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Decent computer headphone amp / interface ?

S

SteveH

pfm Member
So, I have a pair of Genelec 8020s playing lossless files from an iMac via an Audient iD4. Sounds fine. I want some good headphones for late night listening but am unsure whether I should be "upgrading" to "audiophile" interfaces like I read about on PFM (e.g. Zen, FiiO etc.) or stick with "studio" interfaces (like the Audient I'm using, or RME etc.).

In general, is there any SQ benefit from an "audiophile" interface vs. something like my Audient or Focusrite, or is it just foo/marketing? I do need a 1/4" jack input to record electric guitar on my iMac DAW. I guess I'm aiming to spend around 1K on the phones and hopefully (much) less on the interface, or maybe just stick with my Audient if the benefit of 1K phones is evident. Please give me some suggestions, thoughts, and, as ever, I'll then go and listen. Thanks.
 
Having used a wide range of 'non-audiophile' and 'low-end' price options from the very cheapest (QED, CMoy) up to Focusrite and then the giddy heights of RME ... with a lot in between ... and also used a fair few found in integrated amps and DACs. I would say the differences between them all are subtle at best - but differences there are. My reference headphones over the last ten years are Senn HD600.

All have been good enough IME and most of the differences are simply down to personal preference (a bit more of this - a bit less of that) and not something I would lose sleep over, but what it does tell me is how important it is to audition as many different solutions as budget (and returns) will allow to find your sweet spot.

If I was swimming in cash I would be tempted to try some expensive bling in the multiple k range but I actually doubt they would bring much more to the party - but if you have the cash ... go for it (never say never).
Worth bearing in mind though that in general, audio components are dirt cheap and mass production means labour is minimal. So you may be paying the premium for boutique parts and 'low run' exclusiveness rather than proven jumps in SQ.

PS - the only reason I prefer full size jacks to small ones is that the connection tends to be more robust and less likely to get pulled out by accident. Adapters are a minefield of their own.
 
krenzler said:
And if you want some headphones that best mimic studio monitors from Genelec/ATC/Neumann have a look at the open-back Neumann NDH-30. They also have closed-back NDH-20 but the newer NDH-30 open-back is apparently much better tuned/balanced sounding than its closed-back cousin.

https://gearspace.com/board/product...-new-neumann-ndh-30-open-back-headphones.html

https://www.neumann.com/en-en/products/headphones/ndh-30/
Click to expand...

Lovely looking cans - shame about the weight ( 0.97 kilo = ouch! )
 
??? Packaged weight - 352g for the cans alone.

Opera-Snapshot-2023-03-26-135309-www.png
 
Weight distribution, clamp force, headband, pads etc. all play a role in overall comfort. HD800 weigh 330g and are very comfortable IMO.

HEDD Audio HEDDphone weighs 730g - for reference. :)

tps-1335-484990-May00470-484990-scaled.jpg
 
The RME is a safe choice but I would expect better and possibly more functional value from the Merging Anubis. A complex but high quality item for a music creator and discerning listener.
 
miktec said:
Having used a wide range of 'non-audiophile' and 'low-end' price options from the very cheapest (QED, CMoy) up to Focusrite and then the giddy heights of RME ... with a lot in between ... and also used a fair few found in integrated amps and DACs. I would say the differences between them all are subtle at best - but differences there are. My reference headphones over the last ten years are Senn HD600.

All have been good enough IME and most of the differences are simply down to personal preference (a bit more of this - a bit less of that) and not something I would lose sleep over, but what it does tell me is how important it is to audition as many different solutions as budget (and returns) will allow to find your sweet spot.
Click to expand...
I love my HD600s as well. I go from the PC into a Topping D90SE, then balanced output into a Topping A90 and am very happy with the performance.
 
miktec said:
Having used a wide range of 'non-audiophile' and 'low-end' price options from the very cheapest (QED, CMoy) up to Focusrite and then the giddy heights of RME ... with a lot in between ... and also used a fair few found in integrated amps and DACs. I would say the differences between them all are subtle at best - but differences there are.
Click to expand...

This is what I suspect. It's the magnitude of those "differences" I'm interested in.

miktec said:
what it does tell me is how important it is to audition as many different solutions as budget (and returns) will allow to find your sweet spot.
Click to expand...

And that's the problem. My local Linn/Naim/Rega etc. have never heard of Audient, Universal Audio, Focusrite etc.

