Best DAC/AMP for Sennheiser HD 201 headphones

WyomingKnott

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• #2

I love this one: http/www.raysamuelsaudio.com/products/predator , but it set me back $500. So I guess that's not on your to-do list.

It tends to be a very personal choice. Any major audio store nearby where you could listen to a few and make your own choice?

 

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Cristi72

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Hello,

You can check this:

http/www.thomann.de/gb/behringer_ucontrol_uca_202.htm

You can't go any lower than this and it has a decent audio quality (the headphone volume wheel though tend to degrade rather quickly, so be sure not to use it intensively)

 

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Leonell12

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right Cristi72's recommendation seems to be an interesting enough choice. Very cheap and reviews are good. WyomingKnott, no i do not have any major stores near me that i can use, I will be ordering online, namely amazon, ebuyer, scan etc. the lot.
Any other recommendations by any one else before i make my purchase? I want to make sure that any 'bottlenecks' are eliminated. A DAC that goes perfectly with my HD 201s. BTW, i will be using them mainly for music listening, with some gaming also involved but thats not the top priority.
Also, can i use the volume buttons (fn+f11 or f12) for me, to control the volume of the headphones when they're plugged in through the DAC? also, what do you exactly mean by 'you cant go any lower than this?'

 

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Cristi72

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Leonell12 :

right Cristi72's recommendation seems to be an interesting enough choice. Very cheap and reviews are good. WyomingKnott, no i do not have any major stores near me that i can use, I will be ordering online, namely amazon, ebuyer, scan etc. the lot.
Any other recommendations by any one else before i make my purchase? I want to make sure that any 'bottlenecks' are eliminated. A DAC that goes perfectly with my HD 201s. BTW, i will be using them mainly for music listening, with some gaming also involved but thats not the top priority.
Also, can i use the volume buttons (fn+f11 or f12) for me, to control the volume of the headphones when they're plugged in through the DAC? also, what do you exactly mean by 'you cant go any lower than this?'

I meant "any lower on price", sorry for not being very specific... As for the volume, it can be controlled by "Function" buttons if you put the USB sound card as the default audio playback device; just be sure the volume knob from the USB device is set at least 50% (I put it at 75% and I never felt the urge to go beyond that point on my HPX4000).

 

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ien2222

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• #6

Cambridge Audio's DACMagic would be another choice, I'm not sure what price point you were looking at but a cursory look at Amazon UK lists them at 100 pounds.

http/www.amazon.co.uk/DacMagic-Digital-Analogue-Converter-Headphone/dp/B00FSDFF9K/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1407192337&sr=8-1&keywords=dacmagic

It gets very good reviews and is smaller than the Behringer, though that is a decent choice as well.

 

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S

sora

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ien2222 :

Cambridge Audio's DACMagic would be another choice, I'm not sure what price point you were looking at but a cursory look at Amazon UK lists them at 100 pounds.

http/www.amazon.co.uk/DacMagic-Digital-Analogue-Converter-Headphone/dp/B00FSDFF9K/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1407192337&sr=8-1&keywords=dacmagic

It gets very good reviews and is smaller than the Behringer, though that is a decent choice as well.

This performs pretty great and it is at a decent price. You pay for what you get.

 

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Leonell12

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haha well i got my HD 201s for £15 off Amazon, i think they're originally for £25 or something, i dont want to buy a DAC that costs more than the headphones themselves, because then the headphone drivers simply wont be capable of (good enough) producing the sound that the DAC is providing right?
It seems like i'll go with the Behringer, one more thing i've been told that listening to mp3 music and just youtube music videos does not give you the best audio experience, is that true? if it is, then what other formats are there?

 

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RazerZ

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The Iphone should be enough to drive that headphone and should provide decent audio quality. Buying an amp or dac would be a waste of money imo. I remember at one point those headphones were $17 usd. Buying an amp would be more expensive than buying another pair of headphones.

 

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RazerZ

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Leonell12 :

haha well i got my HD 201s for £15 off Amazon, i think they're originally for £25 or something, i dont want to buy a DAC that costs more than the headphones themselves, because then the headphone drivers simply wont be capable of (good enough) producing the sound that the DAC is providing right?
It seems like i'll go with the Behringer, one more thing i've been told that listening to mp3 music and just youtube music videos does not give you the best audio experience, is that true? if it is, then what other formats are there?

ALAC, APE, and FLAC are the ones you can look into. The other option is raw audio files but they can take up tons of space.

