HiFimeDIY Sabre USB DAC. 96khz/24bit - ES9023+TE7022 + USB to optical converter

[Thad E Ginathom]

Hmmm... I'm actually a bit of a newb at headphones! I'm enjoying the first serious pair I've ever owned, and I'm on my first dedicated H-P amp. My DAC is an ODAC, although I have used different sound cards/interfaces before that. Whilst it is considerably more expensive, it is still low-cost for a quality USB DAC. You might want to consider it. It does require an amplifier: you cannot plug headphones into it.

I'm sub-newb on a lot of these electrical specs and what they mean. I try hard, but I'm seriously, err, "numerically challenged"

I had the idea (without it meaning much to me) that the amp output impedance should be considerably lower than the impedance of the head/ear-phones. Is it not so that only a few headphones have impedance up in the hundreds of ohms?

I got the HiFimeDIY to bypass the sound chip in my wife's laptop. The purpose was not to get better quality, but to get sound at all, as the machine is old, bits stop working regularly, and the sound output is intermittent and more off than on. I have not much used it myself, except on the initial installation. I think I posted my impressions at that time. I was impressed with the modified device belonging to HFVer linuxguru.

My instinct (could be totally wrong)is telling me that perhaps you should be going for something better here. Dragonfly or similar?

 

[Santy]

An amp will certainly improve the sound quality, but if loudness or driveability is the concern, I can say it can fairly manage without an amp. The DAC drives my Senn HD 558 pretty comfortably (50 ohms which is higher than yours). The max volume is infact slightly more than what I am comfortable with. Again I am a noob in headphones vertical so take it with a pinch of salt.

 

[sound and music]

This product works very well with my recently bought Philips X1 headphones rated at 30-32 ohms. I don't use any amp to drive X1.

 

[shibashis]

shadowkiller....how do you kill shadows? Are you a fan of Edgar Allan Poe?

Jokes aside, I own your exact headphones and I also own the Hifimediy DAC. Having a headphone amp is NOT essential to drive the cans with it, but I suppose you can always add things to the chain to make it 'better'. I have not used an amp with it so can not say how much or if at all better it will be.
I have used the headphones with my Asus Xonar U3 USB and the Sabre, the Asus can go louder at similar volume range and has different sound signature. You will have to turn the volume higher for the Sabre but it does perform well without an amp as I mentioned.

Not trying to hijack the thread, but how are you liking the headphones?

 

[shibashis]

BTW I use Foobar with wasapi to play my music on the laptop.

 

[shadowkiller]

My instinct (could be totally wrong)is telling me that perhaps you should be going for something better here. Dragonfly or similar?

Budget is an issue for me. Though its is very tempting to purchase, price of Audioquest Dragonfly 1.2 on Amazon.com is around $150, which is way above my budget.:sad::sad: If only the dragonfly were cheaper!!

HIFimeDIY Sabre DAC seems to the best one in my budget. But the problem is its output impedance. I read in an article by NwavGuy, that high output impedance can cause distortion in frequency response( different frequencies will have different gains) even though the headphones might have a flat frequency response curve. I am worried that this might affect my listening experience (might be unfounded).

Edit: Putting an amplifier between DAC and headphones would bring down the output impedance close to zero. That's why I was inquiring about requirement of amp.

 

[shadowkiller]

shadowkiller....how do you kill shadows? Are you a fan of Edgar Allan Poe?

Jokes aside, I own your exact headphones and I also own the Hifimediy DAC. Having a headphone amp is NOT essential to drive the cans with it, but I suppose you can always add things to the chain to make it 'better'. I have not used an amp with it so can not say how much or if at all better it will be.
I have used the headphones with my Asus Xonar U3 USB and the Sabre, the Asus can go louder at similar volume range and has different sound signature. You will have to turn the volume higher for the Sabre but it does perform well without an amp as I mentioned.

Not trying to hijack the thread, but how are you liking the headphones?

Actually, I am fan of the fantasy novel series Wheel of Time.. It is one of the names by which the main character of the book series is called.

HD 439 is my first proper pair of headphones. I don't have anything to compare it to except my speakers. I enjoy the clarity of bass of my headphones, when compared to the muddy bass of my speakers: Altec Lansing VS4621. Also, there is a lot of detail I can hear now that couldn't with my speakers. So its definitely an upgrade for me. I hope to invest in better headphones in the future.

 

[Santy]

Why not consider this headphone amp. Its less than 2 grands.

FiiO E6 Fujiyama Portable Headphone Amplifier

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

Budget is an issue for me. Though its is very tempting to purchase, price of Audioquest Dragonfly 1.2 on Amazon.com is around $150, which is way above my budget.:sad::sad: If only the dragonfly were cheaper!!.

Probably you posted before seeing shibashis' post...

I have used the headphones with my Asus Xonar U3 USB and the Sabre ... ... ...it does perform well without an amp as I mentioned.

Just what you needed! Go ahead with the HiFiMeDIY... Add an amp, or upgrade, as and when funds become available, and you feel the need, but looks like you don't have to worry about those specs and can get on with listening to the music

 

[shadowkiller]

Thank you people for some great advice.

HiFimeDIY Sabre usb dac it is then.

 

[linuxguru]

I have the HiFimeDIY DAC, with mods (which I've posted at diyAudio), and use it as my primary DAC driving various power amps as required - MyRef, MiniRef, Symasym, etc. I'm very happy with it.

For driving low-Z headphones, you can drive it directly from the DAC for modest SPL. If you want higher SPL, you may consider using either a unity-gain buffer or a headphone amp with a gain of 2..3 - something like a battery-powered CMoy may suffice.

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

I didn't know you used it as your primary DAC --- but I was certainly impressed when I heard your modified HifiMeDIY.

 

[Santy]

Why not consider this headphone amp. Its less than 2 grands.

FiiO E6 Fujiyama Portable Headphone Amplifier

@shadowkiller
After recommending this to you, I bought one for myself through the above portal.
More details here;
http://www.hifivision.com/my-audio-...e-your-audio-video-setup-here.html#post586674

I strongly recommend to go for it, if you are on a budget.

 

[shadowkiller]

Folks, I need your help!

I got a mail from Hifimediy stating that my order has been shipped. I was given a reference number along with the link for the hong kong post tracking site. But I am not able to see anything. The site also asks for Enquiry reference number. Could you please explain the procedure for tracking the package to me?

At present, I don't know where the package is and am not able to track it.

 

[Santy]

When did you get the tracking no? I mean when was it dispatched?
It would take 1 or 2 days to reflect on HK post site.
Its tracking status will be too short.
That too till it reaches India, after that you just have to pray that it finds its way to your address. But most likely it will.

This was my no. RT197705913HK
Open the same URL given by Hifimediy and track this no.

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

Same experience here too. No point in trying to track it until the next day at least.

I'm not sure of my memory now, but I might have been able to use the same tracking number to track within India. Or I might not.

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

|I had forgotten about my HiFiMeDIY USB Isolator. I found it and gave it a try, using it between powered hub and ODAC. I suppose I could try other combinations, but...

The result was horrible

 

[omishra]

IPS international post tracking.
IPS Web Tracking/Item Tracking