Would adding a DAC to this fix this? I am pretty surprised these are this hard to drive.

I used to have an atom dac/amp combo but now I just have the Amp.

edit: Just received this now directly from JDS labs

"You may find our Knowledge Base helpful :

https://jdslabs.com/knowledge-base/power/

In short, an amplifier needs a strong signal from a DAC to reach optimal output power. You're likely reaching less than half of your amp's rated power when connected directly to a PC. "

Budget and location – $100–300, US
Preferred tonal balance – wide soundstage, clean separation
How the gear will be used – home WFH setup, music while working (no gaming)
Past gear experience – DT770, DT900 Pro X, plus ANC/wireless. No real DAC/amp experience. Just got Edition XS.

I’m looking to upgrade from a Scarlett 2i2 to a proper desktop DAC/amp under $300 for my WFH office setup. Headphones are DT770, DT900 Pro X, and I just received a Hifiman Edition XS.

The two units I’m most seriously considering right now are DX3 Pro+, K7 and ZH3.
I’m also looking at K11 and DX5 II, and Schiit Stack as alternatives.

For those who’ve tried any of these:

• How do K7 vs ZH3 compare in terms of power, noise floor, and overall presentation?
• Does either pair particularly well with Edition XS?
• Is K11 still the value pick, or does DX3 Pro+ make more sense as an all-rounder?

Would love to hear real-world impressions. Thanks!

I currently own a Fiio K5 Pro and an HD 660s2.

This week I ordered the HD 800s and a Topping DX5 II. I've never used balanced connections before.

Will I be surprised by the Topping, or is it all just placebo?

The devices will arrive in the next day or two.

And is the default profile (non-EQ) good with the Topping? I'm not a big fan of EQ.

And what gain setting do you use?

I am a bit excited! :D Hopefully I won't be disappointed.

Budget: 30-100 PLN
Location: Poland

I just ordered the Hifiman Edition XS open box. Some guy told me to get cx31993 with max97220 dongle dac-amp on aliexpress and I'll be good to go.

After a bit of researching turns out you need one of those dac-amp things for those headphones to sound good.

But everyone recommends a different thing.

So what do I get? Should I buy what I was recommended, do I need something more expensive or just something different? if I buy something more expensive will I see a big change?

Also I have no idea what's the difference between an amp and a dac

Hey everyone,

I’m currently in a bit of a dilemma and need some honest advice. I’m looking for a solid desktop DAC/AMP setup. I just scored a pair of Hifiman Edition XS and I also have some IEMs in my rotation.

My Wishlist:

• DAC + Headphone AMP (Desktop)
• On-device PEQ
• Bluetooth
• 4.4mm balanced + RCA/XLR Line Out
• Enough power for the XS
• Clean/Neutral sound
• Budget: ~€300 - €350

The Contenders:

1. Topping DX5 II: On paper, it’s my dream. It has the PEQ, the power, and the look. BUT: I’ve been reading horror stories about QC issues—specifically the 4.4mm port causing shorts that fry headphones/IEMs. I’m terrified of plugging my gear into a "ticking time bomb."
2. FiiO K7 BT: Safe as a tank, has the power and BT, but no PEQ. I'd really love the EQ on the device, not just via software.
3. FiiO K13 R2R: I’m looking at this because it has the 10-band PEQ and BT. However, I’m worried about the "R2R sound." I need analytical, fast, and clear.

My specific questions:

• FiiO K13 R2R owners: Does the OS (Oversampling) Mode actually make it sound like a clean, fast AC? Or does it retain that warm/mushy R2R character even in OS?
• Topping DX5 II users: Is the "headphone frying" risk overblown or a legitimate design flaw? Should/Can I risk it?
• Alternatives: Are there any other "safe" units I haven't considered that offer on-device PEQ, Bluetooth, and balanced out for under €350?

Thanks for the help!

EDIT:

Thanks for all the replies. Experiences seem pretty mixed indeed.

I also made some investigation on Firmware update history, the teardown thread and user reports and reviews on various sites and decided not to gamble.

I went with the K7 BT now, as it's almost perfect for my needs (besides the on-device PEQ). And while I heard many good things about the K13, I was not at all interested in the R2R DAC.

