Amp/DAC with HD6xx's

Submitted by AetherLionn t3_11c0wv3 in headphones

Hello everyone! I'm extremely new to any sort of in-depth audio experience, so I apologize in advance for anything that sounds super dumb.

My Astro A40's have served me faithfully. Unfortunately, the cord to the amp only needs to move about a nanometer to disconnect it, and the left half has started cutting out completely. I've recently made the change to a Blue Yeti boom mic. After experiencing how much more quality can be gained through a dedicated medium, I've decided that headsets aren't the way to go, and I should look for a standalone setup.

However, it's become abundantly clear to me that there's a lot to this I don't understand. From general research, it seems that the Sennheiser HD6xx's would be a decent open-backedpair of starter headphones. I've read all kinds of things about soundstages/imaging, and frankly, a lot that went over my head. Another thing I've come across is amp/dac stacks.

I'm barely able to grasp the concept, but it seems that for best volume levels, as well as maybe clarity/EQ(?), that having a setup like this would be best. Some say that you can just plug them in and go, while others say something like a Fiio e10k alone is good, and still yet I've read that I could get a combo unit.

It's all a bit much, as I've read that even getting an amp and dac from different companies can cause problems. So I was hoping to turn to some true audiophile experts and get some recommendations, as well as some ELI5 on how these systems as a whole work.

I apologize if this has been asked before. I've done a fair amount of research, google-fu, and reddit crawling, but always come out more confused. Thank you for any advice/help you can give!

Edit to add: Basically the only use for this is gaming. Pretty much all genres, some competitive siege/csgo included.

Also TL;DR: Whats a good amp/dac setup for the HD6XX'S, and how does it work?

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andysaurus_rex t1_ja12ijf wrote

There's a long version of this answer and a short version.

The short version is get a simple DAC/amp combo like the e10K or k7 or Schiit stack and just call it a day.

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AetherLionn OP t1_ja12oan wrote

So the e10k is both? And that performs just as well as stacking them individually?

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andysaurus_rex t1_ja133h4 wrote

Yes it's a combo unit as is the K7. There's nothing inherently better about having standalone units aside from being able to upgrade the amp separately from the DAC which you may eventually want to do.

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AetherLionn OP t1_ja13a32 wrote

Awesome, thank you so much. I might go with a combo unit as I'm sure it's more beginner friendly.

I tend to wait well past the due date for upgrades anyway, so it might be cheaper on me too. I see Schitt also has combo units like the full. Is it as good, or is this one of those "pick a price that works from a reputable company" things?

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andysaurus_rex t1_ja14hpw wrote

> Is it as good, or is this one of those "pick a price that works from a reputable company" things?

Take your pick. Both will work. They're good starting off points which I think is what you're looking for. There's like 20 good starter amp/DACs either in the form of combos or all in one units. Personally I'd only pick the Fulla if I wanted to use a headset with a mic on it.

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AetherLionn OP t1_ja14nib wrote

Ok, ill look into the e10k or k7 and learn a bit more about combo units. My mic is standalone so not a lot of use there.

Thank you again!!

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1trickana t1_ja293fp wrote

K7 is easily the best amp/DAC combo sub $300 out right now, Schiit doesn't come close

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andysaurus_rex t1_ja15ot7 wrote

Yeah I've been using a pretty basic Fiio amp/DAC for years. It's good. Good build quality. I've always been interested in Schiit's products because they look great an are a US based company. But would I discern a difference? Probably not.

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blorg t1_ja2t9mb wrote

K7 has a lot more power and more modern/better DAC as well. You'd have enough power with the K7 for 99% of headphones you might get in the future as well, it has 10-20x the power of the E10K.

I'd pass on the E10K, if you are looking at the E10K may as well just get a dongle like the Truthear Shio which is much more compact and portable and has both a better DAC and higher power (balanced) for the HD6XX- 4V vs 2.6V.

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ku1185 t1_ja19vj5 wrote

>it seems that the Sennheiser HD6xx's would be a decent open-backedpair of starter headphones

Wrong. They are decent opened-backed pair of endgame headphones.

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Bennedict929 t1_ja3pfhl wrote

The topping Dx1 is a decent dac/amp combo at $99, albeit not very powerful

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thms0 t1_ja32z7l wrote

Get a stack. It looks good. And you can upgrade/replace.JDS Atom + JDS Dac or Schiit depending on which have the lower shipping cost.

You could also got the used route.

I don't really like Fiio it sounds too cheap to me, they had a lot of bad/average products before becoming OK, but that's just my impression.
I'd rather have a UK company (Schiit) or JDS (JDS Labs) product (that will have most part sourced from China, I know)

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TagalogON t1_ja15g55 wrote

TL;DR: just get the Apple dongle or some other well-reviewed dongle (with physical volume control) and see if it gets your headphones loud enough. Your Realtek ALC1200/etc. from the motherboard will probably just drive the headphones just fine too.

Hello, try the cheaper headphones first before you get the HD6xx/etc. Some people talk of the Sennheiser veil or vocals part, so note that fact.

People really like the Sennheiser HD 560S for gaming instead of the HD 600 series.

For budget headphones over $100, see here for more info: https://www.reddit.com/r/HeadphoneAdvice/comments/11ak45m/what_are_the_best_overall_headphones_in_2023/j9sk0c0/

Oh and Amazon also offers financing for certain popular (Sennheiser) headphones (legit free, no interest rates/etc.), over 5 months or 12 months, and so on. It'll depend on your account history with them though, as in you will probably get that offer if you buy a lot from Amazon and don't return as much items.

Anyway, some people always just use the $10 Apple dongle/etc. with headphones. But you'll probably want a well-reviewed dongle (~$30-100) with physical volume control in order to have more volume variation (this is really helpful with background static/buzzing/hissing/etc.).

For the ~$10 Apple dongle, just note the reduced power if it's the EU version, or the apps needed on Android to bypass Android's DAC/etc. system in order to get the best capabilities.

Some people will say those cheap dongles are not enough and then the next progress would then be to get the usual $100 stacks/options of amps/DACs/etc. from JDS Labs, Topping, Schiit, etc.

But tbh, you'll probably have better value by just going with wired IEMs and gaming.

More info on headphones/IEMs and PC gaming: https://www.reddit.com/r/HeadphoneAdvice/comments/1151ezm/looking_for_1st_real_pair_of_headphones_mostly/j8zm0q8/

The $50 Truthear x crinacle Zero is the one that some people really like right now for gaming. Though yes you can just be fine with the $20 7Hz Salnotes Zero, etc.

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