[Pindi]

Hi,
 
Apologies if this has already been answered but I can't find anything on it.  Does the source matter when it comes to wireless headphones?  From what I understand, the headphones use their own DAC and the source is simply there to send the signal to the headphones.  
 
Am I mistaken or would it then not matter if you were using a cheap smartphone or astell & kerns latest aptx capable DAP (assuming the smartphone has aptx capabilities to)?
 
Thanks,
 
Pindi

 

[ProtegeManiac]

Originally Posted by Pindi /img/forum/go_quote.gif

Apologies if this has already been answered but I can't find anything on it.  Does the source matter when it comes to wireless headphones?  From what I understand, the headphones use their own DAC and the source is simply there to send the signal to the headphones.  

 

It doesn't, not even so much the file format because even Apt-X can't do FLAC totally lossless. The compression process isn't like what FLAC conversion does to a CD.
 

Originally Posted by Pindi /img/forum/go_quote.gif

Am I mistaken or would it then not matter if you were using a cheap smartphone or astell & kerns latest aptx capable DAP (assuming the smartphone has aptx capabilities to)?

 

AptX on DAPs is only there for the most part so:

 

1. You can use the DAP with BT headphones when working out.

 

2. You can use the better amp on the DAP to drive a headphone that needs it when you're using a smartphone with streaming services. And in some cases, some smartphones don't even have a 3.5mm output, but do it like this and you can use a balanced drive set up. Note that some DAPs have WiFi so they can connect to Spotify on their own, so in those cases, that's probably a better option to use (with the phone tethered).