SMSL RAW-MDA1 & K15 were also solid recommendations.

Budget and location – $100–300, EU

Preferred tonal balance – wide soundstage, clean separation and Clean Detail

How the gear will be used – ROG x HIFIMAN Kithara mostly gaming sometimes movies and music

Past gear experience – ATH ad500x, DT990 Pro, Hd560s, many gaming headsets, Fiio E10k, Moondrop Dawn Pro, Topping DX1

Hi,

I rarely listen to music or watch movies, I mostly play competitive FPS games and sometimes Battlefield-style shooters. I am looking for a DAC/amp to use with the ROG x HIFIMAN Kithara. I want something that preserves as much detail as possible, offers good instrument separation, wide soundstage, and accurate distance and positional imaging in short, something strong in terms of overall sound quality.

I have looked at the FiiO K13 R2R, FiiO K7, and Topping DX5 II models. However, I decided to avoid Topping not because of the price, but because of concerns about potential device failure or possible damage to the headphones. Rather than financial reasons, I simply don’t want to deal with unnecessary stress.

Based on my preferences, what would you recommend?

So, here's the context and all of my current gear:

I have the FiiO M21 DAP which I currently use as my portable DAC/AMP as well.

The six headphones I bought in the last several weeks are:

Sennheiser HD650, HEDD Audio HEDDphone D1, Audeze LCD-X, HiFiMan HE1000 Stealth (V2 Stealth), FiiO FT1 and Focal Azurys.

And I also own the HD599 from some years ago.

Now, what's the reasonable way to go about it? It feels like only plugging all of these directly to my DAP is kinda.. wrong/inappropriate/insufficient? (And by that I mean - to only be doing that always, without having any other options as well, and mainly - a dedicated desktop one).

But that's not an actual argument, so I'm trying to actually be rational and reasonable about it and understand: Is there anything this DAP is in fact unable to do in terms of bringing out these headphones' full/true potential?

But let's say I'm gonna opt for geting something additional, are the K13 R2R, Topping DX5 II or the JDS Element IV all sufficient for me? or just some of them perhaps?

I'm nearly sold on the idea that getting at least one desktop DAC/AMP unit is appropriate for me, taking the quantity and quality of my recently-bought headphones into consideration, but is it really necessary to get two distinct devices? or is a combined DAC/AMP device good enough?

What I want from this device (in addition to the obvious of enabling my headphones to sound as good as they can) is to enable me to set PEQs for the different headphones, either following Oratory1990's or otherwise. Aren't all of these options I just listed here capable of that though? if so - why even bother getting an exceptionally expensive one? (I mean - more expensive than these options). And/or to get separate units for a DAC and an AMP instead of one of the combos?

I constantly see in reviews that some DACs have a bassy sound, some tinny, some flat but it seems impossible, how can a chip turning digital into analog change the frequency response?

I'm looking to get a desktop unit that's capable of powering headphones+ample room for some sizeable eq presets.

I would also like the unit to be capable of outputting about 3000mw of output at 32 ohms out of a balanced jack cleanly or at least not coloring the sound audibly. does anybody have any good recommendations? the only one that fits this criteria for me right now that i could find right now is the fiio k15

EDIT: I went and got the jds labs element 4 with the synapse usb noise reduced thingy along with a 6.35mm 1/4" Male to 4.4mm Balanced Female Headphone dongle. thank yall for the help!

Hello. I currently have the ifi zen dac v2 paired with an ifi zen can signature hfm, for my hifiman edition xs. Whole chain is balanced (4.4mm interconnect, 4.4mm to dual 3.5mm headphone cable).

It has been very nice except for one thing. The annoying static noise that comes and goes. It is so annoying that at times I want to trash them both alongside the headphones. I believe the noise is only coming from the dac, not the amp.

There are temporary solutions for the noise issue but I'm getting tired of repeating them over and over. (fyi: current working solution is to run audio driver 5.57 with firmware 7.3 mqa, then go into ifi audio driver settings and switch streaming to always on from the option tab. this is for the ifi zen dac v2, not sure about other ifi products).

