Pretty much the same, my headphone amp is This stock tubes are pretty meh but I was satisfied with it. It lights up blue which is also fun at night. Probably the main reason I chose that one lol
A solid state amp won’t directly help with the bass, but if you have an equalizer already set up, then why not just crank the bass up manually? You are not constrained to the presets of others! You can do whatever you please! I understand buyer’s remorse, but the Sundara is not going to fix any of your current problems without introducing new problems and idiosyncrasies. You will still need an amp and you will still need to learn to do your own EQ. I recommend you try the HD600’s a little longer and work on what you dislike about the EQ and get at least a cheap amp.
Speaking of cheap amps, you can get this tiny tube amp for $53. It boosts soundstage and bass without getting rid of too much detail, and could alleviate your problems ——as long as you win the Quality Control Roulette. Just don’t tell anyone that I recommended this, or they might make fun of me. If you want something better, I recommend a better tube amp, as it is my understanding that almost all of them boost bass and soundstage. The HD600 is 300 ohms, so they’ll be fine covering up the idiosyncratic pops and hums that tubes sometimes have at startup.
I bought a pair of Beyerdynamics DT990 250Ω headphones. I was looking into headphone amps and I found this one on Amazon https://www.amazon.ca/Integrated-Amplifier-Vacuum-Stereo-Headphone/dp/B014FASL1A/ref=mp_s_a_1_11?keywords=Headphone+amp&qid=1660571719&sr=8-11
Would it work for the headphones or should I look for something else?
Nobsound NS-08E Vacuum Tube Headphone Amplifier Hi-Fi Valve Headphone Amp Stereo Audio Preamplifier https://www.amazon.com/dp/B014FASL1A/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_EAME15NC4HXB2E55B1XA
This one here worked great for $50. You could eventually upgrade to a something a little nicer like a schiit amp and dac. Not sure if I spelled that right or not.
He recently upgraded to that and it sounds damn good. He sold them and upgraded to the 1990.
Seriously tho, check out r/avexchange and try and get a pair used or even eBay. You may even be able to find one on the Reddit I mentioned with a detachable cable mod, that’s very nice to have.
I'm looking for a new amp to use with my desktop PC. Don't really need a DAC but an amp/dac combo is fine too.
I already own the Objective 2, which I really liked, but it keeps dying on me sadly. (I'll try to turn it back on after it goes off on me, it won't work, but then it will turn on again a few weeks later and work for several hours before pooping out again.)
When I started having that trouble with the O2, I bought a cheap tube amp (Nobsound NS-08E) from Amazon because I wanted to try tubes. It worked ok for the first while, but it has a problem where the left-side tube comes loose very easily, and when that happens while I'm using it, things get very unpleasant in my left ear. I started being afraid every time I used it that there was a chance it could both detroy my headphones and seriously damage my hearing, so I'm done using that thing. (Also the left side has just completely stopped working now.)
I own a bunch of different mid-fi headphones. Sennheisers HD 598 and 6XX, Monoprice M560, Beyerdynamic DT 770, and others I forget. I don't really care about finding the perfect amplification companion for any of these, but I do use my 598s the most as daily drivers for gaming etc. I'm more interested in just a reasonably-priced piece of kit that will last for years with responsible daily use.
Budget: around 150-200 CAD
Thanks
Alrighty, ordered this Nobsound Amp. It's an amp that can act as a preamp as well. This paired with the bluetooth module from the original setup and the MDRs, or just straight from the amp to the MDRs. If anyone's interested I'll report back.
Needed the bass and treble adjustment to adjust what pop's can hear.
I have a Fluance RT81 record player, will this headphone amp work for Audio Technica ath-900x headphones and will it sound accurate? I have very little knowledge of this so any help would be appreciated.
I read rule one but the sticky only applied to headphones, right? I think? I'm sorry :( The tube amp is here
It's "Amazon's choice", but I'll take your word for it. Thank you. Again, SO sorry for posting it here, it means SO MUCH that you responded.
