I don't think the Liquid spark will be enough to drive the K612. You'd also need a better DAC if you want them to sound really good. A headphone doesn't have to be lean if it's open, if you don't have body in the K612 that's usually a sign of it being underpowered.
I've been using 612 Pros for almost a year now for my PC audio needs (gaming, music and various media), and I'm pretty satisfied with how they perform for the most part considering I got them for $100. Although I have to say, my setup is far from being ideal for driving these as I don't use any external DAC or amplifier. I have them connected to the 3.5mm jack on the back of my ASUS Z270 Prime-A motherboard, which from what I've managed to find out has a pretty decent built-in DAC.
Pretty much the only issue I have with my setup is that even having applied Crinacle parametric EQ (the most pleasant and natural sounding to me), there is not enough "body" to the sound, bass is pretty anemic. I understand that this is due to the open-back nature of the phones, but having no experience with any other open-back headphones I wonder if in the case of K612 Pro it also has to do with quality of an amplifier.
I've been looking for amps online and due to my limited budget I've stopped at Liquid Spark since it's just around the upper limit of what I can spend. It has nice reviews and is generally recommended for hard to drive headphones as far as I understand. So with all that said I have a couple of questions.
1) How likely is it that Liquid Spark provides richer (with more bass) sound compared to the built-in amp?
2) If it does noticeably improve the sound, what is the proper way to add an external amp like Liquid Spark to my aforementioned setup considering that I'm a heavy user of virtual surround software (HeSuVi)? Is it even compatible with that? Sorry if this is too complicated of a question.
So is your budget $110 for both DAC and amp? If so, you might want to look at something like the Tempotec Sonata E44 via AliExpress when it comes back into stock.
If you can afford $200 for the combo, look at the Schiit Magni 3+ for $99 as an amp, and any of the Modi 3+, Topping E30, or Atom DAC+ to go with it.
I don't think the Liquid spark will be enough to drive the K612. You'd also need a better DAC if you want them to sound really good. A headphone doesn't have to be lean if it's open, if you don't have body in the K612 that's usually a sign of it being underpowered.
So is your budget $110 for both DAC and amp? If so, you might want to look at something like the Tempotec Sonata E44 via AliExpress when it comes back into stock.
If you can afford $200 for the combo, look at the Schiit Magni 3+ for $99 as an amp, and any of the Modi 3+, Topping E30, or Atom DAC+ to go with it.
These are the headphones that scales the most of all cans I have tried, from really crappy with lesser gear to absolutely marvelous with a reasonably powerful amp. If driven right they have a silly wide soundstage and lots of air between instruments, and very low distortion. They go very deep in the bass but the mid bass lacks a little slam which can be fully cured by a few db extra around 80Hz which will make them almost pop monsters.
These are the headphones that scales the most of all cans I have tried, from really crappy with lesser gear to absolutely marvelous with a reasonably powerful amp. If driven right they have a silly wide soundstage and lots of air between instruments, and very low distortion. They go very deep in the bass but the mid bass lacks a little slam which can be fully cured by a few db extra around 80Hz which will make them almost pop monsters.
Never heard the Magni, but as long as it puts out the power it should be fine, it's with the weak outputs on PC:s and consumer audio gear there's problems
It's labeled "pro" but it's a cheap construction, K712 is essentially the same can with some tweaks and has a detachable cable, but it's 100€ more expensive.
It's labeled "pro" but it's a cheap construction, K712 is essentially the same can with some tweaks and has a detachable cable, but it's 100€ more expensive.
I don't know about the Topping, but I would recommend a neutralish tube for 601/612. Maybe a combo (Aune, XDuoo ...). I use Little Dot MKIV & SMSL T1 (1st version, 2nd is toooob) as the basis of my opinion. Good hunting.
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