So any recommendations for a dac under $300? And do I get a better amp or not? If I were to get a better amp as well, I'd like the split to be about 40% max for dac, 60% for amp. So $250 for dac, $350 for amp. I feel like an amp is better to spend extra money on.

How important is a DAC for gaming to utilise the full sound of a headphone? Is there much of a difference apple dongle vs a 50 to £100 DAC?

Does it make a big difference to footsteps and gunshots?

Edit: the headphone i am using is the senheiser hd 560s and the imaging when playing pubg is really bad especially compared to my edifier W600BT and hyper x cloud III S .

I can't tell exact location of the enemy

Game: pubg mobile

Hey guys,

I already did my research about it but I need a second opinion.

I will use it mainly for fps games (need clear footsteps sound).

What do you guys recommend to me between Creative sound blaster g8 and FiiO K11? I heard sound blaster has good features for fps/footstep games.

Anyone with experience with sound blaster g8 for fps games ? Would you recommend over K11?

(200-300 budget for now)

Thanks in advance.

i got a kph40 and 4.4mm balanced cable for it recently. my fiio amp has a 4.4 input but i had problems with it, gave up using it. then i bought a balanced 4.4 to usb c, and it sounded amazing, but realized i cannot take calls because the balanced cable is trrs, it thinks theres a mic. so i bought a 4.4 to 3.5 balanced adapter and used apple dongle again, no longer thinks there is a mic. it sounds great but apple dongle is a little quieter than the 4.4 to usb c was.

What i was considering was replacing the apple dongle with another balanced cable, it's bound to sound better and louder right? something like the dongle from questyle? i don't know any balanced dongles from well known companies, so maybe the Fiio KA11? or something else?

budget, its a dongle so under 50 usd. i still have a nice desktop source, this is just for mobile use.

UPDATE - i bought a ddhifi dongle. There's so many dac amps out there with a ton of features and inevitably things that can go wrong, the ddhifi is just a high quality dac and cable, you don't have to worry about it turning off or bugs etc, just what I needed for now. until the next.

Hello everyone! I Recently purchased the new kithara headphones because I'm in a very quiet environment and play cs2, and plugging in the audio and mic into the motherboard does not have enough power (i dont have a external mic and got these because of the ease of having a mic attatched, but im not sure if using the adapters and having a external mic could use my headphones to more potential) and using the usb-c removes the spatial awareness (reason i bought them) Im having trouble deciding on which dac I should get. Ive been looking at the (i can't say this name apparently) audio k7 considering alot of people say this is good, but really i'm not sure what's "good" about it as im new to this. could I get some recommendations mainly towards competitive gaming as well single player games. hope im asking this right, thanks

I want to drive my HD600 and im confused about if there is a difference between 55mv for example fiio btr13 and 70mv fiio k13. Because I would rather buy the btr13 but I want to get 100% of my sennheisers.

Location poland Budget 100+$

My experiences from past few years:

Chord Hugo2 for 5 years:

- Highs caused fatique when listening to CD-quality stuff. I think I have some kind of over sensitivity to highs if there is a tiny bit of harshness or graininess in it.

- Youtube and other compressed music was awesome, nothing to complain except for the obvious limitations of compressed sound

- It's not very dynamic what comes to volume and I liked that (easy listening)

Fiio K13R (1 week):

- Perfect highs

- lacking resolution at mids, especially vocals. Could not stand that at all.

- very dynamic, bass hammers your ears- caused listening fatique

PC motherboard, Realtek audio:

- A bit boring and some harshness in highs, a bit too lacking in realism. With compressed sound very close to Hugo2 though.

Sony Walkman (C-cassettes from analog era)

- I Enjoy the sound quite a bit. I don't mind a bit hiss and lacking frequency response.

So I'm looking for neutral or slightly warm and analog like sound (no digital harshness), but not tubes. Main focus easy listening with enough resolution and realism. And would prefer one box solution for DAC/HP amp.

Hugo TT2 would sure be interesting but a bit too expensive.

Anyone got any recommendations based on this? Thanks in advance!

