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
It's really sad because USB is toted as the cleanest signal transfer because it's not as vulnerable to outside interference, while you can use a Aux cable to connect inputs to the DAC it's irritating to know that you are not getting the cleanest and best possible experience that the device is capable of giving all because of a poor design choice.
If you plan on using USB at all you should just skip this device all together and maybe grab something like the 02+SDAC or for portable maybe an OPPP HA-2SE.
If you need DSD, the magni line from Schiit along with an external powered DAC only unit like the Topping D30 will fit the bill and only be about $40 + more in shipping and give much more power into 250, 300, and 600 ohm headphones if you have Sennheiser and beyerdynamic that run those resistances.
If you want portable, there are plenty of options other than this, but this has one of the strongest portable outputs capable of decently driving 300 ohms, as I've not seen many portables have more than 500 mW into 32 ohms which turns into approx 150-180 mW into 300 ohms, as the hd 6xx takes about 200 mW max sustained and the different frequencies can peak up to supposedly 500 mW, something a portable isn't going to do unless you have a battery backup that can supply the voltage and amperage for a wall-powered unit (not cheap or portable but if you absolutely HAVE to it's about the only option). The Pic HeadAmp Power is probably the most comparable on massdrop right now, and a few SMSL portables might meet the power but some might need a separate DAC.
A portable with XLR out might push 300-350 mW which will handle a 300 ohm headphone most of the time, but typically you're looking closer to $300+ on a portable plus a USB power bank to supply it if it doesn't take a DC adapter.
Kinda sucks that the flaws in this between outdated xmos drivers (I didn't have any issue with unsigned drivers from windows 10 64 bit but others have, there are two installs that are needed, you can't just extract the second part and get it to run and be recognized as signed apparently) and USB adapter design choices, this is probably the best all-around portable DAC/Amp around. Very clean sound floor, good decode rates with DSD for the price, optical option as well.
another thing have been solved out with this strengthening welding -makes no sense to me- is the imbalance of channels on low volume seems gone away!!- again a defect ?! Hopefully you can get yours fixed.
lastly; if you have also some other defects -like mine for a 6 months device bought from gearbest and not Massdrop- I have removed the itchy sound coming from the potentiometer by spaying it from the side holes with electronic flush contact cleaner spray. Just be carful not to splash the device.
not bad device...but lots of quality control defects!
If you could let me know what type of screwdriver to get that would be a big help so I can at least look into it. Thanks!
tye type of screw driver used is Torx and the size of head is 7 (fits perfectly) or 6 (would work but a bit loose).
hope this helps