[Fatguy007]

Hello,
I'm rather new to this cumunity but i would like to ask your help I currently own the rha t20 as in-ears and the sony mdr-1a as over-ears and i would like to know whether it would be worth buying a portable amp and if yes which one? (I currently use a samsung galaxy s6 as my audio output.) I have a maximum budget of around 450euro but I wouldn't like the amp to be disproportionate to my earphones. Any help or comments are appreciated 

 

[jodgey4]

A nice amp can help, and so can a DAC. I'm guessing those aren't too hard to drive, so you could probably look into a portable DAC/amp combo to get a good balance of power and clean signal.

 

[Fatguy007]

Ok thanks what does a dac actually do? Is it a source for the audio files?

 

[jodgey4]

Yea, pretty much. Your files are stored as digital bits (011010011 etc) and that needs to be converted to soundwaves (~~~ analog) - that's what a DAC (Digital to Analog Convertor) does.

A clean DAC will give lower distortion, better filtering, and just a cleaner sound overall. Personally, I'm of the opinion that the order one should focus is *generally* going to be: headphones > powerful enough amp > clean DAC.

For IEMs, the Cayin C5DAC personally had my eye at a time, as one example .

 

[Fatguy007]

Thanks a lot

 

[ozyx]

Having another device connected to your smartphone reduces its portability and ease of use. And would an external DAC work with  services such as Spotify? Sure the quality of the sound will be better but I think there are big trade offs. So when you consider whether it is worth it there are more things to factor in than just sound quality.

 

[Fatguy007]

I don't really use services like spotify, i usually just download my music. What i'm looking for better quality, i don't think that carrying an amp would really bother me, i would mostly like to know if the difference is noticeable enough to invest some money into an amp

 

[ProtegeManiac]

  And would an external DAC work with  services such as Spotify? Sure the quality of the sound will be better but I think there are big trade offs.

 
It does on my Note 3, Note 4, S3, and S5. I just don't use my DAC-HPamp as a portable (and it isn't), but bottom line is, streaming services work if your phone doesn't need UAPP or Neutron to run an external DAC.

 

[ozyx]

   
It does on my Note 3, Note 4, S3, and S5. I just don't use my DAC-HPamp as a portable (and it isn't), but bottom line is, streaming services work if your phone doesn't need UAPP or Neutron to run an external DAC.

How can you determine if your phone needs UAPP or Neutron? (before buying a device)

 

[ProtegeManiac]

 
How can you determine if your phone needs UAPP or Neutron? (before buying a device)

 
Ask around?
http://www.head-fi.org/t/595071/android-phones-and-usb-dacs/8835
 
There's also an updated list there every five pages of every known smartphone and DAC combo that works.

 

[Fatguy007]

Do you think the cayin c6 dad could be good? I can't seem to find the c5dac on sale anywhere near me but the c6dac is sold for around 145euros on amazon.fr

 

[JBHemlock]

I'm a big fan of adding an amp to your portable, as there are a lot of devices (especially phones) that have trouble driving a lot of headphones.

Try this: Listen to a song through your portable system, and then listen to the same song through a powerful source (like a regular stereo). If the bass sounds anemic on the portable but comes out with the powerful source, then your portable isn't putting out enough power to really drive the headphones. Getting an amp for your portable will make a big difference in that case. 

 

[ProtegeManiac]

 
Do you think the cayin c6 dad could be good? I can't seem to find the c5dac on sale anywhere near me but the c6dac is sold for around 145euros on amazon.fr

 
I can't see why it can't be good, unless you're going to drive very high impedance or low sensitivity loads.

 

[Fatguy007]

When i plug my earphones into my home cinema amp i do notice that in comparison to my phone there are more basses, however do you think that that the treble (for example) could be better or that the instruments could be more clearly separated?

 

[ProtegeManiac]

When i plug my earphones into my home cinema amp i do notice that in comparison to my phone there are more basses, however do you think that that the treble (for example) could be better or that the instruments could be more clearly separated?

 

The difference in bass response is highly likely due to the high output impedance on the receiver's headphone output (note that with some headphones this can have the opposite effect). As for the rest of the range, the treble could be clearer, but only in the sense that an amp won't have the bass boost that can get in the way. Instrument separation might improve if the amp has better channel separation, however if the receiver is running Dolby Headphone then the receiver would have a smaller sounstage that on the other hand is more precise and instruments more proportional to each other.