odigg
500+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Apr 1, 2008
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PLEASE NOTE - I already know the standard answer to this question. Yes, by most accounts an amp is required. So please don't come here and simply say "An amp had an audible improvement so yes an amp is required" when the test was not done in any sort of a controlled fashion. Also, please don't turn this thread into an argument about DBT or controlled testing.
More than anything, this is a challenge to DBT supporters.
So here is my overall question. In a controlled test, will you conclude a dedicated headphone amp is really required when you compare a headphone plugged into that amp versus plugged straight into a decent (something that measures well) sound card.
There are a number of DBT supporters on this site. Still, some DBT supporters seem to stop short of testing everything on their chain. For example, a lot of DBT supporters will say all cables and DACs/sources sound the same.
But a lot of people say that dedicated amplifiers are required to drive headphones. There are the technical arguments (skew rate, transient response, dynamic range, controlling the drivers) and then of course the claims that, subjectively, certain headphones need an amp to sound their best.
But have DBT supporters tested if a dedicated amp is required versus plugging your headphones into your sound card? Are you making these statements based on actual controlled tests? After all, in DBT we are looking at audibility, not just technical superiority.
I have done a number of volume matched tests with headphones ranging from the Denon D5000 25 ohms to the AKG 240M 600 ohms. I have an A/B switch that allows me to switch between two inputs (sound card and amp) easily and almost transparently.
With the high impedance headphones I've tried I have heard no difference. A dedicated amp does nothing. With the low impedance headphones there is a very subtle bass rolloff when plugged straight into the sound card. I might not have even detected it if I had to move the jack of my headphones from the sound card to the amp resulting in a break between the music.
Some sound cards have some electrical noise, but in my experience this noise is not audible when music is playing.
Yes, I'm making a claim that totally goes against all conventional statements on Head-Fi.
I realize doing a DBT or even an SBT to test such a thing may be difficult. I encourage doing a blind test. If nothing else, please use an A/B switch and make sure you match volumes using a multimeter.
This is a challenge to DBT supporters. Take what you say about testing cables and sources and apply that same rigor to testing if an amp is required. I'd like to know your results.
**edit**
I should have originally stated that the headphone amp should probably not be a tube amp and should have a flat frequency response in the audible range. I'm not all that familiar with tube amps so the statements I've made may not hold for tube amps.
More than anything, this is a challenge to DBT supporters.
So here is my overall question. In a controlled test, will you conclude a dedicated headphone amp is really required when you compare a headphone plugged into that amp versus plugged straight into a decent (something that measures well) sound card.
There are a number of DBT supporters on this site. Still, some DBT supporters seem to stop short of testing everything on their chain. For example, a lot of DBT supporters will say all cables and DACs/sources sound the same.
But a lot of people say that dedicated amplifiers are required to drive headphones. There are the technical arguments (skew rate, transient response, dynamic range, controlling the drivers) and then of course the claims that, subjectively, certain headphones need an amp to sound their best.
But have DBT supporters tested if a dedicated amp is required versus plugging your headphones into your sound card? Are you making these statements based on actual controlled tests? After all, in DBT we are looking at audibility, not just technical superiority.
I have done a number of volume matched tests with headphones ranging from the Denon D5000 25 ohms to the AKG 240M 600 ohms. I have an A/B switch that allows me to switch between two inputs (sound card and amp) easily and almost transparently.
With the high impedance headphones I've tried I have heard no difference. A dedicated amp does nothing. With the low impedance headphones there is a very subtle bass rolloff when plugged straight into the sound card. I might not have even detected it if I had to move the jack of my headphones from the sound card to the amp resulting in a break between the music.
Some sound cards have some electrical noise, but in my experience this noise is not audible when music is playing.
Yes, I'm making a claim that totally goes against all conventional statements on Head-Fi.
I realize doing a DBT or even an SBT to test such a thing may be difficult. I encourage doing a blind test. If nothing else, please use an A/B switch and make sure you match volumes using a multimeter.
This is a challenge to DBT supporters. Take what you say about testing cables and sources and apply that same rigor to testing if an amp is required. I'd like to know your results.
**edit**
I should have originally stated that the headphone amp should probably not be a tube amp and should have a flat frequency response in the audible range. I'm not all that familiar with tube amps so the statements I've made may not hold for tube amps.