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
I know if I ask for recommendations I'll probably get as many options as I get responses. I don't want to spend a ton, already spent almost $215 for the headphones so my budget right now is max $200. Are there drops worth looking at? Should I just get something from Amazon?
Thanks all. Mike
I had some decent audio gear in my home theater with Emotiva gear mostly. I like the sound but now that I have young twins the days of listening to that at the volumes I enjoy are over. Thus the search for a decent audio setup based on good headphones.
I'll check out a few of your recommendations, thank you.
Is there any difference in running USB vs optical from the computer to the DAC?
That makes sense to me as you can't connect speakers AND amp (Magni) to the same RCA outputs of the DAC (Modi).
Yes, but in all honesty, if the OL has the inputs you already need, why pay more for a 3rd input that you don't need? In the end, usb is good enough, and if it isn't, optical is good too. Do you really need coaxial for connecting a dac to a pc? Again, usb and optical are already available.
update: It's the wyrd that's supposed to be for messy usb ports. The eitr I believe is for something completely different.
Looks like the Magni 3 has pre outs which means that the volume controls the output, which is not good. Then I have volume control on my powered speakers and my amp.
I think I'll have to split the signal after the Modi DAC.
+ 2 stereo rca cables like that:
https://www.amazon.ca/gp/aw/d/B003L1717K/ref=mp_s_a_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1516701926&sr=8-1-fkmr0&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=2pce+rca+cable
I'm sure I can make it work.
If your speakers are connected through wires, then you might need a different amp for that.
This is how I had my speakers set up with my computer which had Window's volume and speaker volume. I just set the speakers to some level and never touched the volume again, exclusively controlled via PC volume knob on my keyboard. Take a little while to set up, but you only have to fiddle with it once.
With the DAC to speaker wiring, I can just leave the amp turned off and play audio via the speakers. If I want headphones, I turn off the speakers and turn on the amp.
The DAC to speaker wiring has the benefit that nothing needs to be unplugged, both speakers and headphone have separate power and volume. I can listen to one or the other other (presumably both but that doesn't make much sense).
Its a lot better, the magni 3 uses a new architecture that allows for a lot of power in a small and cheap box, which these headphones love