[Protek67]

I'm sure that I have asked about this in one way or another on this forum before, but I wanted to put my thought's together a little better.

I have a blind friend who I need a complete audio solution for, he has a pair of sennheiser hd598's and I want to add speakers. I would also prefer something which has a dac built in. I found the smsl AD18 recently but it is way to complicated and the headphone amp is very weak. (complicated as in an accidental bump of the volume knob will put him into a menu on a screen he can't see). There was a TEAC all in one which included speakers for $200 that ended tuesday on massdrop and I should have got on top of that.

Current hardware:
Windows 10 desktop (with Creative sound card)
Sennheiser HD598's
Pair of Sony bookshelf's
(razer gaming headset, but that doesn't apply here, it's for future en devours)

goal's:
reliable
simple fool proof interface
typical use is headphones, but remove for speaker output
DAC for better quality
Give "hifi level" listening sessions on his headphones

What I need is rather simple but I can't nail down the proper product.

My reasoning behind this equipment is #1 With how much I enjoy experiences of new hifi levels, I can only guess the improvement's it will make for him. #2 He want's the ability to get off the computer, sit back and just listen. #3 He is on his computer the majority of the time when awake so any improvement will be well used.

 

[Bellari]

Soundblaster X7 is an all in one option for desktop use. Good Bluetooth option when you don't want to power the tower up. Has amp for passive speakers. When headphone plugged in sound automatically comes through phones and when unplugged vice versa. Can be upgraded via op amps for better sound. Pretty great all in one option for casual listening and desktop use.

 

[Protek67]

Soundblaster X7 is an all in one option for desktop use. Good Bluetooth option when you don't want to power the tower up. Has amp for passive speakers. When headphone plugged in sound automatically comes through phones and when unplugged vice versa. Can be upgraded via op amps for better sound. Pretty great all in one option for casual listening and desktop use.

Thank you for the response, that's quite a product and wouldn't have expected it from a main stream product, huge props to Creative for going the full 9 yard's on this product.

Still for that price point I would get a Schiit dac, schiit headphone amp and pair it with my AudioSorce amp and give it all to him as a hand me down. I guess the statement of needing an all in one was a little vague. What I want is a lower price tag to be honest. $300 for dac, headphone amp, and power amp is what I am running right now. Anything over that and I will just upgrade for myself. That has always been an option however the idea of a TEAC all in one including speakers for $200 would have been perfect. The SMSL AD18 almost does what I want for $150 however it has more features than I want and has a weak headphone amp. I was hoping for something similar but with fewer gadget's and a stronger headphone amp.

 

[theveterans]

IMO, Chord Mojo or iFi iDSD black used are also a good choices for a DAC, headphone and preamp in one. They're very simple to use and sound great

 

[Protek67]

IMO, Chord Mojo or iFi iDSD black used are also a good choices for a DAC, headphone and preamp in one. They're very simple to use and sound great

I'm thinking more and more about just getting a schiit magni and modi and give him my power amp. Way more than I wanted to spend but unless massdrop comes up with something similar to that teac setup again, I'm not finding anything appropriate to run speakers, headphone and has a dac. I just ordered a balanced headphone dac/amp for myself so I guess I'm going to bump up my equipment now and hand off the old stuff to him.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

I'm sure that I have asked about this in one way or another on this forum before, but I wanted to put my thought's together a little better.

I have a blind friend who I need a complete audio solution for, he has a pair of sennheiser hd598's and I want to add speakers. I would also prefer something which has a dac built in. I found the smsl AD18 recently but it is way to complicated and the headphone amp is very weak. (complicated as in an accidental bump of the volume knob will put him into a menu on a screen he can't see). There was a TEAC all in one which included speakers for $200 that ended tuesday on massdrop and I should have got on top of that.

Current hardware:
Windows 10 desktop (with Creative sound card)
Sennheiser HD598's
Pair of Sony bookshelf's
(razer gaming headset, but that doesn't apply here, it's for future en devours)

goal's:
reliable
simple fool proof interface
typical use is headphones, but remove for speaker output
DAC for better quality
Give "hifi level" listening sessions on his headphones

What I need is rather simple but I can't nail down the proper product.

