rparmar
New Head-Fier
- Joined
- Jul 14, 2013
- Posts
- 26
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There is a wealth of information on this site regarding headphone amps. But I remain unconvinced they are required to get decent sound, so long as one is using a professional D/A in the first place. I suppose the only way to find out is to try a bunch of them, but that is not feasible. Though I am a trained audio engineer my budget is always minimal. Likely I have never spent as much as I did when buying my RME FireFace 400 interface, which was a great purchase!
For years I listened on a pair of Grado SR 225, which frankly I liked better than even some of their more expensive gear. After doing more and more studio work I grew dissatisfied with the Grado sound and switched to the AKG K271 MK II. They are certainly not ideal and I can hear the problems, so currently I am considering an upgrade to the AKG Q701 for everyday listening, if I can find a second-hand set.
For location recording and listening I use a set of Sennheiser HD25-1 II, which sound much nicer (clearer, more true) than my AKG cans, but which are uncomfortable for listening longer than an hour. (I wear glasses.)
I currently listen using the Channel 7/8 monitor out socket on the RME FireFace 400. This is reputedly the best quality output on the machine. And it's wired for headphones.
What improvements can I reasonably expect from a dedicated headphone amp compared with my RME?
For years I listened on a pair of Grado SR 225, which frankly I liked better than even some of their more expensive gear. After doing more and more studio work I grew dissatisfied with the Grado sound and switched to the AKG K271 MK II. They are certainly not ideal and I can hear the problems, so currently I am considering an upgrade to the AKG Q701 for everyday listening, if I can find a second-hand set.
For location recording and listening I use a set of Sennheiser HD25-1 II, which sound much nicer (clearer, more true) than my AKG cans, but which are uncomfortable for listening longer than an hour. (I wear glasses.)
I currently listen using the Channel 7/8 monitor out socket on the RME FireFace 400. This is reputedly the best quality output on the machine. And it's wired for headphones.
What improvements can I reasonably expect from a dedicated headphone amp compared with my RME?
