music_man
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Jun 6, 2005
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I was wondering if any one has compared this to the teac ud-501. it interests me that this has garnered much more attention.
Can this DAC power electrostatic headphones?
Honestr
Honestly I wouldn't want this DAC to power any headphone without a dedicated amplifier, it's too harsh without decent amplification.
Can this DAC power electrostatic headphones?
So apparently this is not a "one box" solution I was hoping for.
Bob
Not to me atleast, some people are more than content with the Dacmagic's amplification.
But definitely not an all in one solution for a ES headphone.
Pardon my ignorance, but ES = Electrostatic?
Yes, ES = Electrostatic
Thanks. Until I get a separate amp, I may use the headphone output.
I did get the DACMagic today in the mail from Amazon. The output has an impedance of about 30 ohms. This means I would need at least a 240 ohm headset. I have the 250 ohm DT880s. This should work. But with the DACMagic, I am finding the midrange to be a bit emphasized and the high frequencies to be a bit muted. This may be my imagination. But it sounds different compared to the O2 amp that has a single digit output impedance and flat frequency response.
Can this be due to my headphones? Maybe the 600 ohm headphones would of suited me better with the DACMagic? Or maybe music through the DACMagic headphone out is more natural sounding than the O2?
What do you think?
Bob
Various amps will sound a little bit different.
The O2 does have a reputation for being a touch bright and thin.
I doubt it is the output impedance you are hearing, especially with 250 Ohm 'phones.
I'm sure the DACMagic has a flat frequency response too.
I thought it was just me. This is exact what I am hearing in the highs. I thought the O2 is supposed to have flat FR? The high frequencies with the O2 has been a bit too bright for my tastes. However, it does have a more engaging sound. This is why I investigated plugins that emulated tube amps to take that "edge" off of the sound. I find the other DAC/amp that I have, like the C5D, does not have this problem with the high frequencies.
Bob
Just about any SS head amp has a flat frequency response.
But they all sound a wee bit different anyway!