[DankDefusion]

Hey guys;

I've owned my first set of cans (Sennheiser 598's) for about a year now; they sound great until I crank the volume, at which point I get distortion. I have them plugged in to the output on the volume control hub on my computer sound system (Logitech Z-2300). Is distortion typically an issue of the driver not being able to provide the headphones enough power? Should I look into investing in an amplifier? I've been reading around and from what I can find the 598's shouldn't be distorting at any volume my ears can handle.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

Is distortion typically an issue of the driver not being able to provide the headphones enough power? Should I look into investing in an amplifier? I've been reading around and from what I can find the 598's shouldn't be distorting at any volume my ears can handle.

OK, first off, as much as we talk about amps "driving" a headphone, "driver" actually refers to the transducers - ie, headphone dynamic drivers, planar drivers, balanced armature, electrostat, midwoofers and tweeters, subwoofers, etc.

In any case, it's not just about not having power, it's about not having enough clean power. Many amps can spit out a lot more power than they're rated for before clipping, but they're still piling on a lot of distortion.

As much as the HD598 are easy to drive, auxiliary headphone outputs on speakers aren't the best headphone amp circuits. If you don't need virtual surround anyway (or using Razer Surround), try the Fiio Q1.