HeadPhone Amp ?

[humax]

Hi All

Do you guys think I might need a Headphone Amp ? My Beyerdynamic DT 770 PRO Studio Headphones - 250 Ohm, just don't sound that good. At the moment I have a Epiphany Acoustics E-DAC 24 bit connected to my PC by USB it then runs to my NAD 320BEE and I then use the headphone socket on the NAD but I just can't put my finger on it but it sounds a bit crap. Do you guys think a Headphone Amp would help in a case like this.


Thanks All .

 

[Rroff]

Definitely going to need some kind of amp with the 250 Ohm to sound good however I'm not familiar with the output power of the NAD so have no idea if its upto the job or not.

EDIT: Couple of things - that amp seems to have a lot of options for managing sound output clipping and equalisation control, etc. which can make sound a bit meh and it seems to have 220 Ohm output impedance if I'm reading that right on the headphone connection? if so that is pretty bad I'm hoping I'm reading that wrong/misunderstanding as it would make all but ultra high end, ultra high impedance headphones sound pretty poor.

 

[humax]

Oh bugger just my luck to have a crap Amp

 

[Rroff]

Stuff that manipulates the sound like clipping controls can usually be disabled - I'm not familiar with that amp so no idea how they are implemented or if they are even used on the headphone output.

Quoting from elsewhere in respect to the output impedance though:

With a power amplifier the headphone output is connected to the speaker outputs. To prevent damage to amp and headphones resistors are placed in between. The value of these resistors is rather high (300 ~ 600 Ohm) and as a result the effective output impedance of the headphone jack is high.

Such a high output impedance changes the frequency characteristic of the headphone. Lower frequencies are more emphasized, presenting a feeling of more power. However, detail and speed of the bass as well as of the midrange/treble generally suffer.

Most headphones have been designed to be driven by a headphone jack with a low output impedance. . .

Some people like the effect of increased (and somewhat sloppy) bass.

 

[humax]

At the moment i have my TV connected to the Nad as well and that sounds fine,but the headphones don't sound that good. So should i replace the NAD or go with a headphone amp.


Thanks for the help so far

 

[ethan]

I replaced my Nad D3020 for the M-Dac. This would have no trouble with your headphones and last time I looked it was going for about £450.00

 

[humax]

I replaced my Nad D3020 for the M-Dac. This would have no trouble with your headphones and last time I looked it was going for about £450.00

Don't have that kind of money to spend

 

[maj]

Can't find much info about the NAD you have but Schiit do some good price vs performance headphone amps. I've got a Vali 1 I'm going to be listing on the MM soon and it will drive the DT770 250ohm's no problem (I know this as I have a pair too). What media are you listening to? FLAC/Loseless will make a big difference.

 

[Marsman]

Do you use the NAD just for headphones, or speakers as well?

In any case; I wouldn't replace that with another speaker amp, just for a better headphone output.

Headphone outputs are too vague on speaker amps, to the point where there's no info at all that is readily available; only the specs for the speaker output. With a headphone amp, the specs are given. Some manufacturers give more detail than others, but you get a much better idea of whether the amp will be able to drive the headphone in mind than you will a speaker amp. An amp such as the NAD 320BEE or any other similar amp is first and foremost an amp for speakers; the headphone output is to some extent an afterthought. Convenient though for easy to drive headphones.

£450 DAC/amp is unrealistic money to spend on £120 headphones, even if you had that much to spend. The above suggestion of Schiit is much more affordable. A Magni 2 or 3, would be a good choice. Plenty of power for any future headphones you may get, even ones much more demanding than the DT770 and you could add a Modi 2 DAC at some point if you so wished; or just stick with the E-DAC.

 

[ethan]

£450 DAC/amp is unrealistic money to spend on £120 headphones, even if you had that much to spend.

It's not if he wishes to upgrade his headphone later on. He didn't give a budget and I assumed he might have been selling his Dac and amp to fund part of the cost.

