Jump to content
Hamer Fan Club Message Center
  • 0

Headphone amp/DAC recommendations for an iMac?


specialk

Question

I thought there was a thread already on HA/DACs, but I couldn't find it. 

I recently got a new iMac and a halfway decent pair of Sennheiser headphones. It sounds pretty good as is, but I remember headphone amps/DACs suggestions from a while back. If I could stay under $100 that'd be great. I don'y have super great hearing, so I don't need specs only a dog would appreciate, just maybe something a little better than what I have now. No optical/digital outputs on the new iMacs, just a 3.5mm jack.

Any suggestions? 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

14 answers to this question

Recommended Posts

People often don't give this consideration, but some of the USB interfaces are pretty inexpensive and you can use them to record as well, if you're interested in that at all.  Presonus and Focusrite make some nice stuff at that price point. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I received an Audioquest DragonFly Black as a gift.  A usb-based solution.  $100.

http://a.co/5haQGS3

Plenty powerful for my AKG K240 headphones and makes a night and day difference.  I've also got a dongle from my iPhone into it and then into my home stereo.  Makes the downloaded MP3s and whatnot sound pretty impressive.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Tom: Thanks for the link. I'd never heard of Massdrop before and it looks pretty amazing.

 

TR: I'm sorta leaning towards a Dragonfly and it was good to hear from someone who's actually used one. 

 

A question for any Dragonfly user out there: Will it work when connected to a USB hub (that's connected to the computer) or does it have to be connected to the computer directly?

 

In case anyone else is wondering, I heard back from Audioquest. They said, "Unless you connect several USB powered devices on your hub, no side effects are to be expected when you connect the DragonFly on your Hub." 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have a laptop with USB3 connections and plugged a simple, cheap old usb1 4-port hub into it, then loaded it up with a wireless keyboard dongle, a usb mic, a powered JABRA headset and THEN the DragonFly.  Got a windows warning on the DragonFly:

image.png

However, when I removed my USB headset and Dragonfly, then put the DragonFly back on, all good.  Then added headphones, all good with all four.

So, yeah, it'll work.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 3/5/2018 at 4:16 PM, Toadroller said:

I received an Audioquest DragonFly Black as a gift.  A usb-based solution.  $100.

http://a.co/5haQGS3

Plenty powerful for my AKG K240 headphones and makes a night and day difference.  I've also got a dongle from my iPhone into it and then into my home stereo.  Makes the downloaded MP3s and whatnot sound pretty impressive.

That's pretty impressive. I used to have a pair of AKG 240s that needed a good headphone amp to sound their best.

AudioQuest invented that format of USB DAC and they've really caught on with several manufacturers.

Top row left to right are USB DACs from Cambridge Audio, AudioEngine, a more upscale Dragonfly from AudioQuest, the Meridian Explorer which can decode MQA files, and the Alpha Design Labs Cruise headphone amp w/USB DAC.

g_CADMXS_BLK_FRONT.jpgg_aud3_1.jpg g_aqdrflyr_4.jpg  g_meexplo2.jpgg_adcruise_hand.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've got two sets of AKG240s; one from, oh, 1989/90 vintage, 600 ohm resistance, 1/4 plug, and, through the years, more than one touch with the soldering iron to keep the cable connected.  Second pair I bought from Amazon a year or two ago.  1/8 inch modular cable that can be replaced (and has been- kids don't treat mah stuff as nicely as I would), with much lower resistance to drive.  For $60, they're a great value as a headphone.  I'm sure they'd be a good gateway to going all out into the world of heaphone pursuit, but for me, they're all I need.

