Is the note 5's wolfson dac enough?

[AlfredIR]

Im currently looking to pair my note 5 (Wolfson) with a portable amp or dac/amp. The fiio e18 and a5 comes to my mind and according to some people's review the a5 sounds better. My question is, is the note 5's internal wolfson dac enough to pair with a5 or should i go for the e18 and use the ti dac instead? I am using ue 900s.

 

[akg fanboy]

Do you hear hiss? If you don't and the audio sounds clean then no you don't need another dac. Also snapdragon versions of the note 5 do not have a wolfson dac if I recall correctly 

 

[AlfredIR]

  Do you hear hiss? If you don't and the audio sounds clean then no you don't need another dac. Also snapdragon versions of the note 5 do not have a wolfson dac if I recall correctly 

I do have the exynos version with wolfson dac 

. 

 

[akg fanboy]

 
As long as there is no audible hiss in quiet parts of songs, then your wolfson is fine, the fiio a5 and fulla 2 are some good choices. In my experience with the ue900s, it works fine with my phone and no amp though

 

[AlfredIR]

 

 
As long as there is no audible hiss in quiet parts of songs, then your wolfson is fine, the fiio a5 and fulla 2 are some good choices. In my experience with the ue900s, it works fine with my phone and no amp though

If at where I live(Singapore), the a5 and e18 have similar prices, is it still worth to get the a5 just for the better sq that people are saying?

 

[akg fanboy]

well the A5 has more power in case you need it for other headphones, and if you are happy with the wolfson DAC performance, then the A5 would be the better choice. Otherwise I would go with the e18

 

[ProtegeManiac]

 
 
Quote:

  Im currently looking to pair my note 5 (Wolfson) with a portable amp or dac/amp. The fiio e18 and a5 comes to my mind and according to some people's review the a5 sounds better. My question is, is the note 5's internal wolfson dac enough to pair with a5 or should i go for the e18 and use the ti dac instead? I am using ue 900s.

The DAC is enough just for the decoding capability. The thing is though you have to note that in smartphones and other general purpose devices, the audio chip has not just a DAC but the output stage of the chip is usually a headphone driver stage. Plus you have volume control and in some cases there can be noise if you have to set it to an output level that matches 2volts as on wall-powered DACs.​
 
In your specific case though since you're using IEMs and the Note5 measures well enough, with no problems on output impedance either, there really isn't much to gain from adding an external DAC-HPamp unit, not to mention you'll make the whole set-up bulkier. Might as well save the money and put it towards a headphone for home use and a desktop DAC-HPamp that can work with USB audio via OTG out of the Note5. Kind of like what I do with my Note3.
 
​On the go, office, etc

 
​The rig in my bedroom

 

[AlfredIR]

 
The DAC is enough just for the decoding capability. The thing is though you have to note that in smartphones and other general purpose devices, the audio chip has not just a DAC but the output stage of the chip is usually a headphone driver stage. Plus you have volume control and in some cases there can be noise if you have to set it to an output level that matches 2volts as on wall-powered DACs.​
 
In your specific case though since you're using IEMs and the Note5 measures well enough, with no problems on output impedance either, there really isn't much to gain from adding an external DAC-HPamp unit, not to mention you'll make the whole set-up bulkier. Might as well save the money and put it towards a headphone for home use and a desktop DAC-HPamp that can work with USB audio via OTG out of the Note5. Kind of like what I do with my Note3.
 
​On the go, office, etc

 
​The rig in my bedroom

Thanks for your input! About full-sized cans, i wonder how an entry-level/mid-range full-size compare to an iem like ue 900. If I choose to buy a slightly lower range can like the hd598c, will i be disappointed by the sound, or is it very subjective?

 

[ProtegeManiac]

  Thanks for your input! About full-sized cans, i wonder how an entry-level/mid-range full-size compare to an iem like ue 900. If I choose to buy a slightly lower range can like the hd598c, will i be disappointed by the sound, or is it very subjective?

​it's partly subjective considering you might still enjoy the sound otherwise, but personally you can just use the IEMs for now.