[Shuk]

Any audio engineers here? I use a Focusrite Saffire Pro 14 to drive my headphones, and they go loud enough for my tastes. My question is: how good does this work as a headphone amp? I've never tried any high quality headphone amps, so I'm wondering what the equivalent value would be? Would getting a dedicated headphone amp increase sound quality from my headphones (Sennheiser HD 558)?

 

[Acix]

Well...is like to say I drive my NS10 with Rotel receiver 25W, and they go loud enough for my tastes. You'll need to try out for yourself and to gain your own experience. If you want to look into pro studio gear for mixing and mastering, check out the K-702, and the Phonitor /Auditor. As for sound card with a good hps amp section you can try the Apogee mini DAC/ Duet, Grace m903, Benchmark DAC1. As well hps @35 ohm, like GMP-8.35, and the M-50 can work great for tracking in the studio almost from any audio source.

 

[Shuk]

I was thinking more about listening to music casually. To save money, I use the interface as a headphone amp, but I'm not sure if the $250 value is in the amp or in other things. I've never actually tried a really good headphone amp so I wouldn't know.

 

[Acix]

Quote:

I was thinking more about listening to music casually. To save money, I use the interface as a headphone amp, but I'm not sure if the $250 value is in the amp or in other things. I've never actually tried a really good headphone amp so I wouldn't know.

To use the the interface as a hps amp is a great way to save some backs, you can take your preference album CD + your hps and go to a music store like guitar center and check out the Apogee Duet 2 see if you'll notice any differences in the sound quality over the Focusrite, second option will be to spot headfi meetings in area, and this will be even better way to start your own experience.