Good enough to know the "air pods", though convenient for travel, sound like shit.  And are worthless while traveling- like on a plane or trane or in a room where people are talking or walking down a city street or...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

23 hours ago, Toadroller said:

I've got two sets of AKG240s; one from, oh, 1989/90 vintage, 600 ohm resistance, 1/4 plug, and, through the years, more than one touch with the soldering iron to keep the cable connected.  Second pair I bought from Amazon a year or two ago.  1/8 inch modular cable that can be replaced (and has been- kids don't treat mah stuff as nicely as I would), with much lower resistance to drive.  For $60, they're a great value as a headphone.  I'm sure they'd be a good gateway to going all out into the world of heaphone pursuit, but for me, they're all I need.

The AKG 240 series revolutionized the recording industry when introduced in the mid-'70s. At that time, the recording industry standard was the Sennheiser HD414. The Sennheiser looked cheap, but sounded really good and was so light it was comfortable to wear for long periods. It was mostly used in the recording room for the musicians adding additional tracks.

AKG developed the K240 to for playback monitoring in the control room or for on-site location recording. Those headphones were designed to avoid the variables in studio monitors and studio acoustics to get more consistent playback across Europe. So the 240 series had a very linear response and deep bass extension that the Sennheiser HD414 didn't have.

23 hours ago, Toadroller said:

Good enough to know the "air pods", though convenient for travel, sound like shit.  And are worthless while traveling- like on a plane or trane or in a room where people are talking or walking down a city street or...

Assuming you're referring to earbuds, in my experience the $2 handouts on airliners are so godawful that they're useless.

However, there are also some very high end, good sounding in-ear monitors available.

As for me, I can't use earbuds no matter how good they are. One of my ear canals is a little narrower than average and any earbuds I've tried irritates the narrow canal and causes itching.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Air Pods are a $2.00 ear bud with a bluetooth wireless connection and an Apple branding, so they're ~$100.  Still sound like $2.00 ear buds.

I've had a bunch of in-ears through the years, mostly leaning towards the ones that seal to knock down the background noise; $100 and $200 Shures, which are great, but after an hour or two (airline flights) just plain torture.

I've had a few on-ear noise canceling from $60 no-names to decent Audio Technicas to my current Jabra over-the-ears with a noise cancelling Mic- not the greatest sound but certainly listenable on long flights and train rides.  Mile better than an ear bud fighting all the background noise.  Also, very warm when walking the city streets in november-march!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

While we're (tangentially) on the subject of headphones, I thought I'd pass on the current headphone closeouts by AudiioAdvisor.

Here is their 30-day Return Policy and conditions on their FAQs page.

If these brands are unfamiliar to you, it's because they're a more recent wave of high performing designs. Some are from new companies, others such as Oppo, PSB, Focal and others are recent high performing headphones by high performance digital (Oppo), electronic (NAD), or speaker (PSB, Focal) companies. HiFiMan and Audeze are recent high performance headphone companies.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 3/4/2018 at 4:57 PM, scottcald said:

People often don't give this consideration, but some of the USB interfaces are pretty inexpensive and you can use them to record as well, if you're interested in that at all.  Presonus and Focusrite make some nice stuff at that price point. 

My first  thought as well.  If you don't need the portability of those thumb-drivey-lookin' thingamabobs, then a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 (or even a Solo) you do the job.   It's what I use for almost all my listening, and even the occasional recording.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I thought I had replied to this already.  Plus 1 on the usb interface. I have a focusrite 6i6 and it has a great built in headphone amp.  Plus it has good preamps for mics and recording guitar and bass.  I run all my audio from my Mac through the 6i6 so I can use the volume to control using headphones or the monitor speakers.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 3/21/2018 at 4:53 PM, mathman said:

I thought I had replied to this already.  Plus 1 on the usb interface. I have a focusrite 6i6 and it has a great built in headphone amp.  Plus it has good preamps for mics and recording guitar and bass.  I run all my audio from my Mac through the 6i6 so I can use the volume to control using headphones or the monitor speakers.

The Focusrite DACs have gotten the attention of the mainstream high end audio mags. I remember a few years ago either Stereophile or The Absolute Sound did a survey review of USB DACs and they really liked the Focusrite based on its sound quality, let alone its price/performance ratio and versatility.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...