Do I need an amp?

A

antiv6

Limp Gawd
Joined
Mar 11, 2007
Messages
297
I am about to buy a whole new rig, and I was wondering if HD555's needed an amp. I am going to buy an X-Fi.
 
Need? No, they'll work fine with the card. You may find they benefit from an amp, but it won't be required.
 
I found my HD595's to be lacking in the low end w/o an amp, but they definately didn't sound bad
 
Alright thanks guys.

I I heard with higher end headphones need amps because soundcards have crappy ones.
 
if you have any sodering skills you could mod the op amps on your x-fi and the hi range filter on it Quite a popular mod picking up steam...thinking about doing it once i can muster my soldering skills together
 
even swapping the op-amps on the X-fi will not negate the need for an external amp. Depending on the op-amp chosen your card may drive headphones slightly better than stock, but a dedicted headphone amp will still be needed for many headphones.

For HD555/595's in which you don't really need an amp anyway doing the X-fi mod would be a semi-cheap way to boost your SQ
 
I heard the 595s amped and it really doesn't do much as long as your already using a good headphone out, they just don't need the extra power. However if you want to be ready for upgrades (and there will be trust me :D ) grab an amp now use the nearest line-out of a decent source and enjoy the upgrade. IMHO upgrading the X-fi is a waste of effort especially if you've already got another source with a good DAC.
 
soloz2 said:
even swapping the op-amps on the X-fi will not negate the need for an external amp. Depending on the op-amp chosen your card may drive headphones slightly better than stock, but a dedicted headphone amp will still be needed for many headphones.

For HD555/595's in which you don't really need an amp anyway doing the X-fi mod would be a semi-cheap way to boost your SQ
Click to expand...

How much of a boost in SQ? If it was cheap and relatively easy, I could do it.

Thanks for the help guys!
 
supposedly it makes a tremendous boost in SQ...but if you really know how to soder surface mounts, might as well give it a shot....most you'll lose is 10$
 
I use a SOHA amp (hybrid opamp/tube amp, see headwize.com for schematics) to drive my HD555's and I notice a huge difference in clarity and overall sq using it. That being said, I usually don't use headphones while on my computer, so my SOHA resides next to my bed for nighttime listening.
 
You dont need an amp for the 555's. Used to have the 595's and the difference from them being drive by my sound card and being driven by my cmoy or straight out of my DAP was negligible.
 
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