I don't think it's lower end... I'm not familiar with yours, but it looks about the same, no? It's similar price-wise anyway.
It's connected via USB, yes. It's powered by USB, so there is no separate power cable.
It has an integrated amplifier, so you can just take headphones straight out of that.
In my case (I left this out before) I'm not using the amplifier, just the line out from the dac to this amplifier - https://www.amazon.com/Nobsound-NS-08E-Integrated-Amplifier-Headphone/dp/B014FASL1A/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1502805110&sr=8-2&keywords=nobsound
I only have this because I bought the amp first, and then later got the dac to feed it a cleaner signal.
The headphones are nice and comfy... but it's the sound that sold me. Certainly not flat response, they aren't for mastering. pronounced bass (but tight and big, not boomy) - nice highs, subdued mid. Great for electronic music and gaming.
I had Fiio E10K and ended up returning it after I got this hybrid tube amp, felt bad for recommending the Fiio to a friend after I got the tube amp and am still trying to get him to return it and try the tube amp.
The stock tubes are pretty mediocre but still better than the Fiio in my opinion. I immediately swapped the stock tubes out for GE E180F NOS new old stock tubes which gave significant improvement after they burned in. Planning on getting some Valvo Holland E180F new old stock tubes in the next few weeks as a Christmas present for myself. The GE tubes aren't lacking in any way, especially after burning in, so the Valvo's are really just for epeen sake/hobbyist mentality type shit.
Keep in mind that a hybrid tube amp is not a DAC but I personally think it sounds better than the Fiio did. I'm outputting lossless files from my motherboard's onboard audio (Realtek 1150) at 24bit 192khz and I get no chatter or background noise at all even when I turn everything all the way up so realistically I don't need a DAC at all as my output device is fine. If I ever start having problems with my onboard audio it I plan to get a JDS Labs standalone USB ODAC unit.
Oh yeah, headphones are Sennheiser PC350SE's which are 150 Ohm and I can't turn amp up too far past half or I'll blow my eardrums out with the volume tray on side of headset at 75% and PC output at 95%. EQ just barely boosted from flat, it could use a little more bass, considering Hero mod but still doing research and may just end up getting a dedicated headset instead of headset mic/combo. Only have the PC350SE's because I snagged a brown box special on Amazon for $66 on Black Friday.
I ended up buying this amp, noob question but how do I connect this sucker to the DAC I already have? It doesn't seem to come with any cords
Oh, I dont use the optical on the PS4. I feed HDMI into my tv and it has optical out of that. I actually find my tv has a bit of audio coming before image so lips dont match up perfectly even on gamer mode so I run everything including my pc out that way since it has an option to add a tiny bit of audio delay.
It sounds ridiculous to say but you could connect an amp our your tv then plug your headphones to that. This way your not using your $150 headphones and it will only cost you like $30-$50 for a decent one.
Forget the name...cheap from Amazon but it does surprisingly well. Crisp highs, warm mids, okay bass but that’s what the SUBPAC is there to substitute haha
Found it: Nobsound NS-08E Vacuum Tube Headphone Amplifier Hi-Fi Valve Headphone Amp Stereo Audio Preamplifier https://www.amazon.com/dp/B014FASL1A/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_dMWrEbST14VV1
And here’s what I use as the pre-amp if I want even more juice: Nobsound NS-10P Mini Vacuum Tube Preamp Audio Hi-Fi Stereo Pre-Amplifier Treble & Bass Control https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07719G56B/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_pNWrEbV3KVVVB
If you want a little more bass, get an equalizer. If you use Windows, EqualizerAPO is completely free. The easier to use EqualizerAPO user interface, Peace, is also completely free. And you can even get the EqualizerAPO HeSuVi add-on, which turns 7.1 virtualization into binaural sound, which is great for FPS games. Again, completely free.
If you don’t have Windows, then I think you are on the right track with the CRA and Zero. Just be mindful that new headphones come with new idiosyncrasies. I have heard tell that the CRA isn’t very resolving. I don’t know what the Zero’s problems are yet, but I’m confident they are there. I don’t think that you are going to get a wider soundstage from another IEM in the sub-$50 price bracket.