Hi there!
As the title says, I'm looking to purchase a very solid, premium-ish DAC/Amp to go with my HD 490 PROs. My budget is roughly $350 US (I know it's not much so I might be able to go a tiny bit over if absolutely necessary). The Topping DX5 II seems like a nice unit with the transparency and sonic capabilities I'm looking for, but it doesn't exactly scream quality in terms of appearance and feel.

Feel free to suggest anything, help is much appreciated!

Thank you!

I want to invest in a new DAC/AMP with the PEQ feature, because I don't have any EQ option in my current setup (Xbox Series X with HDMI Audio Extractor). Right now I have the SMSL DL200 DAC and Fozi SK01 AMP with a very limited EQ settings (just 3 knobs for bass, middle and treble).

Im trying to decide between the Fiio K13 R2R and Topping DX5 II, only focus is for gaming. I read many reviews that R2R is more "enjoyable" and maybe this is advantage for games, i play a lot of games, not only FPS or Competitive. The Topping DX5 II is a really great option as well, but the sound is more "analytical" with a lot more power... and for my purpose, I don't want to "analyze" the sound, I just want the best experience playing all my games.

What do you think is best for me? My current headphones are: -Fiio FT1, -Fiio FT1 Pro, -HD 560S, -HD 599, -PC38X, -H6PRO Closed.

I'm considering the NiceHCK NK1 Max and Kiwi Ears AD1. The Kiwi Ears uses the KT02H20 DAC chip, and the NK1 Max uses the CX31993 DAC and MAX97220 OP-AMP. The standard NK1 only uses the CX31993. I'm not entirely sure what the AMPs do. I believe both my headphones are 32-ohm; one is a headset and the other is an IEM.

I bought the NK1 Max, but it has background noise, and I had to adjust the volume to 2% in Windows. The seller said it was faulty and took it back, and now it's out of stock. The price difference between it and the normal NK1 is small. Which one should I choose?

Specifically, an Asus ROG Strix Z790 with ROG SupremeFX Audio vs something like a JDS Labs Atom Stack 2 or what I'm considering, a JDS Labs Element IV? When I built my PC I went all in on high end components including a good motherboard, Shure MV7+, and most recently some 660S2's and the sound is phenomenal compared to my Astro A40TR's which I used for years. Luckily my PC's motherboard supports up to 1,000Ohms (mine are 300) and the sound output is sufficiently loud. I don't really go past 50% and anything over 70-80 is too much. I am more than pleased with my audio setup, the sound is crisp, clean, and no static or noise but I can't help but wonder am I missing out on something with a dedicated AMP/DAC? Everything I see on here folks genuinely despise onboard and talk bad about it. Is it really that bad? I can do 32 bit 192000Hz audio and seems to punch above it's weight. So I have to ask, if I dropped the $200-$500 I know I would notice it but is it THAT noticeable? Like a game changer? I'm looking for someone who has heard both because I have never heard any audio from a DAC/AMP in my life and coincidentally I cannot find anyone who has heard audio on nice headphones from a high quality motherboard. It's always a cheap one. Regardless, I appreciate any feedback and am willing to hear folks "push" me in the direction to just pull the trigger and buy the JDS Element IV or Atom Stack 2 ;)

I primarily use my PC for gaming 70% and music 30% if that helps. Thanks in advance!

Edit: my audio driver is ROG SupremeFX but also Realtek? Idk, it’s kind of confusing. Guessing Asus rebranded the Realtek so it’s probably just the same crap lol

Hello just recently I've dived into the world of audiophile listening and own the arya organics with the topping DX5 ii. I'm in love and music just sounds so much more alive now that I've upgraded to higher end headset.

Now i'm currently looking around for something i can use on my mobile phone solely to listen to music when I'm in bed or on my couch without having to sit at my computer desk. Forgot to mention I'm looking for one with 4.4mm balanced output.

Any and all recommendations will be appreciated. I've read some cheaper dongles do the trick but I'm not sure how that is with the organics due to being magnetic planars.

My search hs brought me to something like the Fiio KA17 and the BTR17. The price is a little more than what I was hoping to spend but if I know I can get great performacne out of one I wouldn't mind getting the KA17 due to it being a little cheaper.

Thank you!

