[Morimoriya 62]

Sorry, don't have access to hd800s

So ,buy it I also want to buy it

 

[gstepic]

I am still trying to learn more about the world of high end audio and figuring out connections is part of my education. If I got the amp3 and did get a headphone amp would I have to get an amp with balanced inputs, my guess is yes. If I stick with the amp1 then I do not need an amp with balanced inputs and my understanding is the amp will be the important factor and it really does not matter if I use the SE or balanced output from DX200 to amp (or is this the subject of debate?).

I am a little confused about the need for a DAC if I get a headphone amp. I think I have asked this in another thread but have not received an answer. I know the DX200 is a good source so my logic tells me I do not need a DAC if I use the DX200 as the music source for the headphone amp. I get a little confused because I keep thinking the DX200 is a digital player, a very good digital player and a DAC is a digital to analogue converter.

I also know most headphone amps mainly have SE connections for the phones, but again if I am using a good amp does it matter if I use balanced or regular cable from phones to amp?

I am still breaking in what I have and maybe I will not need a headphone amp with the HD800 S/DX200 combo. But time and again along my audio journey I think I have something really good and keep discovering it can get even better. I don't have unlimited funds and know there is a point of diminishing returns so I am going to take my time and try to actually listen to some amps before I buy but I want to make sure I understand how all these components play together.

 

[alota]

I am still trying to learn more about the world of high end audio and figuring out connections is part of my education. If I got the amp3 and did get a headphone amp would I have to get an amp with balanced inputs, my guess is yes. If I stick with the amp1 then I do not need an amp with balanced inputs and my understanding is the amp will be the important factor and it really does not matter if I use the SE or balanced output from DX200 to amp (or is this the subject of debate?).

I am a little confused about the need for a DAC if I get a headphone amp. I think I have asked this in another thread but have not received an answer. I know the DX200 is a good source so my logic tells me I do not need a DAC if I use the DX200 as the music source for the headphone amp. I get a little confused because I keep thinking the DX200 is a digital player, a very good digital player and a DAC is a digital to analogue converter.

I also know most headphone amps mainly have SE connections for the phones, but again if I am using a good amp does it matter if I use balanced or regular cable from phones to amp?

I am still breaking in what I have and maybe I will not need a headphone amp with the HD800 S/DX200 combo. But time and again along my audio journey I think I have something really good and keep discovering it can get even better. I don't have unlimited funds and know there is a point of diminishing returns so I am going to take my time and try to actually listen to some amps before I buy but I want to make sure I understand how all these components play together.

My humble opinion: when i started my adventure, the classic rig was source(cd player or mechanic plus dac), amplifier and of course headphone.
i had some stuffs balanced but the balanced connection is not necessary. so many things have changed today.
in this specific case, the dx-200 is a good source/dac with possibility of streaming services and a good headphone amplifer.
in the case of amplifier of course depends the headphone you use. in my case i have the amp1 and, for now, i´m happy because i use with my iem and with elear in balanced mode when arrives my balanced cable.without prejudice the amp drives the elear(80 ohm impedance) in single ended mode very well.
so you need a dac if you believe that another dac, like for example chord stuffs or multibit dac, is better compared to dx-200´s dac.
you need an external amplifier if you believe that the internal amp does not drive well your headphone.
my wallet is small too and i have no stores to try near my house. i bought some stuffs in the past(see my signature)and i believe that dx-200 is an excellent solution to listen music(limited from my experience with amp 1)

 

[gstepic]

My humble opinion: when i started my adventure, the classic rig was source(cd player or mechanic plus dac), amplifier and of course headphone.
i had some stuffs balanced but the balanced connection is not necessary. so many things have changed today.
in this specific case, the dx-200 is a good source/dac with possibility of streaming services and a good headphone amplifer.
in the case of amplifier of course depends the headphone you use. in my case i have the amp1 and, for now, i´m happy because i use with my iem and with elear in balanced mode when arrives my balanced cable.without prejudice the amp drives the elear(80 ohm impedance) in single ended mode very well.
so you need a dac if you believe that another dac, like for example chord stuffs or multibit dac, is better compared to dx-200´s dac.
you need an external amplifier if you believe that the internal amp does not drive well your headphone.
my wallet is small too and i have no stores to try near my house. i bought some stuffs in the past(see my signature)and i believe that dx-200 is an excellent solution to listen music(limited from my experience with amp 1)

I have not downloaded the DAC driver yet so apparently I do need that and have to run DX200 in DAC mode in order to connect to headphone amp. And obviously I don't need a DAC just to listen to the headphones from the DX200. So am I listing to a digital signal? Or is it analogue because when using a laptop for example, to get best sound that is when I need to use DX200 DAC mode so is the digital signal of laptop being converted to analogue for DX200 and is the signal from DX200 to headphones actually analogue? I know there is a flaw somewhere in my logic of understanding this.

