this post was submitted on 26 Oct 2023
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Headphones

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Do your headphones REALLY perform much better with more expensive DAC/AMP? (alien.top)
submitted 1 year ago by FrankieWilde11@alien.top to c/headphones@hi-fi.community
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I have the Sennheiser HD600, Neumann NDH-30, Audeze LCD-X.

I use these with my SSL2 hp out, and with Qudelix 5K.

I spoke to someone about my impressions and his first question was: which dac/amp? and when I told, he just winked.

So my question is: is the difference this obvious with a more expensive dac/amp combo? Should I spend another 6-800 euro to get one? Do your headphones open up/perform that much better?

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[–] dongas420@alien.top 1 points 1 year ago

I've probably purchased about $1,000 worth of audiophile-y DAC/amp stuff over the past five years, although I got nearly all of it back since I bought and sold it used, paired with gear like the Sundara and Andromeda. The extra headroom didn't matter, while the clipping and hissing resulting from the questionably competent engineering did. Now I'm down to some Apple dongles, a Qudelix 5K for Bluetooth, and a FiiO Q1 for the handful of occasions (read: ASMR) where they don't get loud enough for my needs.