[Thenewbie76]

Correct me if im wrong but from what i heard is that DACs are like external sounds card and AMPs are for powering your headphones if their hard to drive and reaching higher volumes.Im gonna use the AKG 7XX mainly for home use on my desktop and laptop.I also know that depending on your motherboard you might not need a DAC.My desktop motherboard is a ASUS H170M PLUS.I checked some reviews on youtube and one youtuber was using a CEntrance DACport which was a combo of AMP and DAC that he had gotten from Massdrop.By the way im buying this AKG 7XX from massdrop. The headphones has a sensitivity of 105dB/V, maximum input power of  200mW and a rated impedence of 65ohm

 

[Karias]

  By the way im buying this AKG 7XX from massdrop. 
 

Well, the K7XXs can ONLY be bought from Massdrop, so....




Either way, I have a friend who just plugs his K7XXs directly into his motherboard (I'm not sure about what model or how good it is), but it doesn't sound outright terrible. The K7XXs may seem like they need something decent to drive them but they actually very efficient and easy to drive to loud enough volumes.

However, if you do want a better sound, any DAC or Amp setup will definitely help. It might not be worth the penny if those AKGs are the only headphones you intend to run with.

 

[FumblingFoo]

I don't know the quality of the audio off your motherboard, but even if its good and even if you don't *need* a dac/amp, your can find improvements in volume and sound quality for on the cheap. There's the Fiio E10k for around $75. This won't max out your headphones but they will play very loudly with this dac/amp if desired. Sound quality is quite good, too. The more powerful Schiit Fulla 2 probably sounds pretty good too (I trust the Schiit brand quality) @ $99.

 

[Thenewbie76]

are there any Dac/Amps you would recommend and how do i  find the right Dacs/Amps for my headphones.Cause im gonna buy from a local retailer and they might not have the Schiit Fulla 2 or the  Fiio E10K. 

 

[FumblingFoo]

Some of the best brands with cheap affordable but good quality DACs/amps are Schiit, FiiO, and iFi audio, who you can trust to offer good quality gear (that being said, the iFi iCan nano is probably a good portable amp as well). I can't really speak to any other gear because I've only listened to the FiiO E10k personally, so maybe someone else can weigh in who's more knowledgeable. Also, if the local retailer is legit, and none of amps recommended here are there, hopefully the customer service will point you in the right direction.

 

[WhiteKnite]

I have the Q701 which are very similar, basically the pads are the only notable difference.  They work very well with a warm(ish) source.  I couldn't stand mine on my Soundblaster X-fi or mainboard.  The fiio E07K sounds good with these but my favorite is the meridian explorer 2 as a DAC using line out to my Little Dot I+ with mullard tubes and muses02 opamp.  There are probably better alternatives if you are buying specifically for the 7XX but that is what I like from my personal collection.  There are quite a few DAC/Amps on massdrop right now that would work.  Those AKG's are very popular so chances are good you can find impressions of them on most DAC/amps with some searching. 

 

[ProtegeManiac]

  The headphones has a sensitivity of 105dB/V, maximum input power of  200mW and a rated impedence of 65ohm

 

There are two figures that generally point to the same thing, ie, how easy a headphone is to drive - sensitivity and efficiency - however they are computed for very differently. AKG however quotes efficiency and then marks it as sensitivity since that has a higher figure on it, and yet, hook up an amp to that and a Grado, and most will just think the difference in where the volume knob lands is due to the difference in impedance affectign the amp output, when in reality that gap in impedance shouldn't really affect where it was measured at.

 

The K7-- series' actual sensitivity is around 93dB. In the same manner some websites have the Sennheiser HD6x0 at 97dB or 110dB (or thereabouts). Audiobot 9000's computed estimates are also based on 93dB for the AKG and 97dB for the Sennheisers.

 

That, or AKG is citing sensitivity at a different frequency (like 150hz) rather than at 1000hz, which is what is usually used for speakers and headphones.

 

Whichever it is, don't work off the assumption that it sounds as good as it can be out of a simple portable amp with a single 9v or 7.2v battery as much as a Grado would.

 

 

 

[Thenewbie76]

would you think the Centrance dacport amp combo?

 

[Niouke]

I use a cheap sound blaster E1 DAC to drive my sennheiser 598 and it is a vast improvement over my integrated sound card or the asus xonar DGX PCIE card I have. An immediate improvement you'd notice is the lack of any white noise on the sound blaster.

 

[Karias]

I'd second the Fiio e10k as well. 

Like we mentioned, you might not get an immense improvement in sound quality by which it is determined as a "need", but the improvement might be significant enough if you have the pocket of cash to spare. The e10k is good on the cheap and it doesn't do any bad either, so they'd fit right in the bill if you're just starting out

The CEntrance DACport is also a good buy, but IMO it is used for a much more portable setup like laptop and tablet uses. If you are on your PC most of the time getting something this portable seems a little overkill to me

 

[Thenewbie76]

So  the Fiio e10K .I got cash to burn through but this is my first 'audiophile' gear im getting .Might as well start somehwere small.The centrance is for portable theN, I'd get the Fiio e10K since im gonna be on my desktop in my room all alone listening to music