What would be a good portable Dac/Amp to use with my HD6xx and Sony Xperia 1 V cell phone?
I am new to this hobby. I purchased a HD6XX and plan to use it with my Sony Xperia 1 V cell phone, that has a 3.5mm jack. I was wondering if I needed a portable dac/amp or just a portable amp and if so what would one recommend? Any assistance one could provide, would be greatly appreciated. Kind regards, Haz
Mar 7, 2024
Again, before I get ripped to shreds, this is very generally speaking. Certain amps compliment certain headphones or sound signatures better than others (and vice versa). There is no way of knowing what's "better" for you without trying different gear combinations.
I personally don't understand people who can have the audacity to 'rip' solid state users, if they don't like the experience of their headphones from a transparent source, they don't like the headphones and clearly need some high levels of distortion and coloration to make them likable. At that point it really makes more sense to get better headphones.
And to anyone even thinking of responding with something stupid like "Tubes can be transparent too!", please don't waste my time. If you were after transparency you wouldn't be buying tubes in the first place.
PS. This is not directed at you LxJLthr I'm just using some of the points you made as I imagine these are simply observations you've made
Unfortunately every brand and product has their fan base that can get very exuberant and protective of their preference. I think about it in terms of sports teams rivalries. No love lost between SF Giants and LA Dodgers LOL
The other thing to consider is the choice of headphone, which will also affect the tone. My two main headphones right now are Sennheiser HD650s and AKG 7XXs. The AKGs tend to be brighter and have a larger sound stage, which I really like, while the Sennheisers tend to have a warmer, thicker sound with a slightly more compressed sound stage. I personally prefer to have my headphones create the difference in sound, and prefer neutral solid state amps, but there wouldn't necessarily be anything wrong with pairing the AKGs with a tube amp to get some of the warmness of the Sennheisers to go with the sound stage of the AKGs. I tend to prefer tube amps for creation (i.e. tube guitar amps) and solid state amps for recreation (i.e. music-listening), but that's me.
Also, solid state amps tend to be more affordable than tube amps, which is another thing to consider. This isn't universally true, of course, but you can get a really good, neutral, solid state amp for a decent price, while tube amps tend to start at a higher price. The Objective O2 amp is a very widely appreciated amp, and can easily be bought for less than $100 (Massdrop's version was $69 I think, but still hasn't shipped). Fiio also makes some decent amps for affordable prices if you're looking for something portable (which is another thing to consider - tube amps aren't portable).
That said, there is NOTHING WRONG with either of those results. Their synergy as part of the overall system will depend on other components, music genres and personal preferences.
I suggest you think about what type of sound do you enjoy the most...Enveloping and energetic? Precise and analytical? Foundation cracking bombastic bass? Ear piercing hot treble? Jack of all trades master of none balanced? That will help you narrow down your choices or at least start asking the right questions.
Given this statement I can't help but wonder if someone wrote an audiophile bible that I'm unaware of. No ill feelings here.... I'm just a bit puzzled by such a blanket statement.