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
Personally 1. I lean towards open back phones because a. ventilation b. supposedly has wider sound-stage which helps with locating footsteps (I love FPS games) c. I like the flexibility of hearing my kids and wife talking to me or knowing if someone/something needs my attention if I have the volume just right, or turning the volume up to enjoy my music so I can't hear my surroundings 2. I like the comfort which these brings a. The velour earpads won't make my ears sweaty (doesn't stick on skin like some pleather or leather alternatives) b. These are light weight for the substantial power and quality it delivers in its class c. Clamping force is light 3. I like the looks and functionality of the microphone a. it looks like it belongs in a professional recording studio b. by rotating it upwards I can mute the mic 4. I prefer the cabling a. it does not have any dongle or control along the cable (don't like things weighing on my cables) c. its nice and braided but not too thick 5. It sounds a lot better than what it replaced
I also own the Kingston HyperX Revolver, but prefer the G4me One over it.
Things I hope it had or complaints: 1. I wish there's more bass. It's not that it doesn't have bass, it does. It has a very responsive bass in fact, but just not as visceral and powerful as say Beats (I also own Beats Solo HD) for example. I guess you just can't have everything. 2. Proprietary cable connection on the headset side - meaning you can't interchangeable use other cables that you own or would prefer 3. The mic is not-detachable. I'd love to use these on the go (ya... i dun care about sound leak issues) but the huge mic isn't the best fashion statement 4. The velour earpad is a lint magnet.... just have to clean often
Lastly, I personally don't like those dongles or integrated DSPs which gives you "Virtual Surround" sounds. The reason behind it is that: 1. Games nowadays, like Overwatch, supports things like Dolby ATMOS (http://www.dolby.com/us/en/categories/games/overwatch.html). It essentially means: a. It already offers you "virtual surround" like sound with your stereo headphone/headsets b. if you play competitively, you are naturally accustomed to the built-in in-game settings (i.e. at competition you won't be asked to turn off DSP or settings alike if the rules are strict, and then you'd have a different sound experience than you are used to) c. It normally is more expensive if your headset/headphone is marketed with virtual surround sound (i.e. G4me One & G4me Zero is cheaper than PCXXXs) d. If you absolutely want to play around (customise) EQ settings, most motherboard vendors nowadays do include software utilities which allows it to control the onboard sound cards. (if not, then there are others like Razer Surround Pro which I am using for free now, because I have their mechanical keyboard and the software utilities supports it, and I am sure there are 3rd party free ones you can d/l for free also).
Hope it helps!
From the research I had done though, Astros are superior in terms of features enabled by the mixer. Their features caters for streamers (i.e. mix/separate mic inputs to output to different audience/players and ability to hear and adjust volume of your own voice picked up by mic etc.) So I assume that's what you'd be spending your money on if you choose Astros. Although I've not heard what they sound like, I believe Sennheiser's sound quality really is right up there. (If not the best, one of the best in this price range)