If you're looking for something to change your listening experience you could look into getting an equalizer for your laptop/ iphone.

 

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Leonell12

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RazerZ :

Leonell12 :

haha well i got my HD 201s for £15 off Amazon, i think they're originally for £25 or something, i dont want to buy a DAC that costs more than the headphones themselves, because then the headphone drivers simply wont be capable of (good enough) producing the sound that the DAC is providing right?
It seems like i'll go with the Behringer, one more thing i've been told that listening to mp3 music and just youtube music videos does not give you the best audio experience, is that true? if it is, then what other formats are there?

ALAC, APE, and FLAC are the ones you can look into. The other option is raw audio files but they can take up tons of space.

If you're looking for something to change your listening experience you could look into getting an equalizer for your laptop/ iphone.

an equalizer? you mean something like Razer Surround? because i am currently using that
Also, thats the dilemma i have, i'm not sure if the audio the laptop or iphone is providing is good enough for the headphones, i want to get the most out of these headphones, so what do you think of the Behringer DAC recommended earlier in this thread? will it be just a waste of money without any significant change in audio? are my headphones already at top audio performance with the iphone and laptop?
and about the other audio formats you said, can i just convert mp3 to FLAC and get better audio or do i need to download the music in FLAC form?

 

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RazerZ

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Leonell12 :

RazerZ :

Leonell12 :

haha well i got my HD 201s for £15 off Amazon, i think they're originally for £25 or something, i dont want to buy a DAC that costs more than the headphones themselves, because then the headphone drivers simply wont be capable of (good enough) producing the sound that the DAC is providing right?
It seems like i'll go with the Behringer, one more thing i've been told that listening to mp3 music and just youtube music videos does not give you the best audio experience, is that true? if it is, then what other formats are there?

ALAC, APE, and FLAC are the ones you can look into. The other option is raw audio files but they can take up tons of space.

If you're looking for something to change your listening experience you could look into getting an equalizer for your laptop/ iphone.

an equalizer? you mean something like Razer Surround? because i am currently using that
Also, thats the dilemma i have, i'm not sure if the audio the laptop or iphone is providing is good enough for the headphones, i want to get the most out of these headphones, so what do you think of the Behringer DAC recommended earlier in this thread? will it be just a waste of money without any significant change in audio? are my headphones already at top audio performance with the iphone and laptop?
and about the other audio formats you said, can i just convert mp3 to FLAC and get better audio or do i need to download the music in FLAC form?

No, I mean an equalizer which you can add or take away from the db level of each frequency that should look like this (here's the iTunes eq):

And no you can not convert mp3 to FLAC and see a change in sound quality. You would have to download the FLAC file.

Usually the headphones that can see noticeable changes in sound quality from a different source tend to be high-end.

 

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Leonell12

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yeah Razer surround also has that thing


anyways, so converting to FLAC wont make much of a difference, the headphones probably wont be able to hear it.
Now that leaves the question of the DAC, is that £20 Behringer DAC worth it? this one http/www.thomann.de/gb/behringer_ucontrol_uca_202.htm
are these headphones good enough tot he hear the difference? thats the question

 

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RazerZ

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Ok so it does have it, I thought razer surround was just for surround sound.

Since these are low-end headphones I'm going to say you won't see a noticeable difference with buying a new DAC. I'd suggest to return them if you're not satisfied with them, or if it's too late for that, save up for a better pair.

 

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Leonell12

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Cristi72 :

Leonell12 :

right Cristi72's recommendation seems to be an interesting enough choice. Very cheap and reviews are good. WyomingKnott, no i do not have any major stores near me that i can use, I will be ordering online, namely amazon, ebuyer, scan etc. the lot.
Any other recommendations by any one else before i make my purchase? I want to make sure that any 'bottlenecks' are eliminated. A DAC that goes perfectly with my HD 201s. BTW, i will be using them mainly for music listening, with some gaming also involved but thats not the top priority.
Also, can i use the volume buttons (fn+f11 or f12) for me, to control the volume of the headphones when they're plugged in through the DAC? also, what do you exactly mean by 'you cant go any lower than this?'

I meant "any lower on price", sorry for not being very specific... As for the volume, it can be controlled by "Function" buttons if you put the USB sound card as the default audio playback device; just be sure the volume knob from the USB device is set at least 50% (I put it at 75% and I never felt the urge to go beyond that point on my HPX4000).

ok thanks RazerZ, Cristi, the headphones you have, the HPX4000s, these seem to be in a similar price bracket (and therefore performance bracket?) and you also use the DAC you recommended, so if you could tell me your listening experience with these phones using the DAC and without the DAC, is there any real audio difference? if so, how much? I appreciate RazerZ's advice (which is probably right) but since i have someone who can do a little test then why not?