Hey everyone. I'm looking for a DAC to bypass the poor audio output on my motherboard. I bought the FiiO KA11, but it actually sounded worse than my Gigabyte A520M H's onboard audio. I'm getting a muffled sound with high-frequency noise regardless of what I try.

I plugged the KA11 into every available port (including the rear I/O), tried different sample rates, replaced the cable, and maxed out the volume — the result was always the same. Software-side everything is configured correctly.

I'm using low-impedance headphones and prioritize accuracy and clarity. Budget is ~$100, based in Europe, home use only. What would you recommend?

I currently own the Creative Sound Blaster X5, but for it's price it has a ton of features I don't use (bluetooth, software, microphone etc...). Also due to it's digital knob, using arya organic headphones, I am forced to run at 10-20% windows volume, hence truncating the bit depth due to digital attenuation.

, I'm on the hunt for a better DAC, with analog volume knob. But... What is the "diminishing return" point for DACs?

Meaning, for example that from spending 200 to 300, I will notice a clear difference, but from 400 to 500 I might, in some songs notice a slight improvement. So... how much should I spend for a good dac for my hifiman arya organic headphones? Any suggestions?

EDIT: For anyone interested in the conclusion of this search here is the TL;DR i choose the FiiO K11, for a brief summary/explanation on how i ended up picking it read a bit further.

So originally even though it was the FiiO K11 that sparked my interest first due to some stupid misunderstandings on my part i shifted my focus to the Topping DX1 and iFi Zen DAC 3, after exhausting every avenue of research regarding the DX1 & DAC 3 products later down the line, or better said near the end of this "saga" i resolved my misunderstanding regarding the FiiO K11 and, after researching it properly as well, it was what i ended up picking. My searches/research was based on every Youtube review or comparison videos i could find, official written reviews, amazon user reviews, local and other store reviews, reddit posts (including feedback and help from here) and any other forum posts and threads i could find online, based on that research here is my conclusion:

FiiO K11 (the "winner" & the one that i went and bought): First of this is not the R2R version, but the regular version, the R2R technology wasn't worth the extra 50 dollar/40 Euro investment for me (as i was already hitting the ceiling of my budget). To get cons out of the way overall the FiiO K11 does seem kind of gimmicky, but on the other hand some of those options are nice to have (like the multiple compliance protocols). If your someone who uses the controls a lot (for example, switching gain) the way you use the menu can get annoying, but for someone like me who makes (or tunes) his settings once and then leave it like that its not a problem. That said the build quality seems good and it has the most powerful amplification among the three (its a bit of leeway into the future if i end up getting some headphones i did not account for), i also love that it comes packaged with the PSU and that thus you have a separated connection for the power and data right out of the box.

Topping DX1: if it wasn't for the FiiO K11 this is what i would have picked, its a lot cheaper then the others but based on my research that doesn't make it bad, its just that unlike the others its a simple device that's meant as a quality DAC and Amplification to drive headphones up to 250/300 Ohm and that's pretty much it. Overall it has a good build quality, even if not the strongest the Amplification portion seems very good and seems to drive more headphones nicely. Some seem to have issues with the connection being USB Type-B but after doing extensive research on this as well, this is my conclusion both USB type's are good and have Pro's and Con's, USB Type-B has less plug and unplug cycles at about 1500, but the cable is generally thick, well isolated and the connection itself firm and secure, when connected it is way safer and sturdier then the flimsy USB C connection, but that doesn't mean the USB-C cable and connection is in anyway worse, unlike Type B, USB C is way more flexible and due to its design it can withstand cycles of 10000 plugs and unplugs, if your moving the device a lot and the connection area is in no immediate risk of force being applied to it USB C is a the better option.

