[iZLodei]

Quite suitable. But now when I have already own Herus I would buy something more powerful and desktop.

 

[Bukem]

  Quite suitable. But now when I have already own Herus I would buy something more powerful and desktop.

Exactly why I asked. Most portable devices I own do not have sufficient juice to power these cans. I was wondering if the Herus solves this.

 

[iZLodei]

Just one example. I have got Shure SA-1 (vintage headphone preamp) and UE9000. With Herus I almost never play music with UE9000 only through UE900. But when I connected UE9000 to Shure and played one-two tracks I was excited with bass I heard so UE900 had stored in box since this moment

 

[money4me247]

  Would the Herus be suitable to drive an AKG Q701?

it will work & be sufficient to drive the Q701. however, for a portable on-the-go device, I would recommend looking at other options as the Herus has quite a weird boxy shape that makes it difficult to transport and requires a micro-usb to usb B type cable which is difficult to find at shorter lengths. The Herus also drains quite a bit of power from your mobile device.
 
I can see the Herus being used well with laptops, but for smartphone and/or portable audio players, you will be better off getting a portable dac/amp device (such as the Fiio E17K2, JDS C5D, or Oppo HA-2 for example) rather than a usb-style dac/amp (such as the dragonfly, hrt, explorer, or herus). The usb-style devices are really more geared to be used with a PC or laptop. The Dragonfly will work better than the Herus as the Herus is realistically too bulky and weirdly shaped to stack well. Another option would be the Cozoy Astrapi for a really small-form factor dac/amp. I have not tried the HRT MS or Explorer for portable usage.

 

[Bukem]

Hi,
 
Thanks for your elaborate answer. Perhaps I should have been more specific. My Q701 is used primarily with a macbook or iPhone. I prefer to stay digital up to the dac so this governs a USB connection (or dock/lightning connectivity). I am not too bothered about power as I don't intend to walk the streets with my AKG and power outlets have not been an issue for me. The sound quality is my #1 priority. Cables and all the rest can be sorted.
 
Rgds,
 
Bukem

 

[iZLodei]

Meridian Explorer has less audio quality and can't works without ext power bank with iPads and iPhones.
I bought Explorer first than Herus.
Important note: Herus has Jack 6.3 so you have (in 99% cases) to buy 6.3 to 3.5 adapter. My advice is to buy Furutech adapter for example. Sound would be more rich.

 

[Bukem]

tks. AKG comes with both so fortunately not an issue. 

 

[iZLodei]

OEM adaptors (which sold with headphones) are a crap. I tried many. So bought Furutech I and heard the difference.

 

[Bukem]

You're suggesting contact resistance on connectors used by AKG is crap?

 

[iZLodei]

No, I meant sort of metal of adapters not headphones at all.
I have this guy
http://d2rxstqtpnd7ny.cloudfront.net/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/650x/040ec09b1e35df139433887a97daa66f/f/-/f-63-g.jpg

 

[Bukem]

 
You're suggesting contact resistance on connectors used by AKG is crap?

adapter, connector, same thing to me.

 

[dmbr]

Hi guys,

Yesterday i've opened DAC world by trying AQ DragonFly with my Sennheiser IE 800 on mac mini

I really loved the sound which comed from dragonfly. So decided to purchase a DAC. i've found many alternatives to AQ DF. 
But the problem is i'm a newcomer to all this and not sure what will be the best DAC option to use with Sennheiser IE 800 (16 ohm) earphones with mac mini ( and possibly with the iPhone ) 

The alternative to AQ DragonFly i've found:
- HRT MicroStreamer: i'm not sure how this DAC is better than AQ DF
- Meridian Explorer: 24/192 Audio Support ( but they say that due to the high output impedance it simply isn´t suited for most portable headphones )
- Resonessence Herus: - it also works with iPhone ( but official website also states that only 600 Ohms to 32 Ohms headphones supported)



Which is the best option for me? Maybe you know other DAC that can be used with iPhone and Mac with IE800?

IMO, in terms of sound quality:

Dragonfly < meridian < hrt ms

Own those three and ie800's.

 

[money4me247]

imo just pick on form factor and price point. they are all good products though having slightly different flavors if you do direct comparisons. if you can only buy one, then you will never do direct comparisons so you will just enjoy what you have. if you buy one and don't like it, then return & swap for another one
 
i've found that a lot of people do a lot of long research trying to figure exactly which dac/amp would suit them the best prior to committing to their first one. I did the same thing myself. The thing is that no amount of reading on the forums will tell you which one will suit your tastes the best. You really just have to try something. After that, people can guide you better based on what you liked/disliked about the first one.
 
also, the differences between the stuff is not as profound or vast as it may seem in writing. I've had quite a lot of different dac/amps on hand for direct side-by-side comparisons and the majority of times, my friends cannot really consistently tell the difference between a lot of them. Certain direct comparisons have more easily noticeable differences, but I would say the majority of times with this, it's really just personal preference and they generally do sound more similar than different.
 
hope this was helpful

 

[Bukem]

I hate the fact that there's not really a brick and mortar store here where you can walk in and compare a few of these dacs. Just buying it and trying to resell it is not a very efficient way of spending one's hifi budget.