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EvilGeniusEE
4
Jun 30, 2018
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Hello all. I'm still waiting for my headphones. I also joined the mass drop for the Objective 2 amp to help drive these headphones. I also bought a 3.5mm to RCA cable, a Fiio E17K, aftermarket protein leather ear pads, and an aftermarket higher quality audio cable for my HD6xx.
I plan on using my iPhone 8+ as an audio player sometimes as well. So, I had to buy a special $40 adapter to allow my iPhone's audio output to come though my Lightning port and into the micro USB port of my E17K DAC
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. As an alternate workaround, I also bought the apple camera connection kit which allows me to use the lightning port as an USB output. It took a little bit of research to find out that in order for the Fiio E17K DAC to work properly, it needs to receive it's input through the micro usb and not the 3.5mm input.
So, I plan on hooking my phone up with my Lightning MicroUSB to my E17K DAC, then have the DAC output coming out of a 3.5mm into the O2 RCA ports in the back of the O2 Amp, then out of the output to my Sennheiser HD6XX headphones.
Another part I'm researching, is the amount of power required to drive the HD6XX. From what I've read, the HD6XX has about a 2V RMS maximum input. Which according to what I've read is about a gain of 4X or 12db which is all dependant and relative to the source output signal. I'm not sure what the output of the iphone is. Does anyone have that information? I'm thinking, if I'm using just the iphone + Fiio E17K to drive the headphones (without the not so portable O2 Amp), I'll want the gain to be about 12db. If I'm using my iphone to E17K to my O2, then I would set my E17K to 6db (which equates to approx 2X gain) gain and have my O2 at 2.5x gain which would bring me to about 4.5x gain going into the headphones.
As an alternate, to increase the fidelity of the source signal, I was planning on turning an old PSP into an audio player and decompressing my WMA, MP3, etc, music into WAV or FLAC and then uploading to the PSP. I wonder if that would be sufficient or if I should just buy a dedicated audio player like the Fiio high resolution audio players. I also have spotify which includes a high quality resolution of 320 kbit/s. I think lossless audio is around 1,200-2,700 kbit/s. If playing lossless audio though, wouldn't kind of defeat the purpose of a DAC. I mean, I know even though it's lossless it's still digital but it seems like the sample rate is close enough to analog that one wouldn't be able to tell the difference? If anyone has any good reference sites or documentation that explains all these concepts, I would appreciate.
I'm not totally new to high fidelity audio, but still relatively new. I have an engineering background and education level so these concepts of voltage and impedance are not new to me. I still have a lot to learn as always though. Any suggestions, corrections, concerns are always appreciated.
For my PC, I have an asus Z270E motherboard with a built in amp. I'll have to take a look at the specs to see if hooking my O2 amp up to my motherboard would help or if my motherboard is sufficient. I wouldn't doubt that my motherboard amp already provides sufficient power.
Jun 30, 2018
ridhuankim
669
Jul 1, 2018
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EvilGeniusEEFor your portable configuration.... how about just getting Fiio Q5 or the portable from IFI to make it simple.
I had once carried Oukitel K1000 pro(10000mah) + OTG + Centrance DacPort slim + Headphones(6xx or DT880 600ohms) but it is a bulk that you need to carry and you will need to make short custom cables and use blue tack to put them all together.
I have been through many other portable configuratuons but in the end I settled with Fiio Q5.
Jul 1, 2018
EvilGeniusEE
4
Jul 1, 2018
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ridhuankimI love it! I'll have to get one of those. They are pricey, kind of (in my opinion). It'd be nice if they had a massdrop for those. Thank you so much for the suggestion. I've added to my amazon shopping cart and plan to purchase when I have the extra $.
Jul 1, 2018
ridhuankim
669
Jul 1, 2018
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EvilGeniusEEGlad it inspired you. Talking of inspiring, after seeing your photo it made me remember my prrvious times and I just attached my Fiio E11(yeah its old and one of my early portable setup) to my LG G6's UAG case using blue tack and listening to my Sennheiser 6XX and SE846. Loving it again.
