I'm after a DAC that can replicate Xbass?

Submitted by paddyirish1989 t3_126mf7e in headphones

Hey, I currently own a Sennheiser HD800s and have it paired with a Ifi black label and just wanted to know what desktop amp can mimic the perfect Bass boost to my ears of the Ifi Bass boost? My black label is pushed too much with this headphone and regularly runs out of power. I have seen a Sennheiser hdvd 800 online for a good price but I'm just worried about recreating the bass boost of the Ifi as third party EQ's pale I'm comparison

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mqtpqt t1_je9riux wrote

>My black label is pushed too much with this headphone

are you sure? what gain mode are you using?

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i used to own one (not with the hd800s) but im pretty sure the ifi has enough power for most headphone even on the lowest gain setting

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paddyirish1989 OP t1_je9rqvq wrote

I use turbo. If I have it on normal I notice that the bass distorts quite a bit a times with Xbass enabled. The HD800s require alot of power

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blorg t1_je9vtcv wrote

Have you considered this might be the headphone rather than the amp?

HD800S does have quite a lot of distortion in the bass and XBass is a bit over +12dB in the sub-bass, it's a lot.

If you're pushing that into it and then turning it up high, it's possibly just distorting because you're trying to make the HD800S into a basshead headphone that it's just not.

Having said that, with that +12.3dB bass shelf suggested by Oratory to replicate xBass, with the HD800S I can get up to physically feeling it wobbling my head with something like Trentemoller's Chameleon without obvious distortion. It's a bit excessive though. Fiio K7 is a good choice for amp, it will do over 500mW clean into 300Ω out of its balanced output. This is a lot.

If you're looking for large amounts of bass though, there are better options than the HD800S, I'd get a new headphone rather than a new amp. Edition XS or LCD-X are good choices. I own and enjoy the HD800S for what it does well but this is not its forte.

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No-Context5479 t1_je9sfrq wrote

Who told you they require lots of power? Lol it needs 210mW of power to get to fill 120dB SPL.

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paddyirish1989 OP t1_je9sn2t wrote

As I said of I turn down power mode the bass starts to distort when I turn up the volume to compensate. It's clean with turbo power mode enabled

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No-Context5479 t1_je9tlbe wrote

You just need a better DAC/AMP that doesn't have distortion issues and then use Equaliser APO to create the low shelf filter for bass side... (I can help with that)

But it's not because the HD800S is hard to drive... It isn't

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paddyirish1989 OP t1_je9tw0e wrote

No worries. I have just installed APO Now so still learning. Would you recommend a sennheiser hdvd 800? I have seem a cheap used one on market place?

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blorg t1_je9ue17 wrote

If it's under $200 maybe.

Fiio K7 at $199 is a good pick, DAC and amp in one unit.

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No-Context5479 t1_je9u7wj wrote

What's your budget? And no I don't recommend the HDVD800.

And yes I'd DM you the preset that mimics the iFi Boost

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paddyirish1989 OP t1_je9uldl wrote

Around $1000 Aud, maybe higher in a few weeks. What would you recommend? Also why not the HDVD800?

Also I've managed to almost replicate the bass boost by ifi. Will definitely do some more tinkering. Thank you

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mqtpqt t1_je9sm89 wrote

huge disagree; i've used the hd800s off a apple dongle and it does get to slightly under listening volume

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HeadWombat t1_je9s6mp wrote

My Ifi Go Blu can easily make the 800S uncomfortably loud using the balanced output

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doho04 t1_je9rho3 wrote

As far as i know, the ifi xdsd gryphon can send out xbass(II) and xspace through it‘s line outs on the back

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paddyirish1989 OP t1_je9rl9o wrote

Not enough to drive the HD 800s I'm afraid

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doho04 t1_je9tnmj wrote

But you could hook up an amplifier to the line signal which can drive the hd 800

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j-mt t1_je9v7qk wrote

Can you run that amp as a DAC only and use the pre-outs as line outs to a more powerful amp?

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paddyirish1989 OP t1_je9viqp wrote

Yea, what amp would you recommend?

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j-mt t1_je9yj7u wrote

My personal preference would be to migrate those cans over to a balanced output for more power. However, in this scenario the DAC wouldn't be balanced.

I know iFi offers balances DACs/Amps. I wonder if selling your current amp and migrating to a stack that moves you to balanced + xbass would get you what you want. You'd also need a new cable.

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dimesian t1_jeafozx wrote

Could you plug your black label into a more powerful amp?

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gikigill t1_jebefwr wrote

The distortion is probably from overpowering the HD800 or the signal going to the ifI isn't strong enough. Check the input volume in Windows/Mac and set it to 100.

I have the Black Label, iCan Pro, Lyr 3, Beta22 and others and these all seem more than capable of powering the HD800 to a loud manner at low-mid volume.

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paddyirish1989 OP t1_jed5tmj wrote

There is no distortion with turbo power mode. It's only with normal mode. What happens is that when I drop down to normal mode I have to turn the volume up louder which then distorts the bass only at certain frequencies. This doesn't happen in turbo mode with volume being at the Same level

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