New headphones and usb dac for mac

rowanh

Hey folks,

I was thinking it would be a good time to get a new pair of headphones and a headphone amp or usb dac / headphone amp.

Id listen to a variety of music, more rock than anything else but i like finding any music with really good production that sounds great on good hifi. Budget wise im not too sure what id be happy to spend, i set out to buy something at a price and end up spending several times the amount i meant to as i like to get really good stuff.

I like the look of the AKG k550's, what hifi gave them a best buy at 250 sterling and now they are 99 so they seem like a good buy. I dont really like closed back headphones, i use sennheiser hd280 pros in work and find they get very uncomfortable sounding after about 20 min of listening. The k550s supposedly dont sounds like closed back headphones. I had a pair of sennheiser hd590s years ago and loved them i thought they sounded amazing and they were as comfortable as i could imagine headphones being.

Anyway more so what i am confused about is what would be the best thing to connect them to my mac to get the best sound out of it. Some sort of usb dac? The Fiio e07k sounds good on paper, is there something that would be much better at a similar price and how much better would something twice the price be?? Also i have read a bit about connecting usb dacs to android phones through the usb connection, it all sounds a bit complicated though..

Anyway any opinions on the k550s and a good amp/dac to go with them for a laptop and or phone would be appreciated.

Rowan

PPC

Check out the Fiio E17, its worth the extra few quid.
I upgraded to one in work over the E7/E9 combo and its much better sound wise, a little less powerwise but I didn't need it for my headphones.
I'm using it on a Mac to drive Ultrasone 900, which are similar to the K550 and were my second choice when I was buying this setup.

rowanh

Thanks, ill check it out, i did have a look at a few of the fiio's on amazon and read some customer reviews, cant remember which exactly.

marko93

I'd have absolutely no problem recomending the FiiO brand as a whole, really great budget friendly gear.
Perhaps a schiit stack might be up your alley too, always worth a look.

Those AKGs also seem like they'd be some fantastic kit.
Similar cans worth having a look;

Audio Technica ATH M50s
V-Moda M100s
Sennheiser HD 25s
Sennheiser Amperiors

docentore

I had Fiio X3 and now I own X5. Those are portable players with usb DAC functionality. Both worked with my macbook-pro perfectly. And on the go you don't need to use DAC with your phone, just the pmp.