someguyontheinternet
100+ Head-Fier
Headphones 9/10
Rest (mostly amp) 1/10
Rest (mostly amp) 1/10
How much does each component affect sound?
- Thread starter Pansbjorne
- Start date
It should but it doesn't. Connect your dac to your phone, your ipad, a mac mini, a CD player or a high quality streamer and play the same file. It won't sound the same.
Was a reply for this.
Steven31
AKA SonyFan121, Audio Aficionado, Audioholic123, JVC steven, and others
It’s the other way about. A headphone or speaker is only as good as the system you connect it to. Of course taking into account that there is different types of drivers and they all have their unique tuning, generally speaking, a headphone or speaker can only output what it receives from the system you have them connected to. For example I am using a Focusrite Scarlett Solo 2i2 which actually has some punch, it can drive 200 ohm headphones adequately, but im probably only hearing my TH500RP at maybe 55-60% it’s potential with this usb powered desktop amp. Lets assume you listen to a CD Player connected to a headphone amp which is connected to your headphones,- the signal you are hearing through your headphones, started it's life at the power supply/socket on the wall, then once it reaches your CD player the laser that reads the disc plays an extremely important role in extracting audible information from the disc and the eventual sound you will hear through your headphones, it then travels to an amp and depending on the type of amp you use, various conversion processes happen before it finally reaches your ears. Since I’m a purist I swear by the classic analogue separates system and the compact disc. If you want to hear your headphones at their full potential you gotta have them hooked up to a system that will utilise the drivers to their full potential. There is allot to this topic, it's not just about impedance/power, but the quality of the components (transistors/resistors and capacitors) within these electrical devices matters too, and can be the difference between an amp that maximises the performance of your headphone, or one that has minimal affect on it's sound. Yes, cables matter too. A part of the reason why I disliked Sennheisers open-back heaphones is because of how thin and fragile the wiring behind the drivers are. I believe such thin wires means audible distortion is more likely, whereas I think headphones that have big thick wires (such as the type Fostex use) tend to sound thicker too (translate a thicker sound through the drivers).
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rangerid
500+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Jan 29, 2010
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Once upon a time I would've said headphone 8/10, amp 1/10, dac 1/10, you know following the 80/20 rule given how important transducers are.
However, as I gain more experience and delve more and more into the amp, dac, power rabbit hole I am leaning something like this nowadays:
Headphone: 4/10
DAC/Source: 2.5/10
Amp: 2.5/10
Power Supply, cables, misc: 1/10
Type of headphones and how easy/difficult it is to drive also play an important role. If I were to use my headphones on the source chain I have now vs what I had a year ago when I first began building a desktop setup, you'd think they were two different cans. Sure, the overall sound signature is the same, but the detail, soundstage, dynamics, etc are not even close... Scaling especially with endgame cans is very real.
However, as I gain more experience and delve more and more into the amp, dac, power rabbit hole I am leaning something like this nowadays:
Headphone: 4/10
DAC/Source: 2.5/10
Amp: 2.5/10
Power Supply, cables, misc: 1/10
Type of headphones and how easy/difficult it is to drive also play an important role. If I were to use my headphones on the source chain I have now vs what I had a year ago when I first began building a desktop setup, you'd think they were two different cans. Sure, the overall sound signature is the same, but the detail, soundstage, dynamics, etc are not even close... Scaling especially with endgame cans is very real.
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Paul Mohr
100+ Head-Fier
My answer is probably going to be a little different than most of the others but it is what it is. I tend to have a much more realistic average consumer kind of take on it. Not an audiophile view.
Number one for me is the music/recording quality. A crap recording is going to sound like crap. I don't care how fancy your set up is. As a matter of fact the better the gear the worse it might sound because it will probably let you hear more of the crap. And even more so with headphones.
