Any recommendations for a DAC/AMP for headphone use from PC?

rids57 said:
Can't recall hearing much Daft Punk but if you like listening to Jarre and Vangelis then the 702's or Q701's would take some beating. I listen to a lot of Yes, Oldfield, Jarre, Al Di Meola, King Crimson, ELP, Eric Johnson, Satriani and for this type of music the AKG's are a league above the others. I still prefer the Beyers for heavier rock as they have a more satisfying bass growl but most of the time I find myself using the AKGs.

I just went and had a listen to Daft Punk on YouTube, so quality wasn't the greatest, on the STX with both headphones:

There is a fair amount of bass on DP tracks and the Beyers definitely bring that out more but the AKG's made it much easier to pick out every instrument/voice, the Beyers were much more "compressed" in comparison.

I guess it boils down to where your priorities lie, if it's bass then go for the Beyers or if it's sound stage, mids and separation then go with the AKGs. The Q701's might be a good compromise but they cost more and depend on your hair. :D
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Ah Satriani, got some of his early work, surfing with the alien and the like, and some Vai and of course some Malmsteen, also love listening to Yello :cool:

So tough call, as I love crystal clear mids and highs and tight clean bass, but I'd hate for a set to be really lacking in the bass dept, I'm by no means a bass head, but still like it to have impact when and how it should be?

I have short but thick hair so I may nosey at the Q701s?
 
The safer bet would be the DT990's as they sound good no matter what kind of music you are playing.
The AKG's are notoriously difficult to drive and so do respond to better amping, they actually do change their signature over time (unlike most headphones) and can be described as bass light - but only if you compare them with something like the X1 which is bass boosted. People tend to have a love/hate relationship with these, some people just can't get past the lack of booming bass but once you're past that they really shine.
 
rids57 said:
Is there nowhere you could listen to them locally?
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Not sure, I'll see if any local stores do demos?


rids57 said:
The safer bet would be the DT990's as they sound good no matter what kind of music you are playing.
The AKG's are notoriously difficult to drive and so do respond to better amping, they actually do change their signature over time (unlike most headphones) and can be described as bass light - but only if you compare them with something like the X1 which is bass boosted. People tend to have a love/hate relationship with these, some people just can't get past the lack of booming bass but once you're past that they really shine.
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Thinking about my main styles of music, most aren't bass heavy, so I may still enjoy the 702s? And the STX can drive up to 600ohm cans, is it not enough for the 702s? If not I best delete them from my list?
 
Just listening to "Surfing with the Alien" (FLAC) by Satriani through the 702's and the STX and it sounds very good, the STX isn't struggling at all. The problem with the AKG's isn't their impedance, it's their sensitivity, or lack of. I wasn't worried about the STX being able to drive them loud enough, I was more concerned with it being able to drive them well, basically to allow them to sound at their best and the STX does a pretty decent job. A good match for the 702's is the FiiO E09K desktop amp and that has the same driver opamps as the STX. The bass has a bit more "oomph" through the Aune and the sound stage is even bigger, which means that if you were to upgrade to an external DAC/Amp in the future they would sound even better.

I'm wondering if some of the reason the 702's are £40 cheaper than the Q701's is that the Q701's are still made in Austria (much higher wages) while the 702's are now made in China (along with most electronics these days) and the tank like Beyers are made in Germany.
 
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So are the Q701s likely to have the same sensitivity issues with the STX as the 702s do? Same family of cans etc?

I think my preference based on your info is either of the AKGs especially the Q's as they seem to get rave reviews, but just worried that the STX won't be doing them any justice and I'll be disappointed (even though this'll be my first time using such higher end cans)?
 
If your main criteria is music with a little gaming your looking at all rounders like DT770 if you want closed. DT990 or X1's for open.

With AKG they are really good for gaming and lack bass on the Q701 and K702 iirc. Also have comfort issues and are very hard to drive.

But I don't think your sound card suits X1's.

So I would choose DT770 or DT990 in your shoes.

One is open the other closed, depends on your environment which would be better. 770 for a noisy environment. 990 for peaceful environment.
 
I wish I'd read up first, I thought any headphones would work with the STX but it seems it's not that simple?

So is the STX too powerful for the X1s?

My other choice in the OP were the Philips M1's, what hifi gave them a glowing review?
 
Well ideally you need to pair an amp with matching speakers or headphones. It's not easy to do. all amps and DAC's also have their own sound signature as well. So not only do you need to find one with the right power but the right sound that suits you and your headphones.

I'm thinking of pairing the Fidelio x1 with a aune t1.

Then buying a str dn1040 to use with floorstanders. I could just buy a nad D 3020 which does both but apparently the headphone output is not that good.

So don't rush into a purchase match everything for the perfect sound.
 
Also, as I said, the X1's will work fine with the STX because even though there is an impedance mis-match, they are not overly sensitive to the results of that mismatch because their impedance remains quite flat across the frequency range. Headphones such as the Sennheiser HD598 have a resonance spike that sees their impedance change from 50 to getting on for 300 at around 80Hz - so if you tried matching these with a Creative sound card, whose output impedance is up above 30ohms, you would have real problems in the bass department.
 
Space Monkey said:
I'm just looking into the Beyerdynamic DT990 Pro's 250 Ohm, is that the best 990 PRO to pair with the STX?
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You can get the DT770 in 32, 80, 250 and 600 ohm versions
You can get the DT880 in 32, 250 and 600 ohm versions
But I think you can only get the DT 990 in 250 and 600 ohm versions.

The best sounding are reputedly the 600 ohm versions of each BUT they are also a lot harder to drive and I think the STX might struggle even at the highest gain setting. Also, the 600 ohm versions are (I think) only available as the Premium version, which costs a lot more, mostly due to the metal housing it seems because they use the same drivers.
 
Some YT reviews...

AKG K702 review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPUyyK9G82g

AKG Q701 review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0kfzAiZafs

AKG K612 review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MHZKYCyLh8 - cheaper than the 7## series but a very classy headphone all the same

Philips Fidelio X1 review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5GxWTzK0CA

Beyerdynamic DT990 review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lp8pw9f0C0M

If you're considering the Q701 then the Sennheiser HD 600 seems to have dropped in price (£214) and that's an end game piece of kit.

Sennheiser HD 580, 600 & 650 review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2Es9S9tXTY

*** All of the above will work fine with the STX ***
 
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