Fiio A5 or DAC?
Mar 28, 2017 at 4:20 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 12
Keenix

Keenix

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I really hope this is the right subforum!! I currently have a ****ty Fiio E6 paired with HD598s which themselves dont need a good amp but my next headphone upgrade is for sure HD650. I'm wondering whether the Fiio A5 will make a big enough change to my headphones or if I should buy something like the ODAC. My budget is 150-200 but can be bigger if needed. I feel like it's worth mentioning that I'm canadian so something $200 in US could be up to $300 here after shipping and everything.

Edit: changed a word to make more sense
 
Mar 28, 2017 at 4:49 PM Post #2 of 12
Can we assume the source your connecting the audio equipment to is a computer?
 
The FiiO A5 is a headphone amplifier (amplifies an analog audio signal), while the ODAC is a DAC (Digital to Analog Converter).
So trying to decide between two items, that do different functions, does not make sense.
 
Or is the "ODAC" your talking about be referring to an O2 headphone amplifier, with a built in ODAC function?
 
Mar 28, 2017 at 7:23 PM Post #4 of 12
purpleangel said:
Can we assume the source your connecting the audio equipment to is a computer?

The FiiO A5 is a headphone amplifier (amplifies an analog audio signal), while the ODAC is a DAC (Digital to Analog Converter).
So trying to decide between two items, that do different functions, does not make sense.

Or is the "ODAC" your talking about be referring to an O2 headphone amplifier, with a built in ODAC function?
Click to expand...

Yes, I will be plugging it into a computer. I was talking about the ODAC, and I was more specifically wondering which you think would make more of a sound difference paired with the HD598s although I get that they're two different things. I would think that the ODAC would be better but I've seen such good reviews on the A5 I was wondering if the difference was big enough to buy it now.
willywill said:
Massdrop has the portable Cayin C5 DAC/AMP for $160, plug the C5 via USB to your phone or computer and enjoy a quality DAC/AMP
https://www.massdrop.com/buy/cayin-c5-dac-amp
Click to expand...

Thank you! I will check it out.
 
Mar 28, 2017 at 7:34 PM Post #5 of 12
keenix said:
Yes, I will be plugging it into a computer. I was talking about the ODAC, and I was more specifically wondering which you think would make more of a sound difference paired with the HD598s although I get that they're two different things. I would think that the ODAC would be better but I've seen such good reviews on the A5 I was wondering if the difference was big enough to buy it now.
Click to expand...

 
The ODAC is a Digital to Analog Converter, it's not designed to drive headphones, the ODAC's output is excepted to be connected to the input on an amplifier (headphone amplifier).
 
Mar 28, 2017 at 7:42 PM Post #6 of 12
purpleangel said:
The ODAC is a Digital to Analog Converter, it's not designed to drive headphones, the ODAC's output is excepted to be connected to the input on an amplifier (headphone amplifier).
Click to expand...

Right! Now I get how dumb the question is. So hooking that up to something cheap like the Bravo Audio V2 would work fine?
 
Mar 28, 2017 at 7:49 PM Post #7 of 12
keenix said:
Right! Now I get how dumb the question is. So hooking that up to something cheap like the Bravo Audio V2 would work fine?
Click to expand...

 
Connecting the output of the ODAC to the Bravo Audio V2 is fine.
 
Mar 28, 2017 at 10:31 PM Post #9 of 12
keenix said:
Thank you so much.
Click to expand...

 
Guess i feel I need to say something more.
If your planning on getting the Sennheiser HD650 (or the Massdrop version HD6XX).
You might want to cut way back on the DAC part of the budget and put most of the budget as you could for the headphone amplifier.
The Sennheiser HD600/HD650/HD6XX seem to do best when really they have a lot of amp power behind them.
I think amps like the Bravo V2 do provide a great value, but when for more cash you might get an amplifier, with a cleaner background?
 
Mar 29, 2017 at 5:48 PM Post #10 of 12
purpleangel said:
Guess i feel I need to say something more.
If your planning on getting the Sennheiser HD650 (or the Massdrop version HD6XX).
You might want to cut way back on the DAC part of the budget and put most of the budget as you could for the headphone amplifier.
The Sennheiser HD600/HD650/HD6XX seem to do best when really they have a lot of amp power behind them.
I think amps like the Bravo V2 do provide a great value, but when for more cash you might get an amplifier, with a cleaner background?
Click to expand...

The Little Dot MK2 is on Mass drop right now for $120 USD. It can support up to 600 ohms like the Bravo V2 so it will easily be able to run the 6xx/650s. Would that be more productive for the long run?
 
Mar 29, 2017 at 8:29 PM Post #11 of 12
keenix said:
The Little Dot MK2 is on Mass drop right now for $120 USD. It can support up to 600 ohms like the Bravo V2 so it will easily be able to run the 6xx/650s. Would that be more productive for the long run?
Click to expand...

 
Yea, I think the LD MK2 would be more worthwhile, over the Bravo V2.
 
Check out Hifimediy for a low cost DAC, something in the $42-$70 range?
https://hifimediy.com/DACs/ready-made-dacs?sort=p.price&order=ASC
 
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