I guess I may have to drag my Audient around a few hi-fi shops and see what I'm getting for the extra £££, if anything, and then do the same in the pro audio shops.

The Merging Anubis looks very interesting but my price ceiling is prob RME UCX ish.
Main system is pair of KiiThrees so I want something good but, ultimately, this is to keep me amused while working in front of the computer late night.
Thanks for the replies.
 
SteveH said:
This is what I suspect. It's the magnitude of those "differences" I'm interested in.



And that's the problem. My local Linn/Naim/Rega etc. have never heard of Audient, Universal Audio, Focusrite etc.

I guess I may have to drag my Audient around a few hi-fi shops and see what I'm getting for the extra £££, if anything, and then do the same in the pro audio shops.

The Merging Anubis looks very interesting but my price ceiling is prob RME UCX ish.
Main system is pair of KiiThrees so I want something good but, ultimately, this is to keep me amused while working in front of the computer late night.
Thanks for the replies.
Click to expand...

The one I stuck with (and love) is the cheaper RME ADI 2 FS ... not the one with EQ etc. but this one .. bought from Synthax:

https://www.synthax.co.uk/rme/converters/rme-adi-2-fs/

I bought it for the remarkably flexible DAC and analogue input but the headphone amp is also the best I've tried.
I used it initially with an RPi but lately just a Mac Mini and Audirvana. Only drawback is no USB input :(


RPi4 RME Moode by mik tec, on Flickr
 
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Most audio interfaces (RME apart) only have cheap headphone monitor outputs. Fine for e.g. HD25s won't drive anything more demanding very well. One option is to add a headphone amp to something like a Focusrite/Audient etc using a pair of line outs. The Neve is excellent for about £500


https://rupertneve.com/products/rnhp
 
I'm using relatively LoFi HD 280 and Momentum 3s but still find a Fiio A5 brings a bit of grunt and extra bass control to most outputs from phone, tablet, aircraft and computer. Not so much difference on my old Rotel amp with speakers switched off..
 
Thanks for the responses.
So tonight I got hold of some Focal Elears and spent a good 30 minutes listening to these via the headphone out on my Audient iD4 (version 1) vs. a Chord Mojo (also version 1).
Very, very close indeed. I think I preferred the Mojo since it was a smidgeon smoother and a fraction less abrasive on some heavier tracks but it was CLOSE, and this is with a pair of 1K headphones.
GIven I need an audio interface for recording, I think I'm going to stick with what I have and put what I save from not needing a dedicated headphone amp towards the 'phones.
 
Good shout - 'phone perceived performance is far more variable / subject to personal preference, than the objectively, very-much-smaller diffs between the source end.
 
SteveH said:
Thanks for the responses.
So tonight I got hold of some Focal Elears and spent a good 30 minutes listening to these via the headphone out on my Audient iD4 (version 1) vs. a Chord Mojo (also version 1).
Very, very close indeed. I think I preferred the Mojo since it was a smidgeon smoother and a fraction less abrasive on some heavier tracks but it was CLOSE, and this is with a pair of 1K headphones.
GIven I need an audio interface for recording, I think I'm going to stick with what I have and put what I save from not needing a dedicated headphone amp towards the 'phones.
Click to expand...

The Focals are 80 ohm so not overly demanding. Higher impedence 'phones require higher power, the output of most interfaces is 20 mW or so into 80 Ohm but will collapse into 300 Ohm. I think you'd be better sharing the money between headphones and a headphone amp, which would allow you to choose any phones that you wanted without being restricted to low impedence.

The Schiit is cheapish...

https://www.schiit.co.uk/headphone-amps
 
I use a Focusrite Scarlett 2i4 as a pc interface. It works well with my Shure SRH1540 headphones and also feeds a Quad 306 for speaker duties. It's a compact neat unit with usb power. May not be esoteric but does the job and Focusrite sold it as a refurbished unit at a good price.
 
bravem01 said:
I use a Focusrite Scarlett 2i4 as a pc interface. It works well with my Shure SRH1540 headphones and also feeds a Quad 306 for speaker duties. It's a compact neat unit with usb power. May not be esoteric but does the job and Focusrite sold it as a refurbished unit at a good price.
Click to expand...

Focusrite make some great gear - I used one of their Firewire mixers for a few years (a Saffire 24).
Very flexible combo of analogue and digital in/outs and great software... only stopped when support was dropped and using with a Mac became a bit of a fudge.

Still have it somewhere ....
 
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