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
The thicker mid-bass is part of the signature of the headphone - that has nothing at all to do with the amplifier. The iDEA's 0.5 Ohm output impedance is low enough to avoid coloration of almost any headphone's sound.
I also tried them out of my iphone se (around 4 Ohms output impedance). This also sounded very good, with the mid-bass nicely attenuated. Unfortunately, the sub-bass through lower-mids were also equally attenuated which made the upper end of the spectrum sound a bit brighter too. Some people may really like that more neutral sound. I am just not one them.
The output impedance of the iphone se results in about a -6 dB attenuation from sub-bass through ~500 Hz, less after that range. IMO, what you're hearing as soundstage improvements is just mids/treble accentuation. Also, there is a bit of noise picked up from the iphone with the uber-sensitive andromeda (scrolling motions make an easily audible hiss). The iDEA is dead silent with the Andromeda, indicating a very low noise floor.
Points being, andromeda is a great sounding headphone, "sounds good" is entirely subjective, and the iDEA is objectively a good dac/amp. I would rather hear the signature of an earphone uncolored by impedance issues, that's all.
Portable DAC/amps you should check out are the Dragonfly Red, Oppo HA2SE, Chord Mojo, ifi iDsd Black Label and the mini version of the Black Label. Personal preference is one thing but, I assure you, there's no way you'd still think the iDea or your phone's built-in soundcard is acceptable to drive the Andros once you try out any of the ones I've mentioned above.
Also, there's no need to obsessing over impedance really. If hissing the issue, from my experience there are probably more portable DAC/amps that don't hiss with the Andros than those that do. If it's about sound, low or close to zero impedance doesn't necessarily equate to better sound either.
I'm sure all the amp/dac you listed sound great with the Andros. Which specifically have you tried with the Andro?