 

[EsaT]

Definitely going to need some kind of amp with the 250 Ohm to sound good

EDIT: Couple of things - that amp seems to have a lot of options for managing sound output clipping and equalisation control, etc. which can make sound a bit meh and it seems to have 220 Ohm output impedance if I'm reading that right on the headphone connection?

250 ohm Beyers don't need anything special over little voltage... available from even Realtek codecs.
They need only average amount of power which with that impedance means very low current and they're almost purely resistive load without any bigger phase shifts.
Heck, just couple hours ago tested 250ohm DT990s on Sony Z3 Compact phone: Easily enough volume for fair sound level with good sound and excellent tight bass.


Speaker output certainly can't have that much output impedance, because speakers have been built for decades around pretty much zero output impedance and high electric damping factor.
But that output impedance would fit to that NAD lacking real headphone output:
They just sticked headphone connector there and connected it to speaker amplifier through resistors.

 

[Rroff]

Dunno about the 990 to be fair but I used to own the 770 250s - definitely sounded better with an amp than straight off the average headphone output though not as much as the difference with my Sennheiser HD600.

 

[EsaT]

At the moment i have my TV connected to the Nad as well and that sounds fine,but the headphones don't sound that good. So should i replace the NAD or go with a headphone amp.

So you're using speakers for both PC and TV?
(I certainly wouldn't want to use speakers built into TVs...)
Are also headphones for use with both PC and TV or did you stick them to NAD just because of E-DAC's lack of headphone output?

What you need connected to what decides what's best approach to improve situation.

Don't have that kind of money to spend

No need to spend half grand for expensive little functionality devices.
For example you can get sound cards with top level D/A converter (that's what DAC means) and headphone output good enough for pretty much any headphone for lot less.
Heck, Sound Blaster Z has better DAC (and lots of other functionality) than that E-DAC's ESS9023.
Very likely your motherboard's integrated is as good signal if implementation just avoids EMI. (motherboard cramped place for sound card)

 

[humax]

Can't find much info about the NAD you have but Schiit do some good price vs performance headphone amps. I've got a Vali 1 I'm going to be listing on the MM soon and it will drive the DT770 250ohm's no problem (I know this as I have a pair too). What media are you listening to? FLAC/Loseless will make a big difference.

Hi

I listen to all kinds to be honest mostly in to rock music in any form FLAC/Loseless however it comes.

 

[humax]

Hi

Thanks for all the help so far guys. What i also should have said it that the NAD in also connected to my TV and it sounds fine. Its just the headphones that sound kinda crap on the NAD So from what I'm reading here the best way to go is to try a headphone amp and see how it goes. I was thinking about getting one that also has the DAC with it as well but i think that then means i would also have to change the speakers as well and I'm trying not to do that if i can help it as i love my mission speakers.

 

[EsaT]

was thinking about getting one that also has the DAC with it as well but i think that then means i would also have to change the speakers as well and I'm trying not to do that if i can help it as i love my mission speakers.

Do you need headphones connected also to TV (for example at night to not bother neighbours) or are you using only speakers with TV?

Would be lot easier to say what are possible options if you told what sources need to be connected to which "output device".

 

[humax]

Do you need headphones connected also to TV (for example at night to not bother neighbours) or are you using only speakers with TV?

Would be lot easier to say what are possible options if you told what sources need to be connected to which "output device".

Hi

Yes speakers on kinda of low on the day time but i live in a street house so to blast my music at night i put the headphones on so i don't wake the street up

 

[Rroff]

You don't need to spend a massive amount on a headphone amplifier - aside from some specific exceptions like the Sennheiser 600 series it rarely makes sense spending more on an amp than the cost of the headphones either.

 

[humax]

You don't need to spend a massive amount on a headphone amplifier - aside from some specific exceptions like the Sennheiser 600 series it rarely makes sense spending more on an amp than the cost of the headphones either.

That's good to know as i hate spending money so what would you say i should be spending and on which Amp.

Thanks
.

 

[Rroff]

As someone mentioned above the Schiit series seems to be popular with the Beyers and start around £100 or a little less if you are lucky. Fiio also do some reasonable options though more designed for portable use and/or DAC/amps.

Or if you are feeling adventurous make your own CMoy