 

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Cristi72

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Leonell12 :

ok thanks RazerZ, Cristi, the headphones you have, the HPX4000s, these seem to be in a similar price bracket (and therefore performance bracket?) and you also use the DAC you recommended, so if you could tell me your listening experience with these phones using the DAC and without the DAC, is there any real audio difference? if so, how much? I appreciate RazerZ's advice (which is probably right) but since i have someone who can do a little test then why not?

They are at the similar price point now, but they are not in the same performance bracket by any means; the HPX4000, while being marketed as DJ headphones, was actually a semi-pro headset.

Back to our case: usually, the onboard audio' output stage can also drive a pair of headsets, but they are rated for 32 Ohm headsets. You have 24 Ohm headphones, so they should work; the real problem is that you drive the onboard amplifier to its maximum and you will have a distorted sound.

From just the specs, the DAC Magic XS ien2222 suggested is a much better choice: they can work from 12 Ohm up, while UCA202 seem to properly drive headsets no less than 50 Ohm (HPX4000 being 32 Ohm were OK I guess, but I don't know if your 24 Ohm will work properly; I will try with a Sennheiser 16 Ohm pair and see -well, hear- how it works).

 

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Cristi72

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I just tested the UCA202 again with my HPX4000 and also with a pair of 16-Ohm Sennheiser (in-ear CX 280) and unfortunately the signal is heavily distorted when using the Sennheiser at much lower volume than HPX, so UCA202 indeed cannot cope with less than 32 Ohm loads...

If the solution suggested by ien2222 is not compelling, you can consider this:

http/www.amazon.co.uk/Syba-24-Bit-96KHz-Headphone-Amplifier/dp/B009WN7QT4/ref=sr_1_53?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1407357499&sr=1-53&keywords=dac+%2B+usb (it has a very good output stage for 16 - 600 Ohm loads, using LM4562 power IC);

http/www.amazon.co.uk/DeLOCK-USB-2-0-Sound-Kopfh%C3%B6rerverst%C3%A4rker/dp/B00CDA5DAC/ref=sr_1_77?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1407357730&sr=1-77&keywords=dac+%2B+usb (quite the same as above, driving 16 - 150 Ohm loads, the same output stage);

http/www.amazon.co.uk/MUSILAND-LILO-ENJOY-External-Electronics/dp/B00A2QL6ZA/ref=sr_1_3?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1407356706&sr=1-3&keywords=dac+%2B+usb

or this "monster":

http/www.amazon.co.uk/TOPPING-TA2024B-Tripath-headphone-silver/dp/B00A2QLGQY/ref=sr_1_15?s=electronics-accessories&ie=UTF8&qid=1407356688&sr=1-15&keywords=dac+%2B+usb , which has quite a punch and allows you to use some external speakers.

 

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RazerZ

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Instead of spending around 50 or more pounds on a dac wouldn't it be better to just get new headphones?

 

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Cristi72

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RazerZ :

Instead of spending around 50 or more pounds on a dac wouldn't it be better to just get new headphones?

I think with some new headphones he will end up in the same situation, because good passive headphones are hard to drive using an average audio codec as the one from his laptop, and amplified headphones are much more expensive.

 

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Leonell12

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yeah i could get new headphones, something that is usb, maybe like a plantronics gamecom 380 or 780, i just wont use the mic and call it headphones. But the thing is, i also have a spare turtlebeach X12 lying around, i'm not a fan of those though and my brother uses them mostly, not, me but he could always use the DAC as well, although he is by no means fond of 'great audio'. Anyways, someone said this about the first DAC you posted Cristi, the Syba
''We tried it with his Sennheiser HD202 headphones -- admittedly, they are not high end, but the amp really makes them come alive. Crisp and powerful, with very little interference (heard mainly when source volume was turned up).''
now as far as i know the HD 201s are very similar to the 202s so a sound performance increase is bound, right?
Also, Cristi i appreciate you trying the DAC with the earphones, that DAC is obviously not meant for my headphones

and also, RazerZ, i can manage to spend about £30 maximum (which is why the Syba DAC is a compelling choice) and this way, this also gives me headroom to get better headphones in the future, as it hasnt been long since i've bought the HD 201s, and still have something to drive them, the X12s could also use the DAC

 

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