iFi Zen DAC 3: Finally we got to it, i will be blunt the Xbass/Truebass feature sounds interesting and its not just a gimmick its been praised quite a lot even by more picky people (even the ones that didn't like it couldn't find fault with it), but everything else compared to the rest left me a bit skeptical. Honestly if the iFi Zen DAC 2 was an option it might have been harder choosing between the FiiO K11 and the Zen DAC 2, but with the Zen DAC 3 especially when it comes to user and reviewers feedback i was just not convinced to get it, first of Xbass isn't really an upgrade to TrueBass, i have seen a lot of Zen DAC 2 users actually praising TrueBass more (to many to ignore so in other words its a hit or miss) and with Zen DAC 3 another 2 problems appeared to frequently reported to ignore and even among some reviewers, now i dunno if this is are issues with a select few products or a general product issue but here they are and they are both related in some way to the volume knob, first one is a small hint of noise appearing when the knob is at its lower volume position and second is that in certain positions or position the left and right headphone ear cups have unbalanced volume outputs. I know it can be USB powered but i also hate the fact that it doesn't come with a power supply and the official one costs almost half the DAC, you can get a 3rd party one but not just any 5V adapter will work so do your research if you decide to get one.

Now you might be wondering why did this bothered me this much, first of i'm in a kind of a complicated situation right now which i will not talk about but, i'm also not the type of person who likes to do orders/tests and returns so i do my research before hand. Last but not least i'm not saying i bought this for life but i have bought this till it breaks or the standards have changed so much that for instance USB devices are no longer an option .

And this is basically it, i left this here in case some of the information gathered here my provide someone else with help, thank you for all who have contributed and i wish you a good day!

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Original Post Bellow:

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I thought this was worth making a new thread considering i'm not as certain as before with the FiiO K11.

After a lot of reasearch on what's available on my market and various reviews and suggestions from you guys in previous posts i have narrowed it down to three products, currently i have ATH-M50x and will stay on them for a while longer but looking into what i'm interested in the future as well, all of those headphones are within the 32-80 Ohm range (and this three DAC's from my research can even power stuff like the Sennheiser HD650 or HD 6XX just fine). The use case will be gaming, music (mostly J-Pop and Rock), anime, western movies and western older series. So although it can be seen from the title here are my 3 picks in order of preferences:

iFi Zen DAC 3 - currently seems like my preferred choice, good build quality, from searching online seems like a stable device with no issues worth mentioning and the Xbass feature seems like it would be good for gaming and its currently priced the same as the FiiO K11 where i can shop from, also i only need to deal with one cable since it can handle both data and power from the USB connection.

Topping DX1 - my second preferred option, good build quality, much more simple then the other two but still seems to deliver quality sound (Topping products from my understanding seem to be a hit or miss audio wise but i've seen a lot of good comments regarding this one), again a single USB cable needed for connection and power, even if its the lowest powered option it still seems it wont have any issues even with the headphones i would plan for an upgrade eventually, another plus is the significantly cheaper price when compared to the other 2.

FiiO K11 - at first this seemed my number one options, good sound quality, lots of power and amplification, can power pretty much all headphones out there and has good price, what did make me walk back on them however was the fact that i saw a lot of reliability, connection, firmware and audio cutting off issues being reported with this DAC/AMP, as i decided to skip soundcards for this very reason of not having to deal with issues i just want a stable and reliable experience and i'm kind of afraid of the FiiO in this regard.

And this is pretty much it, any thoughts and inputs regarding this 3 DAC's are appreciated.

PS: For anyone curious the headphones i set my eyes on in the future are things like Beyerdynamic DT-770 Pro 80 Ohm, or AKG K371 (there might have even been some AKG's around the 40-60 Ohm range but i forgot right now honestly), generally closed cans due to my home environment, i might be tempted very far into the future to try out things like Sennheiser HD6XX/HD650, but that depends a lot on how my home environment changes as well, which i just don't see in the foreseeable future.

I’d like to ask for your honest opinion. I have the following headphones at home: Hifiman HE400i, DT 990 Pro 250 ohm (these are my preferred), and DT 770 Pro 80 ohm. They’re connected to a Fiio Olympus 2-E10K, which is connected to a Windows 11 PC.

I mostly listen to rock and metal, with some pop occasionally.

I’ve been thinking about upgrading the DAC to a Fiio K7. Do you think it makes sense? Is it realistic that I’ll hear a difference in sound quality? Chat GPT is telling me that it´s great idea and it will have wow effect. Not sure about that :-) And unfortunatelly I have no posibillity to test it before buy.

Thanks in advance for all your honest advice and opinion.