Need advice on Headphone amp or DAC.

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reaper12

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Oct 21, 2006
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Well, I have just got myself a new pair of headphones, the JVC RX900's. They sound really good. Currently I have my computer connected by optical cable to my Martanz SR8001 receiver and I have my headphones connected to Marantz receiver.

I am considering buying the Zero Dac to connect the headphones to instead of connecting to the Receiver. Will I see much of any improvement in sound quality?

Also, could I connect my receiver to the Zero, so that I can use the zero dac and headphones even if I am using the PS3, xbox360 or PC.
 
Naw. Just use the receiver. If it sounds good, don't mess with it. Otherwise, welcome to head-fi, sorry about your wallet lol.
 
It's just I can get no specs on my receiver's headphone socket. But you reckon my receiver's headphone out is better than the zero dac?

I am just getting into all this and still have a lot to learn.

Oh and I tried a friend's headphones today, a pair of Senn HD600, He has them a while and loves them. Gave them to me to compare with the RX900's. I didn't think they were that great to be honest, and in all the listening I did today I would prefer the RX900's over the HD600 anytime. Then I remembered reading that the HD600 needed good amplification, so then I thought of the zero dac that I see mentioned here so often. But If my receiver is better then, to me, the RX900's really are amazing for their cost.
 
The receiver will be fine for the 900s but not at all ok for the 600s. There is a big difference in power needs there.
 
Yeah, honestly, I think the RX900 are in the lower-middle end of the road in terms of (quality) amps being a necessity. They are fairly efficient.
 
reaper12 said:
Well, I have just got myself a new pair of headphones, the JVC RX900's. They sound really good. Currently I have my computer connected by optical cable to my Martanz SR8001 receiver and I have my headphones connected to Marantz receiver.

I am considering buying the Zero Dac to connect the headphones to instead of connecting to the Receiver. Will I see much of any improvement in sound quality?

Also, could I connect my receiver to the Zero, so that I can use the zero dac and headphones even if I am using the PS3, xbox360 or PC.
Click to expand...
The dac portion is probably better on the Zero.. If you have a optical out.. You can bypass the Martanz internal DAC and use the Zero DAC, then compare the two.. DACs do matter.. & jitter is a problem. I have A/Bed several of my DACS, DAC1/XDAC3 with my 99 Flag ship Sony DVD/CD player & the Sony 595.. With the the Sony vintage model you can easy tell a difference..Nothing subtle about it.. Just seems more conjested, smearing, & veiled.. The difference wasn't night & day Like I would expect from a 1,000 DAC, but still a good upgrade.. The 600's really shine balanced, & like the 650's scale insanely well.. as in, they still get better with 15,000 grand of gear type scaling.. So listening to them out of a receiver won't do them justice.. Of course, you may not like their signature sound.. In that case, better amping really wouldn't matter.
 
lol

kool he is thinking of buying the zero. I am telling him to be happy and run away while he still can.

For instance: I just dropped $615 on my stax setup and do not even have a dac yet.
 
And why is the zero so bad? for instance I went looking at more expensive models and found they use the same OPA2604 chip as the Zero. For instance the benchmark DAC, you have to pay $400 to get an upgrade to the OPA2604 chip.

Then I went looking for more information and found the thread on Headfi about the Zero and it seems to be a fairly straightforward process to swap out the chips for better ones, like the OPA627.

Ok, then it got even more interesting. I found several people saying that spending big money on Dac's was a waste of money. That these chips can be bought for very little and DAC's like the Zero can be upgraded to sound as good as the more expensive models.

I read nearly the whole thread on Headfi last night, my eyes are still messed up.
 
Actually this is put on hold for a while!! My New XTZ speakers arrived today :D They weren't supposed to arrive for another few weeks. So will be setting these up and doing lots of listening to them for the next while:cool:
 
reaper12 said:
And why is the zero so bad? for instance I went looking at more expensive models and found they use the same OPA2604 chip as the Zero. For instance the benchmark DAC, you have to pay $400 to get an upgrade to the OPA2604 chip.

Then I went looking for more information and found the thread on Headfi about the Zero and it seems to be a fairly straightforward process to swap out the chips for better ones, like the OPA627.

Ok, then it got even more interesting. I found several people saying that spending big money on Dac's was a waste of money. That these chips can be bought for very little and DAC's like the Zero can be upgraded to sound as good as the more expensive models.

I read nearly the whole thread on Headfi last night, my eyes are still messed up.
Click to expand...

IF you are decent at modding (soldering), then yes, the best, most bang for the buck option would be to get the Zero and upgrade the DAC and amps yourself. You also need to already have the equipment to do so.
 
You are missing the point. I am not saying that the zero is bad lol. I am saying that if he likes the sound to just stop there and now before it is too late.

Welcome to head-fi, sorry about your wallet? That is as true a statement as there is lol.
 
But... I like playing the part of the Siren who lures people to their doom... or their wallet's doom, at least.
 
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