jferreir
Head-Fier
- Joined
- Jun 24, 2008
- Posts
- 83
- Likes
- 12
I'm looking to buy a pair of Ortofon e-Q5 earphones; I've owned these previously, and they're my favourite go-to IEMs for general use. Having never owned an amp or DAC before, I'm curious if either would improve the performance of these IEMs. Here are the specs for the Ortofon e-Q5:
For portable use, I plan on using the Ortofon's with my iPhone 6 and no amp/DAC (too cumbersome). So, I'm only interested in how an amp/DAC would improve the sound quality through my laptop computer (Macbook Pro). Given the high sensitivity rating of these IEMs, I'm guessing a headphone amp is unnecessary? How would a DAC improve the sound quality, if at all? How do you match a DAC with high sensitivity IEMs, and are there any models that are known to work well with the Ortofon e-Q5s? Truthfully, I don't know the difference between an amp and DAC, other than the amp increases the gain and the DAC completely reconstructs the signal path.
I'm really just trying to understand if either would be appropriate for my intended use. I also rescued a vintage Marantz 2265B receiver, so if I could somehow incorporate a headphone amp/DAC with that, let me know how! That's currently in the shop getting serviced.
- Audio engine:Balanced armature driver stereo inner earphone
- Frequency response:10 - 20,000Hz -3dB
- Impedance: 40 ohms +/- 25%
- Max. input:20mW
- Sensitivity:117dB +/-3dB 1 K Hz/1m W
- Operational temperature:15℃ ~ +40℃
- Cable:1.2m (4 ft) cable strands are made of oxygen free copper wires with 3.5mm stereo plug
- Total weight:16g
For portable use, I plan on using the Ortofon's with my iPhone 6 and no amp/DAC (too cumbersome). So, I'm only interested in how an amp/DAC would improve the sound quality through my laptop computer (Macbook Pro). Given the high sensitivity rating of these IEMs, I'm guessing a headphone amp is unnecessary? How would a DAC improve the sound quality, if at all? How do you match a DAC with high sensitivity IEMs, and are there any models that are known to work well with the Ortofon e-Q5s? Truthfully, I don't know the difference between an amp and DAC, other than the amp increases the gain and the DAC completely reconstructs the signal path.
I'm really just trying to understand if either would be appropriate for my intended use. I also rescued a vintage Marantz 2265B receiver, so if I could somehow incorporate a headphone amp/DAC with that, let me know how! That's currently in the shop getting serviced.