You could potentially get this tiny tube amp, which adds quite a bit of soundstage without too much nasty distortion, but you would also need a 220ohm impedance aux plug hooked up right before your headphone cable in order for the tube amp to play nice with IEMs (it gets rid of hum and makes the SPL/volume manageable). All told, it’s about $60 before tax and shipping, assuming that you live in the continental US. Assuming that you win the quality control raffle. The reward, though, is that your Chus will sound and soundstage a lot like the B2:Dusk. They won’t have the resolution of the Dusks, but for a fourth of the cost of actual Dusks, it’s a pretty sweet deal.
As ever, don’t just take my word for it. Do some research. I’m only presenting things that you maybe don’t know about, giving you some encouragement on the things that you’ve already researched.
Do you perhaps have high impedance headphones? Many higher quality headphones come in impedences from 250 up to 600ohms.
Your basic cheap earbuds will usually be 8 ohms. A lot of entry-level headphones will be 32.
The thing is, the higher the impedance, the more power you need to drive them properly. My BeyerDynamics are 250 ohms and sound REALLY quiet when I connect them directly to the laptop. So I have a headphone amplifier which lets them sing.
https://www.headphonesty.com/2019/04/headphone-impedance-demystified/
Or... maybe it’s just not wired solidly... :)
Great looking setup, the white with what looks like bamboo goes great together.
I have had the Q350 for a few years and can offer things I've learned to get the most out of them.
These worked for me in getting a noticeable improvement for the least amount of money but are not a minimum requirement, the Q350 sound great out of the box to me but I went from a ~$1000.00 USD system a few years back to what is now pushing about ~$7000 USD and feels as dialed in as I can make it and I have found where there are some diminishing returns. Here are things I have tried starting with what made the biggest difference.
Hope that helps, like I said these are subjective improvements I found significant relative to how much more it cost but everyone's usage, room and taste is different.
The problem is that this technology isn't cheap, so anyone trying to make a $100 preamp with tubes probably is going to cut a lot of corners. Look at this Nobsound. It says it has a ton of power for any headphones. For $50? I bet it's solid state, with the tubes there just for looks. That's why they put the blue lights under the tubes.
~~Even the Schiit Vali doesn't use the tube when only being a preamp. It uses the tube for a preamp for headphones, but when you just use it as a preamp for speakers, it skips over the tube. Schiit is known for having great bang for your buck, and they can't get tubes into it at $150.~~
I would probably get a Schiit Saga if you can.
Edit: I was wrong about Schiit. Get the Schiit Vali.
I use this.
Works great and it really punches way above its pay grade.
I recommended the Prozer above, which is a great "cheap" option. If you wanna pay a bit more, pretty much anything from FiiO will do you splendidly, and they even have some portable options as well. If you're wanting something like a tube amp, which uses "good" distortion to add warmth and saturation to the sound, then the Nobsound is a pretty good option.
Of course, there are far more expensive options, but I personally have never tried them as I'm kind of a cheap ass, but those are all great, and if nothing else, will at least hold you over for a while until you know you're ready to invest in maybe a $300 headphone amp.
Also, here's a Top 10 article that lists some options as well: http://www.wirerealm.com/guides/top-10-best-headphone-amplifiers
> https://www.amazon.com/dp/B014FASL1A?psc=1
has no DAC, OP is asking for an external DAC, not to look 'cool,' when actually, this fake tube amp (yes, they tubes are doing zero amplification) makes you look the opposite lmao
> https://www.amazon.com/FiiO-E10K-Headphone-Amplifier-Black/dp/B00LP3AMC2
has no line out, and we don't know if OP has a stereo, or a headphone setup, this only works for headphones (or active studio monitors)
I bought this tube amp: Nobsound NS-08E (https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B014FASL1A/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s04?ie=UTF8&psc=1)
Is it even a real tube amp? Is it a chi-fi scam?