Sorry for the ‘strange’ question but I’m wondering if I could improve my current set up. I have an A & K KANN as my main portable music player and I use a pair of Bose Quietcomfort headphones. I also use the DAC within the KANN to play music and movies through my laptop etc. It works well. But I want to ‘upgrade’ the headphones and am looking at Focal Elegia or Celestee. Is the KANN a good DAC, or will I notice a big improvement if I also get a dedicated DAC such as Chord Mojo or Dragonfly Cobalt?
Do I Need A Better DAC?
- Thread starter mkn777er
- Start date
Here’s my suggestion for you. Go on the “Forums” main page. Then choose “Sound Science”. Then look for “DAC Difference” which is on the first page of recent discussion topics. You can either read through the 14 pages of postings on the subject or post your specific question. Sound Science has a few very knowledgeable people/ members who know their stuff & will help you out.
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surfgeorge
Member of the Trade: 3D Printed Accessory Designer
This is actually a good question.
Going from the Bose headphones to some Focals will be a big upgrade!
Both the Elegia and Celestee are easy to drive, so the KANN should be perfectly fine in terms of power.
About the Elegia - I tested it and it does some things very well but the midrange is quite strange, with some music it sounded constrained and muffled. If you can afford the Celestee I'd also consider the Focal Clear (original), which is getting discontinued and with a little bit of luck you can find it new at the same price as the Celestee MRSP. (I bought it for €990 last december). If you do, go for the "Pro" version, it comes with extra pads and does not get dirty as quickly as the light grey regular Clears.
After you have the new headphone, compare the sound from the KANN vs your computer or phone.
If you hear a significant difference it would make sense to consider another DAC/Amp. This might help: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/how-to-tell-difference-between-dacs.956627/post-16239191
After buying a Mojo I became a big fan of the work of Rob Watts from Chord and now use the Focal Clears paired with a Hugo 2. There's a ton of excellent information about the technology and what Rob works to achieve with it in the thread "Watts up..." https://www.head-fi.org/threads/watts-up.800264/
With or without a new source, upgrading your headphones will be a big step!
Going from the Bose headphones to some Focals will be a big upgrade!
Both the Elegia and Celestee are easy to drive, so the KANN should be perfectly fine in terms of power.
About the Elegia - I tested it and it does some things very well but the midrange is quite strange, with some music it sounded constrained and muffled. If you can afford the Celestee I'd also consider the Focal Clear (original), which is getting discontinued and with a little bit of luck you can find it new at the same price as the Celestee MRSP. (I bought it for €990 last december). If you do, go for the "Pro" version, it comes with extra pads and does not get dirty as quickly as the light grey regular Clears.
After you have the new headphone, compare the sound from the KANN vs your computer or phone.
If you hear a significant difference it would make sense to consider another DAC/Amp. This might help: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/how-to-tell-difference-between-dacs.956627/post-16239191
After buying a Mojo I became a big fan of the work of Rob Watts from Chord and now use the Focal Clears paired with a Hugo 2. There's a ton of excellent information about the technology and what Rob works to achieve with it in the thread "Watts up..." https://www.head-fi.org/threads/watts-up.800264/
With or without a new source, upgrading your headphones will be a big step!
Thanks for the replies. I've had a good trawl through DAC Difference thread and based on what I have read there I think I will buy the headphones and see how I get on usnig the KANN as my DAC. I've also looked at the Focal Clears and they do indeed get great reviews. But I am particularly looking at 'Closed Back' as I do a lot of train/aircraft travelling and want to block out background noise and don't want to annoy my neighbours. The Elegia's here in the UK are currently a good price (£599 down from £849) presumably because they have been replaced by the Celestee?
surfgeorge
Member of the Trade: 3D Printed Accessory Designer
Oh, sorry! I confused the Elear with the Elegia! It's the Elear I have heard, not the closed Elegia.
For commuting I use IEMs. I tried full size headphones on airplanes. Very comfortable to wear but also very cumbersome, taking a lot of space in the hand luggage and being in the way during eating or drinking. I needed time to find the right tips and learn how to wear IEMs, but now I really love listening to them. Different, but excellent.
This thread should be interesting for you: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/best-audiophile-setups-for-commercial-air-travel.923380/
About that "DAC difference" thread.... Entertaining, but full of technically incorrect arguments to support opinions, which are just that- opinions.
If you are interested in the technology of DAC design I'd rather read the "Watts Up...." thread instead.
Rob Watts has a background in designing DAC ICs, understands the challenges and is exceptionally open in explaining the solutions he has developed in the 20 years he has been working on audiophile DACs. My electrical engineering know how is not good enough to understand everything he is explaining, but my ears can clearly hear what he's talking about.
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