[lofthanza]

A simple question, I have one of those dac/amp combos (dacmagic xs), and I feel its power is limited in driving my headphones (Fidelio x2). It gets to high volumes but dynamics, soundstage, air, and instrument seperation arent spot on. I thought it doesnt hv enough power to drive the X2, which made me consider an external amp. The dacmagic xs doesnt have a line out, does that mean if I add an amp, it will be considered double amping? Then if yes, why is it recommended to add an amp to iphones for example, shouldnt that be considered double amping, too?
(Note: I am not sure but I think the amp section in the dacmagic xs is built in the dac chip itself, and not seperately)

 

[PurpleAngel]

A simple question, I have one of those DAC/amp combos (Dacmagic XS), and I feel its power is limited in driving my headphones (Fidelio x2). It gets to high volumes but dynamics, sound stage, air, and instrument separation aren't spot on. I thought it doesn't have enough power to drive the X2, which made me consider an external amp. The Dacmagic XS doesn't have a line out, does that mean if I add an amp, it will be considered double amping? Then if yes, why is it recommended to add an amp to iPhones for example, shouldn't that be considered double amping, too?
(Note: I am not sure but I think the amp section in the Dacmagic XS is built in the DAC chip itself, and not separately)

 
The Philips Fidelio X2 headphones are only 35-Ohms and you said they can get loud plugged into the DacMagic XS, so it does not really seem like a amplifier power issue.
Can you try using the DACmagic with a different computer, see if the audio changes (for better or worse)?
Have you tried playing music files (on your PC) with a program like Foobar2000, with the WASAPI component installed, that might make an improvement.

 

[lofthanza]

Yes i am using it exclusively with Foobar2000 with the WASAPI component. It does make a difference. But the thing that makes me think that an amp is needed is that when i use the Fiio e6 with my iphone, i feel the Fiio X2 has better dynamics (although the sound isnt better than the dacmagic xs, because its much less refined, and i would rather use the damagic xs)..

The Philips Fidelio X2 headphones are only 35-Ohms and you said they can get loud plugged into the DacMagic XS, so it does not really seem like a amplifier power issue.
Can you try using the DACmagic with a different computer, see if the audio changes (for better or worse)?

1. Does that mean an added amplifier will only/mostly push the volume up?

2. What would it mean if the sound of the dacmagic xs changed from a computer to another? But i will try and see.

 

[interpolate]

I think in the long run you are better of with one substantial amp rather than double amplification.  But what did I knew?
 
I think a more promising feature for USB DAC/Amps would if somebody developed a multiple-port amplifier using USB 3.1 or USB-C which allowed for better power distribution and less CPU headroom when using the DAC.
 
Using ASIO and other low-latency drivers is an obvious fix for this however it does require that the application you are using is able to share resources at the same time. For example, if you were playing an online game and listening to your i-tunes at the same time. 

 

[PurpleAngel]

Yes i am using it exclusively with Foobar2000 with the WASAPI component. It does make a difference. But the thing that makes me think that an amp is needed is that when i use the FiiO E6 with my iPhone, i feel the FiiO X2 has better dynamics (although the sound isn't better than the Dacmagic XS, because its much less refined, and I would rather use the Dacmagic XS)..
1. Does that mean an added amplifier will only/mostly push the volume up?
2. What would it mean if the sound of the Dacmagic XS changed from a computer to another? But i will try and see.

 
Are you using the same files on the iPhone and the PC?
Could it be the iPhone and PC are using different bit rate and sample rate settings?
(using 16-bit/44.1K would be about the best setting for most (99%) music files).
It's just really weird that songs sound better using a $28 headphone amplifier (with an iPhone), over a $180 DAC/amp (with a PC).
Could it just be the E6's bass boost is making the music more to your liking?
You might try plugging the E6 into the DacMagic, see what difference it makes, yea it's doubling amping, but doubling amping does not automatically negatively effect (noticeably) the audio quality.
 
I'm not at all against you getting a better headphone amplifier (Magni?), just trying to figure out what the issue could be, before you spend the cash.

 

[lofthanza]

Yea i am thinking of Magni 2 Uber, but dunno if hooking it up to the dacmagic xs is proper or no.

 

[PurpleAngel]

Yea i am thinking of Magni 2 Uber, but dunno if hooking it up to the dacmagic xs is proper or no.

 
Nothing really that improper about hooking an headphone amplifier to the DACmagic, just not considered the best way for getting the best audio quality.
Hooking an external headphone amplifier to the iPhone headphone jack, is just the easiest and cheapest way to hook an amplifier to a iPhone (or android, smartphone, etc).
With Older iPhones, you could connect a LOD cable to the iPhone's LOD port, which bypasses the Apple product's built in headphone amplifier, giving you a slightly cleaner analog audio signal to work with.

 

[lofthanza]

Are you using the same files on the iPhone and the PC?
Could it be the iPhone and PC are using different bit rate and sample rate settings?
(using 16-bit/44.1K would be about the best setting for most (99%) music files).
It's just really weird that songs sound better using a $28 headphone amplifier (with an iPhone), over a $180 DAC/amp (with a PC).
Could it just be the E6's bass boost is making the music more to your liking?
You might try plugging the E6 into the DacMagic, see what difference it makes, yea it's doubling amping, but doubling amping does not automatically negatively effect (noticeably) the audio quality.

I'm not at all against you getting a better headphone amplifier (Magni?), just trying to figure out what the issue could be, before you spend the cash.

Fiio e6 isnt better, but I feel it has better grip over the drivers of the headphones. Lets say the Fiio e6 give a more focused image while the dacmagic xs is a bit loose. But other than that the dacmagic xs is better overall and generally gives a better listening experience.
Hooking up the Fiio e6 to the dacmagic xs doesnt result in a better sound unfortunately, the dacmagic xs alone sounds better, coz the Fiio e6 adds noise and does somehow distort.
(And no, I am not using the bass boost fynctionality in the fiio e6)

 

[lofthanza]

I went through package that the dacmagic xs came with and found this. Does that give me a green light from the manufacturer to use an amp?

 

[PurpleAngel]

I went through package that the dacmagic xs came with and found this. Does that give me a green light from the manufacturer to use an amp?

 
Yep.