AKG K550 amp/dac pairing

[Natalya]

I'm pretty new to the whole audiophile business, and my AKG K550 is my first set of "audiophile-grade" headphones that I've ever owned, recieved as a gift. I have to say that they sound pretty amazing after two months of use, and better than anything I've bought in the past. I'm looking to increase audio quality while maintaining a "neutral sound". I considered an amp at first, but I've read that the K550s didn't need an amp, so I'm looking for DACs, and I'm considering getting the Schiit Modi 2 Uber. Is the Modi 2 Uber a good choice for what I'm looking for, or are there any choices? Do I need a headphone amp? Any pointers is appreciated, thanks.

 

[tz0531]

Like others might have told you, the AKG K550 doesn't really need an external amp; its impedance curve is fairly flat, so its frequency response won't change that much out of a high impedance source, and it's fairly efficient, so as long as you're able to get them to reasonable listening levels with your current source, then an amp isn't really necessary. You seem confused as to why an amp is necessary and what a DAC does. DAC stands for Digital-to-Analog Converter, and it does exactly that, convert a digital to an analog signal. The resulting analog signal won't be powerful enough to drive headphones alone, which is why the analog signal is fed to an amp, which amplifies the signal so that it can drive headphones to listenable levels. Every device that plays digital audio files has to have both a DAC and an amp before the headphone output in order to function correctly; in this case, the DAC and amp are integrated into the device itself, which is why you see a headphone plug as the audio out of the signal chain. This means that what you're looking for is an external DAC and amp, which people buy because they want higher quality DACs and amps than the ones already integrated into their source. An external DAC will not function properly on its own unless hooked up to an amp; this means that you'll have to buy an external amp as well, unless your source happens to have a rare line in for the integrated amp, which lets you connect directly to the integrated amp.
 
All that being said, you're better off saving your money for a better quality headphone down the line than buying an external DAC/amp right now, since the price range your current headphones fall into is one where you get more sound quality per unit of money upgrading headphones than front end equipment.

 

[Natalya]

Thanks for the advice! I might just continue running my K550s normally through my PC then.
 
I don't think I will be buying new headphones for a year at least, but I've considered Beyerdynamic and Audio-Technica ahead if it comes to replacement/collection with a higher budget (possibly $300-$500?). For someone who likes classical/jazzy, and generally looking for "neutral" and "flat" sounds, what brand/models could you recommend me? Also DAC/Amps for higher impedance headphones too. I considered Schiit as I mentioned on my previous post, but people seem to either love them or hate them,

 

[tz0531]

  Thanks for the advice! I might just continue running my K550s normally through my PC then.
 
I don't think I will be buying a new headphones for a year at least, but I've considered Beyerdynamic and Audio-Technica ahead if it comes to replacement/collection with a higher budget (possibly $300-$500?). For someone who likes classical/jazzy, and generally looking for "neutral" and "flat" sounds, what brand/models could you recommend me? Also DAC/Amps for higher impedance headphones too. I considered Schiit as I mentioned on my previous post, but people seem to either love them or hate them,

 
Do you want to stay with closed back headphones, or do you want open back ones? If going open back, I would recommend the Sennheiser HD600. If going closed back, check out the NAD Viso HP50 and Oppo PM-3.
 
Some people really like pairing the Sennheiser HD600/650 with an output transformerless (OTL) tube amp, like the Schiit Valhalla 2, but OTL tube amps have a high output impedance by nature, which means they won't work well with low impedance headphones. I personally prefer headphone amps with very low (<1 ohm) output impedance, which lets them work with headphones of pretty much any impedance value, given they can supply enough power, of course. I would recommend the Objective2 DAC/amp combo as a general purpose DAC/amp, while if you want more budget, portable options, check out the Fiio Q1 or E17K.

 

[Natalya]

Closed-back preferably as I have a lot of background noise at home, but I'm looking for noise isolation not noise cancelling, and wires don't bother me as I'll be using them at the PC chiefly listening to music, so really any closed-back with great quality sound will do. I am personally interested in getting open-backed headphones once my situation changes for their more natural(?) and open sound. Are semi-open headphones worth it for clear, neutral sound quality, or are they just snake oil? 
 