My reasoning behind this equipment is #1 With how much I enjoy experiences of new hifi levels, I can only guess the improvement's it will make for him. #2 He want's the ability to get off the computer, sit back and just listen. #3 He is on his computer the majority of the time when awake so any improvement will be well used.

JDSLabs O2-ODAC. Make sure the RCA jacks on the rear are configured for preamp output instead of input to the O2 board.

There's also the AudioGD NFB-11. You don't remove headphone to switch to speakers but there's a switch in front that you can manipulate by feel. No need to fumble around the dark reinserting the headphone to switch back to headphone output.

 

[benchan2]

First I was looking at Fostex HP-A4BL, but Jotunheim from Schiit just caught my eyes recently. Both have balanced output. Jotunheim is more pricey and bigger but it also seems to have more powerful amp and upgradability of the dac. For your case tho, I would suggest you to also look at the Magni Modi combo from Schiit especially the new Magni 3 just came out.

 

[gr8soundz]

Best solution I can think of is actually a DAP called the P1:
https://revampacoustics.com/product/nuansa-p1/
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/revamp-acoustics.835215/

It has some quirks and proper setup of files on a memory card is required, but the sound quality is TOTL.

The P1 also has a true line-out, can work as a USB DAC, and can skip between tracks, albums, and artists with a single button press. I use mine at night (and sometimes while driving) so I can navigate songs without looking.

EDIT: Just learned it may be hard to get a P1 as the manufacturer won't be making them for a while. Still worth a look imo for the near future.

 

[Protek67]

I'm quite drunk but will look into the post's made, very intriguing though I have to say the mention of Jotunheim leaves me weary of other suggestions. I just purchased a Topping DX7 balanced DAC/amp for myself, was an impulse buy but it makes me think I will be upgrading my setup while giving hand-me-downs. I really didn't want to spend this much and it is hurting my bank account but I'm hooked.

JDSLabs O2-ODAC. Make sure the RCA jacks on the rear are configured for preamp output instead of input to the O2 board.

There's also the AudioGD NFB-11. You don't remove headphone to switch to speakers but there's a switch in front that you can manipulate by feel. No need to fumble around the dark reinserting the headphone to switch back to headphone output.

Huge prop's for the attention towards the "operate by feel" need that I have. I will look into what ever it is you recommended. Just hard to spend more on someone else, I figure it's more logical to up my equipment and give him what I have used for a while so I understand how it works.

Thank you everyone for the input, I will research everything posted here.

 

[Protek67]

JDSLabs O2-ODAC. Make sure the RCA jacks on the rear are configured for preamp output instead of input to the O2 board.

There's also the AudioGD NFB-11. You don't remove headphone to switch to speakers but there's a switch in front that you can manipulate by feel. No need to fumble around the dark reinserting the headphone to switch back to headphone output.

A headphone amp/dac for that price is rather steep, for that I could go with the schiit stack and give him my audiosource amp and throw in the pair of sonys I stole from my parent's....... I would have a complete solution. Given that he has a pair of Sennheiser HD598's which are easy to drive, I'm left wondering what this solution would provide. I don't have a SS headphone amp myself or even a DAC so I have no basis for what improvement's either of those will provide. I want to give him improved audio however I think I need to vet thing's first. At the very least understand what a SS amp and/or a DAC will provide. All I know is that a pair of HD6xx's are difficult to drive, also a low noise floor and also a lack of color, or a good addition of color. To me, without looking at spec's, is an expensive solution to a simple problem. Being a 50 ohm pair of can's I honestly don't know what a higher end solution would add. I do appreciate the ability to give him a pair of hand-me-downs in the future which require more, but this is territory I am unfamiliar with along with a price tag that I don't know how to justify.

again with the AudioGD NFB-11 I don't know what is to gain, also I am unfamiliar with price. I am a noob and am limited to budget, I can't spend more on my friend ESPECIALLY when I have no idea what the added expense provides.

 

[Protek67]

Best solution I can think of is actually a DAP called the P1:
https://revampacoustics.com/product/nuansa-p1/
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/revamp-acoustics.835215/

It has some quirks and proper setup of files on a memory card is required, but the sound quality is TOTL.

