . flac
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First time hearing Yosi Horikawa's works and listened to the Fluid track out of curiosity and I didn't expect to get goosebumps on how lifelike it sounds to what I would expect to hear if I was at the place where Yosi captured all that sounds (mind over matter I know, but I haven't had goosebumps listening to music for a while).

Capture.PNG
 
There's nothing wrong with the gear you've bought.

In audio terms the gear you've bought offers good value for money and is not expensive, you'd struggle to get anything better (at least audibly) and you could easily get a lot worse.

What you have bought is decently made and offers some pride of ownership.

There is nothing wrong with the Sennheiser HD58X, I haven't listened to it but objective assessments seem good enough and I still use a pair of the original HD580's I bought about 25 years ago, you'd struggle to get much better.

Or in other words you've bought good gear which will perform well, which offers good value and which you should be very happy with. I'm honestly trying to figure out a reason to be suicidal (noting that I'd assume that is hyperbole), I just see a reason to be happy with good solid, value for money, good performing gear that should serve you well.
 
john5220 said:
For whatever reason the built in sound card in the motherboard sounds muffled and the S7 Edge I have sounds like some stuff are missing in the music but not all music, if I play something I love like Yosi Horikawa - Fluid . flac I can detect that the S7 Edge sounds off, not sure if thin is the word but that is what it sounds like.

Apparently music like this seem to scale the higher the audio equipment. Offcourse could be my brain playing tricks on me but that is what it sounds like to me. Well 2 more days wait to see what this new setup can do, I am positive it will bring a nice experience I am no longer worried.

So far from the data I have seen this is indeed a solid choice, I guess I will know if it sounds to my liking soon enough. Tests show that it is worlds apart from my Xonar DG I suppose this is what is important
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LOL, I can relate to your anxiety. I have the HD6XX and HE4XX headphones driven by my ancient (in electronics / PC years) Xonar Essence STX - still an excellent sound card. I am awaiting a Monolith 887 Amp, SMSL SU-8 DAC, and all XLR connections.

Will the upgrade be worth it? Almost certainly not from a strictly dollar / performance value perspective. But from a enjoyment perspective, I am hopeful. Why?

1. I will have confidence my equipment is bringing out the full potential of my headphones.

2. I can add any headphone in the future regardless of impedance or efficiency without any concern that my setup will handle them.

3. Should I feel there is a clear upgrade available in some latest wunderkind Amp (probably not happening) or DAC, I can upgrade easily by virtue of having separates.

4. A clear cool factor is always fun.

5. I will remove any disappointment / cognitive dissonance through the expert use of rationalization and denial!

So John, just relax and maximize your fun ;)
 
majingotan said:
First time hearing Yosi Horikawa's works and listened to the Fluid track out of curiosity and I didn't expect to get goosebumps on how lifelike it sounds to what I would expect to hear if I was at the place where Yosi captured all that sounds (mind over matter I know, but I haven't had goosebumps listening to music for a while).

View attachment 39169
Click to expand...

His song "Bubbles" is his best work so far, insane recording how realistic it sounds with the marble dropping on the floor.

Best in 320k or flac offcourse

I love Horikawa and applaud anyone who supports him, his music is a pure gem.

 
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No idea why he thinks that, Nobody used the Etymotic ER4S in portable gear because it was a too hard to drive on portable gear. The fact the HD600 needs nearly max volume to work on that iphone a red flag a amp is needed.
 
Your gear is high performing, and reasonably priced. Your bang for the buck is probably at near the maximum possible.

Instead of fretting, why not spend that time exploring new music to enjoy?
 
LeftCoastTim said:
Your gear is high performing, and reasonably priced. Your bang for the buck is probably at near the maximum possible.

Instead of fretting, why not spend that time exploring new music to enjoy?
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yeah after responding with my Yosi Horikawa posts on this thread it made me go back and have a listen to all his Albums and ur right, I feel so proud of ordering these 2 items now, knowing that for sure I will enjoy audio at the limit of human hearing meaning I can enjoy Yosi in all his glory. Makes me feel so proud and happy with those Aluminum enclosures those things are coming in.

Amazing how people here made me feel so great about my purchase.
 
john5220 said:
yeah after responding with my Yosi Horikawa posts on this thread it made me go back and have a listen to all his Albums and ur right, I feel so proud of ordering these 2 items now, knowing that for sure I will enjoy audio at the limit of human hearing meaning I can enjoy Yosi in all his glory. Makes me feel so proud and happy with those Aluminum enclosures those things are coming in.

Amazing how people here made me feel so great about my purchase.
Click to expand...

Have you ever listened to his music on speakers?
 
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