 

[alota]

i used the dx200 connected to my pc and i liked. dx-200 has one of the best dac chip in the market. so try. about amplifier i don´t understand if you have balanced or unbalanced amplifier

 

[javahut]

I am a little confused about the need for a DAC if I get a headphone amp. I think I have asked this in another thread but have not received an answer. I know the DX200 is a good source so my logic tells me I do not need a DAC if I use the DX200 as the music source for the headphone amp. I get a little confused because I keep thinking the DX200 is a digital player, a very good digital player and a DAC is a digital to analogue converter.

To tag on to a previous response... if you have the DX200, you really don't need or shouldn't need a different DAC... unless you just particularly don't like something about the DX200's DAC stage. Primarily, the reason for the DX200 is its great DAC section, combined with really good choice of amps... that when combined with its player and OS, is all easily portable. Of course, the interface and OS is also a consideration... but that's not really what the DX200 is for. If you're going to get a separate DAC and separate amp... you might as well use a really good cell phone for the player/source (portable), or buy a really good home player or use a PC for your home audio set up. To use only the player part of the DX200, and not the DAC or amp... would, IMO, be wasting the biggest reason for having a DX200 in the first place.

If you have a DX200... and have a really awesome home or studio DAC and amp... then by all means, the DX200 would be a really good player, and could be used in your home setup, too. But being a player primarily for use with an outboard DAC and amp would not be "getting your money's worth" out of it, IMO.

And on another note... I have to say that so far... using the Neutron player on the DX200 is working out fantastically. The only issue I find is that... when the DX200 is set to "Low Gain", Neutron doesn't have the same sound quality as using Mango in Low Gain mode. But switch the DX200 back to High Gain, and I find Neutron, so far, to sound excellent... with what seems like sound quality on par with Mango. Though I confess, I haven't compared them "side by side". But as long as you have the DX200 switched to high gain, the sound quality seems to be comparable to Mango. What I really don't understand is... why can't the Mango player work as well functionally as the Neutron player? IMO, so far, Neutron is now THE player to use with DX200 (just make sure DX200 is in High Gain mode).

 

[gstepic]

i used the dx200 connected to my pc and i liked. dx-200 has one of the best dac chip in the market. so try. about amplifier i don´t understand if you have balanced or unbalanced amplifier

I have not purchased an amp yet and that is part of my question - if I did get amp3 for DX200 would I need balanced amp and my guess is I do. I am just trying to understand what I need before /I even audition any amps. First step is I need to download and install DAC driver to DX200, assuming like DX80 does not come preinstalled for PC.

My plan is to let DX200 and Sennheiser HD800 S break in then audition headphone amps with amp1 that came with unit to see how much of difference it will make. I will buy two sets of connectors in order to try a headphone amp, balanced and SE connections (to connect DX200 to headphone amp). I was wondering if I was going to have a problem driving the HD800 S with the DX200 but so far to my ears this combo works great. I probably should wait to the amp4 comes out as well to see what that will do before I buy any headphone amp.

 

[gstepic]

To tag on to a previous response... if you have the DX200, you really don't need or shouldn't need a different DAC... unless you just particularly don't like something about the DX200's DAC stage. Primarily, the reason for the DX200 is its great DAC section, combined with really good choice of amps... that when combined with its player and OS, is all easily portable. Of course, the interface and OS is also a consideration... but that's not really what the DX200 is for. If you're going to get a separate DAC and separate amp... you might as well use a really good cell phone for the player/source (portable), or buy a really good home player or use a PC for your home audio set up. To use only the player part of the DX200, and not the DAC or amp... would, IMO, be wasting the biggest reason for having a DX200 in the first place..