This E11 has BassBoost which I really like. Wasnt able to use with low impedance IEMs and this is my first time pairing with SE846 and hahaha it is good.
Thanks for bringing back my old days back. With this now I can select between Fiio Q5, E11(wired) and also Fiio BTR1.
Jul 1, 2018
RayF
22214
Jul 1, 2018
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EvilGeniusEELooks a tad complicated. I have the same phone and have no trouble driving the 6XXs directly from the phone with Apple's supplied Lightning to 1/8" connector. On the other hand, putting an Oppo HA-2 SE DAC/Amp in between the iPhone and the 6XXs does pump things up a bit.
The Oppo comes with a short Lighting to USB cable to connect and stack the iPhone. Seems like you could have connected your Fiio E17K with a less expensive Lightning to Micro USB cable? On the other hand, might be time to ditch the E17K for a new Q5 and skip all the cable hassles for good? I think about doing that from time to time, myself!
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Jul 1, 2018
miimu
15
Jul 1, 2018
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EvilGeniusEEDo you use them in public?
Jul 1, 2018
EvilGeniusEE
4
Jul 1, 2018
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miimuWell, I haven't received my HD6XX yet, but I plan on using them in public with my E17K if I'm on a long plane ride or something. Other than that, I have my Bose QC 35 II that I love because they are wireless. I also have the wired Sennheiser Momentums which I love the sound quality out of. Some people think the momentums suck but I love em. I was using an older Fiio E1 amp (I think it's E1) with the momentums. Not that they needed it, the impedance is only 18 ohms. So it depends. I'm still a young newbie into the HiFi world. It can be an expensive hobby. It seems all of my hobbies are really expensive because I like nice, high quality, high fidelity stuff. My that I built was about 5K, I love good quality guns, portable audio, car audio, home audio, 4K HDR displays. I need a higher paying job to support all my expensive hobbies.. lol.. I really love Sennheiser though. I'm not sure that I would try a different brand. Is there a store out where where you can try all this high end audio equipment before you buy? If not, there needs to be. Like Beyerdynamic, I've heard good things but have never tried them personally.. I want to buy some MBL speakers for home audio use. I've always loved MB Quart for car audio.
Jul 1, 2018
AndyMcc
65
Jul 2, 2018
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EvilGeniusEEWow you really have gotten into this. My advise is listen to what you have first and if you like it then you have saved yourself a bit of cash. An external Dac(and/or amp) will almost certainly be better than you PC soundcard because of the electrical noise that a PC generates. I cannot tell the difference between a high bit rate lossy file and a lossless file so maybe you should listen and see if the difference is noticeable to you. Like wise its really difficult to hear the difference Hi Res makes over normal CD quality, (unless you are blessed with a megabuck audio system and golden ears ) so a dedicated DAP is probably not neccessary if you have the Filo.
My phone and my ipod classic can get good sounds out of the HD650 but they are maxed out and it still sounds veiled, adding an MF amp helps a lot so the O2 amp is a good idea. I did put in an order for an FX audio Dac X6 cos it was cheap and has amp which on paper should drive the HD6XX, also easily upgraded with better PSU, op amp and capacitors.
Again only your ears and your musical preferences are important when choosing equipment. My advise start stock changing one component at a time and decide if its better for you. Not all upgrades are actually better some are just changes in flavour, more like a side grade, and too many upgrades could spoil what was good about a piece of equipment. Enjoy
Jul 2, 2018
Stadanko
6
Jul 8, 2018
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RayFIt's a shame that Oppo is shutting their doors for good.
Jul 8, 2018
RayF
22214
Jul 8, 2018
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StadankoPrior to my purchase, I'd never heard of Oppo--but I like my HA-2 SE. Not sure what their demise will do to prices but last time I looked, there were still a few HA-2 SE available from online retailers. Otherwise the Fiio Q5 looks good.
Jul 8, 2018
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