Number 2 is going to be your source. Are you using a tape deck, a turntable, a cd player, streaming or playing recorded files from a computer or some other device. If you are streaming or playing digitized files other issues come into play. How good is the streaming service? How good is your internet, if you are using wifi how good is it. Is everything configured properly. Mismatched bit rate and sample size settings can effect how things sound. As can other settings inside the software or in windows settings. And don't forget sometimes the streaming service itself can have issues on their side just like anything else internet based. If they are having server issues too bad for you. For instance I use Tidal on a desktop with a modi 3+ dac and it took a little while to get it configured properly. And with Tidal don't just assume because it says "master" quality or whatever that it is going to sound awesome. Some of those recordings sound like garbage. I have 30 year old CD's that sound better than the Tidal versions of the same song. Others do indeed sound fantastic though. Again, how the song was recorded, mixed and engineered is always more important for good sound.
Number 3 would be your headphones. This is of course the part of the chain you are actually interacting with and is reproducing the sound for you. However it goes beyond who made them, how expensive they were and how they measure. In the end do YOU like them. Is the sound something you enjoy, not everyone likes the same tonal quality or effects. Are they comfortable, do they fit your needs, are they easy to use for you? Little things make a difference. For instance I like the way my AKG K371's sound. However I don't like the cable. The mini xlr connector is long and points straight down. I am little have a small head/short neck. The connector and cable pokes into my shoulder especially if I am wearing a jacket or something. And the cable transmits sounds very easily. Any kind of rubbing on my shoulder or the cable rubbing on a shirt or jacket zipper is very easily heard. And I love my sundaras but again the cable, not so impressive. It doesn't make noise like the AKG does but its kind of short, stiff and weird. And I don't like the 45 degree angle plug either. I purchased a different longer cable for them and I am very happy with them now.
As for amps and dacs, I don't think it makes as big of a difference as people tend to make it seem. Unless of course you are talking tube amps or an amp designed to color the sound in some way to emulate a tube amp. Most solid state amps as long as they can drive the headphones you have are probably going to sound pretty much the same. The main differences are going to be features you may or may not want and how loud they will play depending on the power of the amp. You do want an amp designed to be used with the headphones you choose though. If you have hard to drive power hungry headphones you don't want an under powered amp. And if you have very easy to drive headphones or IEM's you don't want or need a really powerful amp with a ton of gain. However in general most headphones will work with most amps pretty well and be loud enough to cause hearing damage. Just don't expect a fancy set of planar headphones or something to work with your phone, laptop or some small low powered amp.
And for me honestly I can't tell a difference between most dacs. Again as long as stuff is configured properly. Like say you are using a usb input from a computer.
Are there people that can tell a difference between different dacs and amps? Sure probably. Especially when doing A/B testing and critical listening and they know what to listen for. However for most average people under normal listening conditions I doubt most people would know the difference. If you listened to music for a while, left for a few hours and came back and someone switched out your dac and amp on you I doubt you would notice the difference. Providing you couldn't see it and they were of similar power specs.
I am sure a lot of people will disagree with me and that is fine. This is nothing more than my opinion as a normal 54 year old that likes to listen to music for enjoyment. I am not a tester or reviewer, I don't have a degree in audio nor am I an engineer.
Number one for me is the music/recording quality. A crap recording is going to sound like crap. I don't care how fancy your set up is. As a matter of fact the better the gear the worse it might sound because it will probably let you hear more of the crap. And even more so with headphones.
Number 2 is going to be your source. Are you using a tape deck, a turntable, a cd player, streaming or playing recorded files from a computer or some other device. If you are streaming or playing digitized files other issues come into play. How good is the streaming service? How good is your internet, if you are using wifi how good is it. Is everything configured properly. Mismatched bit rate and sample size settings can effect how things sound. As can other settings inside the software or in windows settings. And don't forget sometimes the streaming service itself can have issues on their side just like anything else internet based. If they are having server issues too bad for you. For instance I use Tidal on a desktop with a modi 3+ dac and it took a little while to get it configured properly. And with Tidal don't just assume because it says "master" quality or whatever that it is going to sound awesome. Some of those recordings sound like garbage. I have 30 year old CD's that sound better than the Tidal versions of the same song. Others do indeed sound fantastic though. Again, how the song was recorded, mixed and engineered is always more important for good sound.