My only music system was DX80/Beyerdynamic T5P g2 and I just added DX200 and Sennheiser HD800 S. I just want to see if I can improve on this without exceeding some point of diminishing returns for me (have budgeted $1500 for upgrades) . I am just trying to understand how the signal paths work. I am thinking the reason I need to download DAC driver is if signal comes from another source, like a laptop, that source has to go through that driver to take advantage of the high quality DX200 chips. I don't need this driver to listen to headphones because there probably is some sort of DAC built in. I guess what is throwing me off is if I don't need the downloaded DAC driver when sound signal goes from player to headphone then why do I need it to send signal from player to external headphone amp? I really apologize my ignorance on this topic. .

 

[javahut]

My only music system was DX80/Beyerdynamic T5P g2 and I just added DX200 and Sennheiser HD800 S. I just want to see if I can improve on this without exceeding some point of diminishing returns for me (have budgeted $1500 for upgrades) . I am just trying to understand how the signal paths work. I am thinking the reason I need to download DAC driver is if signal comes from another source, like a laptop, that source has to go through that driver to take advantage of the high quality DX200 chips. I don't need this driver to listen to headphones because there probably is some sort of DAC built in. I guess what is throwing me off is if I don't need the downloaded DAC driver when sound signal goes from player to headphone then why do I need it to send signal from player to external headphone amp? I really apologize my ignorance on this topic. .

Digital Audio Player ---> Digital to Audio Converter ---> Amplifier

If you just wanna use an outboard headphone amp, and use the DX200 for the Digital Audio Player and DAC part... you don't need a driver. Just use the DX200 Line Out to the headphone amp.

 

[gstepic]

Digital Audio Player ---> Digital to Audio Converter ---> Amplifier

If you just wanna use an outboard headphone amp, and use the DX200 for the Digital Audio Player and DAC part... you don't need a driver. Just use the DX200 Line Out to the headphone amp.

Ok, making more sense now. Just one more question (probably a lie!) concerning the LO for the iBasso amp3. From what I have read the amp3 is a dedicated balanced amp. So if I use the LO to connect to my car 3.5mm line in or an outboard amp that does not have balanced inputs will the DX200 work with either?

 

[jamato8]

Ok, making more sense now. Just one more question (probably a lie!) concerning the LO for the iBasso amp3. From what I have read the amp3 is a dedicated balanced amp. So if I use the LO to connect to my car 3.5mm line in or an outboard amp that does not have balanced inputs will the DX200 work with either?

No. You will need to use the LO of the AMP1. It is simple and fast.

 

[gstepic]

No. You will need to use the LO of the AMP1. It is simple and fast.

Thanks, I think I am starting to understand. If I want to experiment to see if I can improve sound or soundstage I can use amp1 with SE out and outboard amp SE in with a connector I will have to purchase. I could use the balanced out of DX200 to connect with a balanced input of an outboard amp as well with additional connectors. If I do not want an outboard amp and want to change the sound signature of the DX200 then I could try the amp3 or amp2 (which may not be able to drive the HD200 S). Just let me know if I am on the right track with my thinking.

 

[meomap]

Hi,
I currently used a 3.5 mm to RCA cable connected to LO of DX200 to SS6 tube amp to drive Utopia. Sounds wonderful since dac from DX200 are very good already.
Need to buy good quality 3.5 to RCA cable though.
Now I can use the esoteric k05 sacd and Dac combo, usually connected to SS6 amp, downstair for my 2 channel setup.

 

[gstepic]

I think I am understanding how all this works. If I get an external amp it will probably be the Schiit Mjolnir 2 or WA22. I am not sure if this is necessary for best sound but with those two amps I can do a completely balanced chain. The Woo Audio is over what I planned to spend but if really makes a difference probably worth the money for me. I go to Redondo Beach a few times a year and there is a Woo Audio distributor a hop skip and jump away so I could listen to the WA22 before I buy. Even Schiit is not that far away, near Burbank.

 

[jamato8]

I think I am understanding how all this works. If I get an external amp it will probably be the Schiit Mjolnir 2 or WA22. I am not sure if this is necessary for best sound but with those two amps I can do a completely balanced chain. The Woo Audio is over what I planned to spend but if really makes a difference probably worth the money for me. I go to Redondo Beach a few times a year and there is a Woo Audio distributor a hop skip and jump away so I could listen to the WA22 before I buy. Even Schiit is not that far away, near Burbank.

The micro Zotl 2 is an excellent buy and superb sound.