The P1 also has a true line-out, can work as a USB DAC, and can skip between tracks, albums, and artists with a single button press. I use mine at night (and sometimes while driving) so I can navigate songs without looking.

EDIT: Just learned it may be hard to get a P1 as the manufacturer won't be making them for a while. Still worth a look imo for the near future.

again this price point is far beyond anything I have spent for myself. And again I don't understand the gain's of moving up to this price point

 

[ProtegeManiac]

A headphone amp/dac for that price is rather steep, for that I could go with the schiit stack and give him my audiosource amp and throw in the pair of sonys I stole from my parent's....... I would have a complete solution.

Just note that you can't just get any Schiit stack. At minimum you need to get the Magni2 Uber, since the regular Magni has no preamp output for the speakers. And in case he needs to use them with the DSP of a soundcard, the Modi2 won't work since it only takes USB inputs - it has to be the Modi2 Uber. If he needs to get both, that amounts to $300. If you were comparing prices with the regular Magni2+Modi2, well, that gap will be at least $50 less, potentially $100 less.

Given that he has a pair of Sennheiser HD598's which are easy to drive, I'm left wondering what this solution would provide.

1. SPDIF inputs
2. Preamp output
3. Not groping around to plug/unplug the headphone to select headphone, DAC, preamp outputs
4. Not reaching over to the back in case he needs to switch gain level

If you really want to go cheap then get the O2-ODAC from JDSLabs, but double check as it might actually keep both outputs active.

There's an even cheaper solution in the NuForce UDAC3 or UDAC5. If you're absolutely certain he won't get anything harder to drive than the HD598 then this is a more cost effective solution.

I don't have a SS headphone amp myself or even a DAC so I have no basis for what improvement's either of those will provide. I want to give him improved audio however I think I need to vet thing's first. At the very least understand what a SS amp and/or a DAC will provide.

DAC is digital to analogue converter. Something has to convert 11000010010101010000011010100100011 into an electrical signal that will be amplified by the amplifier into a signal that will move transducers, which will then move air to produce sound. Practically anything that isn't a dedicated transport/server would have a DAC chip, the difference lies more in the quality of the circuit and the chip - channel separation and the more common cause of variances, output voltage and noise levels. Dedicated DACs are designed to provide as close to 2v output and the better ones (not necessarily the most expensive) will have zero noise, though cheaper units are more dependent on the quality of power coming from the USB bus.

SS amp is solid state amplifier - no tubes, just chips, either discrete components or op-amps. Low output impedance, low noise, low distortion even at high output levels is what you're paying for on any decent unit. Preamp outputs cost more that's why you don't see it even on $50 amps on eBay as it takes more components, more space, etc, so at the lower price levels it's usually omitted to keep manufacturing costs and hence MSRP down. An amp like the Magni produces a high level of output without piling on noise and distortion and in a small package. NFB-11 has SPDIF inputs, preamp output, and all analogue parts of the circuit - most importantly the amplifier output stage - runs at Class A. No Class A/Class B switchover distortion as on A/B amplifiers, very low noise,and still has a lot of power (though this last bit isn't necessary if he's not getting anything more than the HD598). But I only really mentioned it because you wanted something more foolproof (blindproof?) for fumbling around with it in a dark room that I imagine only has the monitor glow for illumination where the amp will be.

Being a 50 ohm pair of can's I honestly don't know what a higher end solution would add.

50ohms isn't the key there but the sensitivity, which is 99dB/1mW IIRC. That's higher than the HD600, and 50ohms isn't going to require a higher voltage output amp circuit as a 300ohm load.

again with the AudioGD NFB-11 I don't know what is to gain, also I am unfamiliar with price. I am a noob and am limited to budget, I can't spend more on my friend ESPECIALLY when I have no idea what the added expense provides.

If you're paying for everything you can just get him a UDAC3 or UDAC5. He'll just have to mind the face plate when plugging the headphones in if he has to do that in the dark.

 

[Protek67]

Thank you for putting it in black and white for me. I will take another look at the previous suggestions and another look at the schiit stack. I'm leaning towards the schiit stack for some reason but I will revisit your comment's here and come to a conclusion. None of this needs to happen right away but I would like to be educated when I make my purchase. I will also have to look into an amp either as an upgrade for me or something for him. Time to do some research.