[Xoen]

Alright, I'm fairly new to this whole headphone audiophile thing, and I even bought my first headphone amp, the Little Dot II++ just back in July of this year as well as some other audio equipment, as a result of being here in Head-fi.

Now my question is, is there supposed to be a noticeable sound difference when plugging some headphones (my AD700's) directly from a sound source and plugging it into an amp? I mean, when I plug my phones into a source to study the sound a little bit, then hook it up to my amp from that source and plug in my phones to that amp, is there supposed to be a difference? Because my somewhat untrained ears don't really notice it. Unless AT headphones don't scale dramatically to amps as opposed to most Sennheisers as far as I heard and seen. Can anyone fill me in on this? You guys know your stuff. Enlighten me.

 

[GiR]

From my (somewhat limited mind you) knowledge on this, I think it is most likely to do with what way you are connecting the source and amp. Going from headphone out to amp to headphone will likely just allow you to increase the volume and not change the sound much. Going from a specific line out bypasses some of the onboard stuff to get a cleaner signal which the amp can then work better with to make the over all effect more noticable

Again, this is what I have picked up and may not be accurate, so if I'm wrong I'm sorry

 

[braillediver]

My first question was- What's your source. Seems you list a Sony PS3? I'm not familiar with that.

It might depend on your source. If there's nothing for the amp to amplify then the amp won't make a difference.

The object of the amp is to resolve every tiny bit of detail your source provides and if your source isn't providing a lot of detail then an amp isn't going to help.


Mitch

 

[Xoen]

Well, the PS3 is pretty much my main music source at the moment. Just as listed in my sig, my current rig set up goes like this: I hook my PS3 up to my Sony STRDG510 5.1 receiver via optical cable, then headphones out to my amp, then through my AD700's. The PS3 doesn't have a headphone jack so it's really dependent on an external source for sound.

Then, for comparison, I just plug in my headphones through the headphones out of my receiver and didn't notice much difference in sound quality.

So connecting directly to line out would definitely be benificial for my amp then? I know the volume doesn't affect line outs at all, so I guess that's what headphone amps are used mainly for then, right? To amplify that low signal from the line out?

 

[Akui]

As others have already noted your source is the first thing to check. However, that aside I would give it time. When I first got my Heed I was immediately under the impression "I payed how much for what now?". Yet if you ask me whether the amp purchase was worth it today, some several months later, I would answer with a resounding "yes!".

I can only say that time will help you decide whether your purchase was "worth it". As it was recommended some time ago in the forums: listen to your music through your amp for a few weeks, then remove the amp from your system. If you don't hear a difference then maybe it wasn't "worth it".

 

[vcoheda]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Xoen /img/forum/go_quote.gif Well, the PS3 is pretty much my main music source at the moment. Just as listed in my sig, my current rig set up goes like this: I hook my PS3 up to my Sony STRDG510 5.1 receiver via optical cable, then headphones out to my amp, then through my AD700's.

that's an odd setup. usually the source is connected directly to the amp.

 

[Xoen]

Well, what's a good source then? I heard about the iMods and such. I can also go all the way upwards to $900 if I have to spend that much on a great source.

Oh, and I sometimes have my PS3 hooked up directly to my amp via multi-out connector (PlayStation's RCA AV cable) when my brother uses the receiver for his Xbox 360. But I noticed that hooking it up this way kinda detracts the SQ a little. It has lesser bass, and the mids and highs sounded a little faint. It just didn't sound as lively as when hooked up through my receiver via optical. That's one thing that was noticeable to my ears, but I doubt it's amp related.

 

[Dept_of_Alchemy]

That's your problem, you're not connecting your equipment properly. You're not supposed to connect the headphone out from the receiver to the amp. The amp's function IS to be the headphone out, by doing what you're doing you're effectively amplifing the signal twice (once in the receiver and again in the LDII), and the sound is definitely going to be worse by doing that.

What you should've done is connect the LDII to the Tape-Out in the back of your receiver. Try it, you should hear a difference.

 

[Dept_of_Alchemy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by vcoheda /img/forum/go_quote.gif that's an odd setup. usually the source is connected directly to the amp.

He's using the receiver as a DAC.

 

[vcoheda]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Xoen /img/forum/go_quote.gif Well, what's a good source then? I heard about the iMods and such. I can also go all the way upwards to $900 if I have to spend that much on a great source.

that's a good size budget. it all depends what you need/want. are you looking for something portable or transportable. is your music mostly on your computer in MP3 or other encoded formats. or do you mostly listen to CDs. and if you are prepared to spend that much, should it all be spent on the source or should the amp portion or headphones be reconsidered as well.

a lot of questions need to be resolved.

