Submitted by TheBlackFatCat t3_yeq8dm in headphones
szakee t1_itz9lff wrote
TheBlackFatCat OP t1_itz9tv3 wrote
Thanks a bunch, was only planning on getting a dedicated amp if the headphones were too hard to drive, which they aren't
audioen t1_iu31rpn wrote
I would actually get this $10 dongle just in case anyway, it can serve as a reference to check whether things are okay. You don't have to use it if you don't think it improves anything, but it is a trivial investment to answer a question you might not be able to answer otherwise. Based on the fact that you have 560S with a pretty high impedance measurement of 133 to 224 ohms (with nominal given as 120 ohms) I think any device with minimal attention to quality ought to be able to drive this headset correctly, but perhaps you want to buy other headsets one beautiful day.
The Apple dongle has been measured and is known to be an accurate DAC+amp combo, with 0.5 (EU) or 1 V (US) maximum output (so it can't drive high impedance and low sensitivity devices that typically want higher voltages than that), but it has very low 0.9 ohm output impedance so it can correct for frequency response errors that occur when high output impedance drives impedance load that varies by sound frequency.
The error comes from voltage drop that occurs somewhere in the output plug's electronics where voltage drops below expected because the headset wants more current than the output stage is capable of producing due to its internal resistance. There is a rule of thumb that says that output impedance should be at most 1/8th of the lowest impedance of the headset, e.g. if headset is 120 ohms, then you should have at most 15 ohm output impedance (which I daresay is an easy requirement, though some mobos have been measured to have more than that). This should limit errors related to output impedance to level that is probably not audible, to a small fraction of a dB.
There are barely any headsets with impedance less than 10 ohm. I happen to have Crinacle x Truthear Zero which actually has 10-20 ohm impedance in such a way that it has a crossover internally where 20 ohm impedance is with the bass and 10 ohms otherwise, and it benefits from low output impedance amplifier or the bass increases too much. So I use the Apple USB-C dongle for those because otherwise it becomes pretty bass-heavy in one laptop, though it is actually fine in another.
SiegwardZwiebelbrudi t1_iu0fl97 wrote
stop posting this nonsense, crinacle is just talking out of his ass there.
szakee t1_iu0i4ma wrote
alright, interested in hearing the actual truth from you.
SiegwardZwiebelbrudi t1_iu0j8kf wrote
Somehow Reddit has a copy/paste bug for several months now, but i wrote a comment touching on most amp qualities, and would only add that something like noise floor will improve and some internal desktop amps have noise issues resulting from current leakage...the rest is mentioned in my comment.
sorry reddit hates me and won´t let me paste it here
[deleted] t1_iu0tveu wrote
[deleted]
SiegwardZwiebelbrudi t1_iu0vb5t wrote
honestly amps don´t actually exist, if you believe a big part of this community (its only a cable that connects input and output and a knob that leads to nowhere)
Jokes aside though, we look at a Headphone from two perspectives, sensitivity and driver resistance, impedance is variable between 130 and 240 Ohm and sensitivity is 246mV for 94db, which is below average.
now for variable impedance headphones you want an amp with low output impedance and that sensitivity will also benefit from an amp.
now to adress that myth, if its loud enough you don´t need an amp, there are factors that are typically forgotten. consumer amps (including whats in your laptop) typically don´t clip, when a song is too demanding (especially concerning low frequencies) instead it just delivers less power...bass is weak.
also you would want a little bass eq with the 560s, where unfortunately those cans already show more distortion than others...having a better amp here won´t hurt.
my last argument is that you achieve basically an end to this stupid discussion with spending 200€. the topping dx3 pro+ will drive any normal headphone perfectly, except fringe cases, like the hifiman he6. This is a 1200€ headphone though, and when you reach that point, well it wouldn´t hurt to reconsider amps as well.
SiegwardZwiebelbrudi t1_iu0uvui wrote
the comment is literally here in the thread, are you telling me you can't find another comment i made here?!
Edit: there are only 26 comments total, i mean seriously...
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