Seeing as headphones will probably be the quality decider, I might opt for a cheaper amp/dac you mentioned (Fiio) if my next headphones choice if my headphones selection approaches the $500 mark closely. The Oppo PM-3 looks interesting, personally, how does it sound? Unfortunately I don't have a method of actually listening and sampling headphones right now.
(I'll be heading off for the night after this post, thank you in advance. )

 

[PurpleAngel]

  I'm pretty new to the whole audiophile business, and my AKG K550 is my first set of "audiophile-grade" headphones that I've ever owned, recieved as a gift. I have to say that they sound pretty amazing after two months of use, and better than anything I've bought in the past. I'm looking to increase audio quality while maintaining a "neutral sound". I considered an amp at first, but I've read that the K550s didn't need an amp, so I'm looking for DACs, and I'm considering getting the Schiit Modi 2 Uber. Is the Modi 2 Uber a good choice for what I'm looking for, or are there any choices? Do I need a headphone amp? Any pointers is appreciated, thanks.

 
The Modi is a DAC only.
So you would not normally plug headphones directly into the Modi.
It's designed to be used with a separate headphone amplifer
 
The 32-Ohm AKG K550 Pros (which I own) are very easy to drive, so in a general sense, you could say they do not need a headphone amplifer....but.
A lot of stuff you can plug headphones into, are somewhat on the crude side, for delivering voltage (and current?) to a headphone, compared to a quality headphone amplifer.
 
Consider a USB-DAC/amp, like the FiiO E10K ($76) or Q1($70), or Schiit Fulla ($89).
Should offer a better DAC (Digital to Analog Converter) function, then whatever your motherboard's on-board audio provides.
Also the FiiO E10K/Q1 and Schiit Fulla all come with built in headphone amplifer comes with a very low output impedance, which should help bring out the audio detail, with the K550 headphones.
 
Here is a used Schiit Fulla, for $70.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/112140919546?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

 

[Natalya]

The Schiit Fulla actually looks very attractive, being affordable and both a dac/amp seems very convenient. It doesn't seem to go high enough for really high impedance headphones (600ohms). I doubt I'll be getting one too soon, but I'll be looking to steadily upgrade in the future if headphone sound can only get even better upgrading from the AKG K550. Overall at the moment I'm not looking to "color" or sully the K550's sound, as it is fine enough as it is, striking a sweet spot of balance for me, but to find ways to bring even more clarity and sound quality to them, and I figured driving them alone from my PC was holding it back.
 
But I'm just rambling by this point. Thank you all for being very helpful

 

[tz0531]

Honestly, if you want the best value for the money in terms of sound quality per dollar, I would get the NAD Viso HP50, provided you don't mind how they make you look when worn (they make many people look dorky, unfortunately). They have a sound that is a tiny bit darker and smoother than pure neutral, but are very natural sounding and resolving with a pretty big soundstage for a closed back headphone. The AKG K550, in comparison, is slightly brighter and leaner than neutral, with a treble that many people describe as artificial sounding. In my opinion, the Oppo PM-3 has only 5-10% better sound quality than the HP50, although they do have better looks and build quality. When I first got my Oppo PM-3, I actually preferred the HP50 to it for a while.

 

[Natalya]

Looks don't matter at all, like I said, I'll be chiefly using them at home with my desktop and the least of my concerns would be people spotting me with a set of goofy-looking headphones. 

 I am considering the HP50 then since they sound like some thing I'd like. How would they sound with the Schiit Fulla?
 
On a semi-related note, once I get higher-impedance headphones, I may be possibly interested in getting a Lake People amp, specifically the G103-S to power them and be a more permanent solution for powering any other headphones I'll run into. How do they sound? What DAC would go well with them and how do they perform against their contemporaries, especially Schiit (Asgard 2 or Valhalla 2)?

 

[tz0531]

  Looks don't matter at all, like I said, I'll be chiefly using them at home with my desktop and the least of my concerns would be people spotting me with a set of goofy-looking headphones. 

 I am considering the HP50 then since they sound like some thing I'd like. How would they sound with the Schiit Fulla?
 
On a semi-related note, once I get higher-impedance headphones, I may be possibly interested in getting a Lake People amp, specifically the G103-S to power them and be a more permanent solution for powering any other headphones I'll run into. How do they sound? What DAC would go well with them and how do they perform against their contemporaries, especially Schiit (Asgard 2 or Valhalla 2)?

 
According to Innerfidelity, "the philosophy of headphone amplification, according to Lake People, is simple: high output voltage; high output power; high damping factor due to low output impedance; and low noise through low internal gain", and the G109P is on Innerfidelity's Wall of Fame, so you're in good hands with Lake People as a brand.
 
Here are some links about the G103:
http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/lake-people-g103p-and-g109p-headphone-amplifiers
http://www.head-fi.org/t/620082/lake-people-g109-g103-thread
 
You should ask about DAC pairings and comparisons on the thread in the second link.