 

[Dept_of_Alchemy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Xoen /img/forum/go_quote.gif It has lesser bass, and the mids and highs sounded a little faint. It just didn't sound as lively as when hooked up through my receiver via optical. That's one thing that was noticeable to my ears, but I doubt it's amp related.

Are you sure the EQ isn't turned on on the receiver? Sometimes that can give the impression of 'better' sound when really it's just the EQ (or some kind of DSP) coloring the sound, it's alright if you like it, I suppose, but audiophiles tend to be purists and frown on any sort of EQing as they modify the sound from how the recording engineer meant for it to be heard. It's kinda like adding sugar to wine to make it taste better.

 

[Dept_of_Alchemy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Xoen /img/forum/go_quote.gif Well, what's a good source then? I heard about the iMods and such. I can also go all the way upwards to $900 if I have to spend that much on a great source.

You can get a used DAC1 USB in that ball park. It might be too much to say that it's a Giant Killer in its price bracket, but it's a giant killer in its price bracket.

 

[kamal007]

if you want to spend $900 on upgrades, buy a higher end phones. Ive had ad700 and they dont scale that well. Theyre great unamped, improves abit with an amp and barely improves with a better amp. you may be disappointed when you spend $900 on a source and didnt notice any noticeable difference

 

[Xoen]

Quote:

Originally Posted by vcoheda /img/forum/go_quote.gif that's a good size budget. it all depends what you need/want. are you looking for something portable or transportable. is your music mostly on your computer in MP3 or other encoded formats. or do you mostly listen to CDs. and if you are prepared to spend that much, should it all be spent on the source or should the amp portion or headphones be reconsidered as well. a lot of questions need to be resolved.

I'm not much looking into portables at the moment and just need a great home listening setup. I listen to AAC files all mostly encoded above 128kbps, usually 256 kbps or so. I buy music off the iTunes store and usually look at their list in their iTunes Plus section, where music is encoded at a higher bitrate than 128 kbps. I don't like MP3's very much, unless it's encoded at 320 kbps in which I've yet to find anyways. I burn all my music onto a CD at 1x speed. Oh, and as long as I have a good source, I'll probably spend most of the money improving the amp and such.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dept_of_Alchemy Are you sure the EQ isn't turned on on the receiver? Sometimes that can give the impression of 'better' sound when really it's just the EQ (or some kind of DSP) coloring the sound, it's alright if you like it, I suppose, but audiophiles tend to be purists and frown on any sort of EQing as they modify the sound from how the recording engineer meant for it to be heard. It's kinda like adding sugar to wine to make it taste better

My receiver doesn't have an EQ. I don't really like using EQ's myself anyways since I'd like my setup to sound the way I want it to without an EQ. I like the idea of having the setup using all the right components to make it sound like the way you want to. To me, using an EQ is like "cheating" and would lose that natural sound anyways.

Quote:

Originally Posted by kamal007 if you want to spend $900 on upgrades, buy a higher end phones. Ive had ad700 and they dont scale that well. Theyre great unamped, improves abit with an amp and barely improves with a better amp. you may be disappointed when you spend $900 on a source and didnt notice any noticeable difference

I realized that. My AD700's weren't gonna be my last headphones anyways and I was going to look into buying the AKG K701, or the very popular Sennheiser HD600 or the HD650. I realize that these headphones sound great using the right amp with the right components and I'm willing to take that challenge.

 

[omendelovitz]

hate to tell you this but there are quite a few flaws to your sound system:

• 128 mp3's!!
• AD700's
• Little dot II+
• amping from headphone out
• null

My 2c:

1. start listening to regular CD audio or lossless (mp3 320 is the minimum bit rate you should listen to if you want better sound from your gear IMO);

2. get better headphones - 600/650 are a cut above K701's, although the K701's signature may seem to suit your taste better - they're more fun sounding, but they are by no means audiophile/reference grade cans.

3. connect to RCA/line out of your Sony receiver - using an amp through the headphone out is pointless unless the volume out of your receiver is too weak for your listening tastes.

4. get a better amp - Little dot is not exactly quality amplification.

I wouldn't worry about your source if you're using optical/coat out to your receiver input - that should work just fine as long as the receiver is of decent quality.

5. SEARCH - there is tons of info to be had on this site about improving SQ from outputs. Don't expect to be spoon fed this stuff - no offence intended, but there are a lot of morons on this board who ask a ******** of questions and expect to be given the answer directly or in coles notes version b/c they're too lazy to read - must be high school aged punks