[Sona]

Are they good for gaming movies , do have the 650 im just Questioning myself

 

[Hammy]

Hello everyone, I got a pair of hd 598s a few months ago. Now i would like to get a dac for it (if it makes an appreciable difference). I read through some other threads and I noticed that people recommend the Fiio E10K which seems excellent. But there's a huge impedance spike for the 598s,so keeping that in mind, is the Fiio E10k enough to drive them to their best?


Also, the Fiio has an output impedance around 1 ohm and my phone has output impedance of 2.5 ohms (oneplus one). As I understand it the hd 598s will benefit from as low an impedance as possible. They are plenty loud, but would the sound quality difference be appreciable?

 
I have/have owned the HD598, FiiO E10K and OnePlus One.  The E10K isn't a mobile solution and is designed for desktop use only.  If that is your intention then I would say it's a fantastic choice for the HD598 and there was a clear and distinguishable difference between it and my OnePlus One (and indeed between my onboard PC audio).  I would say the OPO sounded the weakest between all 3.
 
I can't really suggest other options as my experience is limited to just a few devices, but let us know what you decide and how you get on.

 

[dakanao]

Hello everyone, I got a pair of hd 598s a few months ago. Now i would like to get a dac for it (if it makes an appreciable difference). I read through some other threads and I noticed that people recommend the Fiio E10K which seems excellent. But there's a huge impedance spike for the 598s,so keeping that in mind, is the Fiio E10k enough to drive them to their best?


Also, the Fiio has an output impedance around 1 ohm and my phone has output impedance of 2.5 ohms (oneplus one). As I understand it the hd 598s will benefit from as low an impedance as possible. They are plenty loud, but would the sound quality difference be appreciable?

I can recommend the hifimediy sabre usb dac 2. I only have the DAC version of the bundle, but the sound quality is amazing for the price, just slightly lagging behind my 3x more expensive HRT Microstreamer.
 
They'll sound even better with that amp that comes in the dac 2 version combined.

 

[LazyListener]

Hello everyone, I got a pair of hd 598s a few months ago. Now i would like to get a dac for it (if it makes an appreciable difference). I read through some other threads and I noticed that people recommend the Fiio E10K which seems excellent. But there's a huge impedance spike for the 598s,so keeping that in mind, is the Fiio E10k enough to drive them to their best?


Also, the Fiio has an output impedance around 1 ohm and my phone has output impedance of 2.5 ohms (oneplus one). As I understand it the hd 598s will benefit from as low an impedance as possible. They are plenty loud, but would the sound quality difference be appreciable?

Maybe my comparative review of the Dragonfly V 1.2 versus a few other DAC/AMPs located here can help:  http://www.head-fi.org/products/audioquest-dragonfly-v1-2-usb-dac/reviews/15710
 
I'm not sure about the output impedance of each, however.

 

[chowmein83]

@iamaheadfier I have the HD598 and I used to have the E10K. It was a pretty good sounding combo, and I don't think you could go wrong with it..
 
I wouldn't say that the E10K would drive them to their full potential, but that's only because I've plugged in my HD598 to much more expensive gear, way above your $200 budget (as you said in the other thread). And I do have to admit that at this point, there really isn't as big of a difference as one might think compared to the E10K.

 

[Sona]

Actually no differnce at all cuz amp sound is ********!

 

[LazyListener]

  @iamaheadfier I have the HD598 and I used to have the E10K. It was a pretty good sounding combo, and I don't think you could go wrong with it..
 
I wouldn't say that the E10K would drive them to their full potential, but that's only because I've plugged in my HD598 to much more expensive gear, way above your $200 budget (as you said in the other thread). And I do have to admit that at this point, there really isn't as big of a difference as one might think compared to the E10K.

I experienced a noticeable and appreciable sound improvement going from the $75 USD E10K to the $150 USD (less than $100 now) Dragonfly v 1.2.  Comparing the 2, the E10K can sound grainy, thick, and sharp at times, whereas the DF is much more refined and smooth.

 

[Sona]

Go tell in Factory of every Headphone Company they will laugh .

 

[brandnewgame]

Go tell in Factory of every Headphone Company they will laugh .

I doubt they'd laugh in the factory for Sennheiser's $2200 HDVD800 amplifier, or Beyerdynamic's $1400 A2, or Oppo's $1200 HA-1, and the list goes on... Try amping a HifiMan HE-6 from your laptop's sound card 

 

[Sona]

Of course they never would officialy i mean what does companies ? Its obvious.

 

[Bansaku]

  ...only because I've plugged in my HD598 to much more expensive gear, way above your $200 budget (as you said in the other thread). And I do have to admit that at this point, there really isn't as big of a difference as one might think compared to the E10K.

 
I agree. There is a point of diminishing returns and any improvements in the sound are very subtle (and for many easily overlooked). All you really need is an amp that is "good enough"; Clean signal transmission with enough power vs a headphone's impedance. There is a reason why amps such as the O2 and Schiit Magni are so bloody popular. You are better off spending/saving the potential extra money for better headphones or a better DAC, though even with the latter there is still a point of diminishing returns. It's the Head-fi/audiophile folly (or curse). Do we need it? NO! Do we want it? YES!
 

 

[Sona]

WORD!

 

[gargani]

WORD!

Yep

 

[brandnewgame]

As a rule of thumb I'd spend the same amount of money that the headphones cost on the DAC and amp combined, though obviously some headphones are easier to drive than others. That's my usual threshold for diminishing returns.

 

[iamaheadfier]

Hammy I am going to be listening mostly on the PC, so portability is not as big a priority.

LazyListener chowmein83This is what I love about the hifi audio hobby. There's plenty of gear to go around, and I don't know, I love the gear itself as much as the sound they produce. A little push (and lots of money) and I'll go around buying headphones and dacs .

Going back to the matter at hand, I'll be going with the Fiio E10K for now, and then going straight to tubes or something for future proofing. I am still confused about the whole impedance spike thing, but I guess that doesn't really manifest itself when you are playing music. I heard that higher impedance outputs would cause flabby bass, and an impedance less than 5 ohms would be suitable for the 598s,which the Fiio provides.