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
Besides AKG K712 I have Sennheiser HD6XX, and AudioTechnica ATH-M50, and also some Chinese earbuds (around 5 nos.) which I bought inspired by https://www.head-fi.org forums. From all of them AKG K712 is the best in resolution, air, and crispness. I like them very much, but I cannot listen to them for a long time: 1 hour is maximum, after I feel discomfort. People say that this is normal with high detail headphones.
In comparison HD6XX is slightly warmer, feels like more punching but probably less detailed bass; mids are slightly more defined, and heights looks like more rounded (all is very subjective). Yes, they are different. In general, if switching for the comparison between AKG K712 and HD6XX, AKG may win in short term because of its resolution and air. But for a long run HD6XX is a champion – they provide a very pleasant listening without any fatigue. So if you want to impress your guests with the sound – then maybe better to choose AKG K712, but if you want to listen to the music for a whole evening- then HD6XX. AKG is more analytical and Sennheiser is more musical, but the difference is not that big as it may seem from such “definition”.
Now, regarding O2 Amp. I feel that it has no effect on sound signature – it is just completely neutral for me. O2 just gives enough power to drive my headphones from a laptop and that all. And believe this is more than enough.
Also this helped me a lot in making my choices: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/headphones-for-metal-music-ultimate-solution.715478/ And you can see there that K712 was appreciated more that HD650. And finally leap said: "Overall, in my opinion, 712 today are the best cans for heavy genres on the middle level "