Do I need an amp if I got an interface with preamps?
Jul 10, 2012 at 9:12 PM Post #2 of 10
Jul 10, 2012 at 9:31 PM Post #3 of 10
I have a lower end M-Audio that I've used with my DT 880 (250 ohm). It works well enough, but I do end up cranking the volume pretty high on the interface; never felt like there was any distortion or roll-off though.
 
Shouldn't studio gear like that work fine? 
 
Jul 11, 2012 at 2:26 PM Post #4 of 10
Yeah I was just wondering, I'm choosing an interface for my setup and I seen people buying these amps and DACs and was just wondering since an interface usually has both of those I shouldn't need to get them. I'm still looking for an interface around the from 100$ to 500$ whatever works and has the inputs I need lol
 
Jul 11, 2012 at 2:42 PM Post #5 of 10
For around $60 (or more), you can get single tube or solid state headphone amplifier (No-name from China) off eBay, that can easily drive 300-Ohm headphones
 
Jul 11, 2012 at 3:42 PM Post #6 of 10
Just found a topic where someone had trouble running 50ohm phones at decent volume with that profire 610.. Geez I guess I do need a seperate amp

I'm looking for a good quality one that won't mess with the HD600s signal like make it inaccurate, I planned to use these for mixing along with monitors so I was hoping I could get an all in one box with an interface. That china amp sounds dodgy lol I'd rather spend 100$+ on a good one if I have to
 
Jul 11, 2012 at 3:49 PM Post #7 of 10
Quote:
Just found a topic where someone had trouble running 50ohm phones at decent volume with that profire 610.. Geez I guess I do need a seperate amp

I'm looking for a good quality one that won't mess with the HD600s signal like make it inaccurate, I planned to use these for mixing along with monitors so I was hoping I could get an all in one box with an interface. That china amp sounds dodgy lol I'd rather spend 100$+ on a good one if I have to

A lot, maybe most headphone amplifier are made in China (or Asia), name brand or otherwise.
How about a Little Dot MKII or MKIII
Fiio E9 can drive 300-Ohm headphones
 
Jul 11, 2012 at 4:30 PM Post #8 of 10
Quote:
A lot, maybe most headphone amplifier are made in China (or Asia), name brand or otherwise.
How about a Little Dot MKII or MKIII
Fiio E9 can drive 300-Ohm headphones

 
I doubt he'd want something like a Little Dot, as he's looking for something accurate to mix with?
 
 
Unfortunately, most pro audio interfaces I've seen seem to have kind of poorly implemented headphone amps. It kinda sucks :\ A lot of them I've used/seen are only about as powerful (sometimes less powerful) as the headphone amp on an iPod. Many have pretty high output impedance as well, 75ohm in the case of the ProFire 610. It's really weird how poor the amps on some of these interfaces can be, though some are decent.
 
OP, what kinds of inputs and outputs do you need on an interface?
 
Jul 11, 2012 at 9:29 PM Post #10 of 10
Quote:
Look at the Nuforce HDP. My HD600 sounds great with it. Plenty of power.

 
It's also going to cost a lot more than the ~$100 budget that OP seems to want to work within.
 
Ayim: You could go with the O2 (aka Objective 2). It's meant to be portable, but it can run off AC power and the size is a bit chunkier than most folks want for portable, anyway. Lot of people say it's neutral and powerful--exactly what you're looking for. It's about US$144 built, or you can DIY for less:
http://www.jdslabs.com/item.php?fetchitem=O2Full
http://www.jdslabs.com/storecat.php?fetchcat=4
 

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