Number 3 would be your headphones. This is of course the part of the chain you are actually interacting with and is reproducing the sound for you. However it goes beyond who made them, how expensive they were and how they measure. In the end do YOU like them. Is the sound something you enjoy, not everyone likes the same tonal quality or effects. Are they comfortable, do they fit your needs, are they easy to use for you? Little things make a difference. For instance I like the way my AKG K371's sound. However I don't like the cable. The mini xlr connector is long and points straight down. I am little have a small head/short neck. The connector and cable pokes into my shoulder especially if I am wearing a jacket or something. And the cable transmits sounds very easily. Any kind of rubbing on my shoulder or the cable rubbing on a shirt or jacket zipper is very easily heard. And I love my sundaras but again the cable, not so impressive. It doesn't make noise like the AKG does but its kind of short, stiff and weird. And I don't like the 45 degree angle plug either. I purchased a different longer cable for them and I am very happy with them now.
As for amps and dacs, I don't think it makes as big of a difference as people tend to make it seem. Unless of course you are talking tube amps or an amp designed to color the sound in some way to emulate a tube amp. Most solid state amps as long as they can drive the headphones you have are probably going to sound pretty much the same. The main differences are going to be features you may or may not want and how loud they will play depending on the power of the amp. You do want an amp designed to be used with the headphones you choose though. If you have hard to drive power hungry headphones you don't want an under powered amp. And if you have very easy to drive headphones or IEM's you don't want or need a really powerful amp with a ton of gain. However in general most headphones will work with most amps pretty well and be loud enough to cause hearing damage. Just don't expect a fancy set of planar headphones or something to work with your phone, laptop or some small low powered amp.
And for me honestly I can't tell a difference between most dacs. Again as long as stuff is configured properly. Like say you are using a usb input from a computer.
Are there people that can tell a difference between different dacs and amps? Sure probably. Especially when doing A/B testing and critical listening and they know what to listen for. However for most average people under normal listening conditions I doubt most people would know the difference. If you listened to music for a while, left for a few hours and came back and someone switched out your dac and amp on you I doubt you would notice the difference. Providing you couldn't see it and they were of similar power specs.
I am sure a lot of people will disagree with me and that is fine. This is nothing more than my opinion as a normal 54 year old that likes to listen to music for enjoyment. I am not a tester or reviewer, I don't have a degree in audio nor am I an engineer.
Steven31
AKA SonyFan121, Audio Aficionado, Audioholic123, JVC steven, and others
lol
https://producerhive.com/ask-the-hive/does-audio-cable-length-matter/
Quote: “A thicker speaker wire will have less resistance, which helps preserve your sound quality even for long cable runs. For example, very heavy speaker cables of about 16-gauges can stretch for as far as 50 feet (15 meters) without affecting your listening experience. So its thickness is able to compensate for the distance.”
HipHopScribe
Headphoneus Supremus
Is there 50 feet of cable inside your headphones? If not, what you're quoting here is irrelevant
silent-circuit
Headphoneus Supremus
You have no technical basis for your opinions. Please don't pretend otherwise. You can think whatever you like, you can state those opinions, but when you try to apply science without understanding it, that's when things typically go bad.
Steven31
AKA SonyFan121, Audio Aficionado, Audioholic123, JVC steven, and others
You are entitled to your opinion, as am I.
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Steven31
AKA SonyFan121, Audio Aficionado, Audioholic123, JVC steven, and others
EDITED: the part in that link I included in my last post, should explain it well enough. Most speaker cable and headphone cables are made of the same stuff (copper). And you are correct, I can state those opinions because, you know, freedom of speech, and who are you to tell me I can. Before commenting, you should do more research into how alternating current works.
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Cables none??? LOLLL LOL,,,,,
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