[logarithm]

Hey guys, happy to find about this amazing forum. Just made an account and this is the first of (hopefully) my many posts here. I recently decided to buy some more expensive headphones in order to see what "good music" sounds like and decided to go with BeyerDynamic DT1350. Additionally learned that many people buy additionally portable amps in order to enhance the experience. I got the new Fiio e17k Alpen 2, but when plugged it in my phone/laptop/ipod didn't find any difference in terms of quality. Also, I am still not familiar with all the sound characteristics, but the numbers on my amp show less than the optimal??? 96/32 192/24 kHz/bit. Will be glad if anyone can briefly explain me what I am missing or doing wrong.
Thank you and have a great day!
 
P.S. I have a read a couple of threads about that, but can I appreciate truly HD600/650 with the amp I currently have? Is it going to blow away my mind in comparison with the DT1350? I know there is difference between closed/open, just asking generally.

 

[cel4145]

First of all, don't worry about the bit rate and sampling rate unless it's different from your music. Most music is 16/44.1. Do you have anything different?

Some headphones benefit more from external amps/dacs. Some devices are more likely to get improved by an amp/dac.

 

[logarithm]

Hey, thanks for your answer. I think the rates were something like that... Have been listening to Amazon mp3s (256 quality) and Google mp3s (320 quality) mainly. So I guess the amp was a waste of money then? Was hoping at least for some minor improvement...

 

[billybob_jcv]

The easy one first: Your DAC/amp can only play back at the bit depth and sampling frequency that was used to create your digital music file. The good old audio CD is encoded at 16 bit/44.1K Hz. So, the VAST majority of music available is 16/44.1K Using a DAC that is *capable* of 24 bit/192K Hz is only needed if your music files are encoded at those higher specs - at most music is not.

 

[billybob_jcv]

I don't really know the DT1350 - I have not heard them. So - when you listen to the same song, at the same perceived volume, with the amp vs straight from your PC, they sound the same? I suspect a few different things could be happening. If you have been reading reviews here on head-fi and elsewhere about how wonderful headphone dac/amps are, your expectations might have been set very high. Reality is often much more subtle. It sometimes takes a little time to learn how to listen for the differences. It also depends on the headphones. The DT1350 seems to be fairly efficient, and that means they do not need a lot of power. You might notice much more difference with less efficient headphones. Sometimes, the differences are just a bit more punch to the bass, or the music might sound a bit more lively and dynamic.

 

[logarithm]

Thanks for the explanation billybob. Unless I adjust the bass/treble on the amp itself, the sound really pretty much stays the same. I ended up paying around $300 for headphones and an amp and even though the sound is neat, wouldn't say I was blown away... Maybe my ears are not exquisite enough to evaluate the equipment properly, not sure Was also thinking to get HD600 or HD650 in order to get to the "next level", but read around that my amp probably wouldn't be good enough for them. Any opinions about that?

 

[tsktsk]

The E17k is going to have enough power for the HD 600/650.  If you were to purchase one of those, you will notice out of the box, the music is going to sound quieter compared to your DT1350, which is why the amp would become necessary for those particular cans.  If you are going to buy the new headphones, try them side by side with your current headphones, plug into the amp and test the sound.  Maybe you will like the "next level" stuff, maybe you won't.  But, I would at least recommend testing them before making the leap.

 

[logarithm]

Good suggestion. I guess will just take my amp to some music store and will try it with the headphones they offer there.
Thanks again guys!