Evolution of sound form Sennheiser HD 558

[nima]

Hi there!

I am not satisfied with the SQ from my Sennheiser HD 558, when used with computer. What would be the smartest way forward: buy an amp, like Rega Ear, or buy something like Meridian Explorer DAC, HRT microStreamer, Audioquest DragonFly, NuForce uDAC-3 or some Fiio?

 

[quadpatch]

Does this mean you are satisfied with the sound of the 558 through something else? If so what does it sound fine with and why?

 

[nima]

Sounds more then fine plugged into my budget integrated.

 

[dalethorn]

This is hard to figure - usually the computer should sound better, but the integrated must be smoothing the roughness you're hearing with the computer?

 

[nima]

The weirdest thing happened, I installed Linux Mint 16 instead of Win7 (for other reasons) and the sound has improved for some 300%. The White Stripes could still use more body and punch, but ATM it's much better. The vocals are almost great, I'm able to hear more lines of the instruments, it's just more joyful in every way.

Before the sound was so mediocre, I was actually afraid there was something wrong with the headphones.

I believe there's still much room for improvement, though. Does anyone have any experiences, what would be better step forward, one of those DAC-ish gadgets or a proper headphone amp like Rega Ear?

 

[pauln]

That is odd. There should be no reason at all why you can't get excellent sound quality from Win 7. What sort of computer, sound card, media player do you have? How is the computer connected to your amp?

I have Sennheiser HD 650 plugged directly into the headphone output socket of my laptop (so using laptops motherboard sound card!) and it sounds stunning; although it gets even better if I use a USB DAC/headphone amp you shouldn't need one. I use foobar for playback.

Probably the easiest solution would be to get something along the lines of the odac if you want portablity or a Beresford. I wouldn't spend any more than £200 unless you plan to get better cans in the near future. (Those "gadgets" you speak of usually are proper headphone amps by the way, they just don't all have "audiophile" pretensions. Some are more suited to sensitive IEM's though.

 

[nima]

I know!

My computer is not connected to my amp, I have headphones plugged into the headphone socket of my desktop (no soundcard, just some dated Gigabyte entry level MB for i7). Far from stunning, but OK ATM.

Foobar or Clementine on Windows (Audacious or Clementine on Linux).

I don't need portability. I'd like to stick to my cans - I found HD 565 more satisfying then HD 580 (or was it HD 600? - I doubt that, but I'm not sure) in the past, so I just went for 558 which costed me a little over 100GBP.

I can get Rega Ear for about 200 GBP I think, but that would only improve the amp section - is there a way to improve the source and the amp for that kind of amount and would that bring me bigger improvement? I didn't want to sound condescending speaking of "gadgets" - I am actually considering them.

So any gadget suitable for HD558 (not only for IEMs) out there? Or is it better to just go for a headphone amp and maybe add a DAC latter - perhaps something like SH Arcam rDac.

I can probably audition Rega Ear before I buy, the DAC thingies not so much.

TNX

 

[pauln]

This product is very well regarded, it's a USB DAC and headphone amp for around £187. It will remove your computers onboard sound from the picture completely.

http://epiphany-acoustics.co.uk/products-page/dacs/ehp-o2d-miniature-desktop-headphone-amplifier-with-usb-dac/

Yes, the Rega Ear would mean that the PC was still doing the digital to analogue conversion.

If you want to spend a lot less to start with, you could try getting a cheap Asus Xonar DG or DS soundcard off ebay to see if thats an improvement.

 

[emperor's new clothes]

Hi Nima,,

I have 558s and they sound excellent via an rPac from my iMac. IMHO, an asynchronous headphone Dac will transform your 558s.

 

[nima]

Thank you, I will try to get my ears on both items. If vinyl wasn't my priority, I'd probably just order a home demo of Naim Dac-V1 and use it as headphone amp with my computer and as DAC in hifi system, but ATM I really don't want to spend that kind of money on digital source.

KR

 

[nima]

I got impatient and I almost called my dealer for a demo of Naim DAC-V1. Than took my chances and ordered Schiit Vali, specialized headphone forums and mags are very enthusiastic about it. I need a DAC for my hi-fi system anyway, so will be adding this latter - I hope Arcam irDac will be enough for both, my computer-headphones setup and hi-fi setup.

They offer money back guaratee, but given the shipping cost and miles of red tape that would be needed to get tax and customs back from my governement, that's not very realistic option. Ultimately they convinced me with this in the Vali's FAQ section:
But it's less powerful and noisier than Magni!

A: Dude, it's a $119 tube amp. So, well, yes.

But I don't know if I'll like tube sound.

A: Dude, it's a $119 tube amp.

I hear a tube amp isn't accurate, it’s euphonic and fun?

A: $119. Tube. Amp.

So, 119$, tube, amp it is then. Will report on these pages, when it arrives.

 

[nima]

Update - while waiting for Schiit Vali I was playing around with sound setting in Linux Mint. (Remember the sound on Linux Mint was already much better then on Win7.)

It seems the default sound mixer or whatever, something called Pulseaudio, is crap and you should replace it with something called ALSA. I'm no linux geek so when I tried to do this in the past and also yesterday, I ended up with useless system and needed to reinstall (yes, that happened a few times). :help:

So, as I was saying, while waiting for Schiit Vali... today I tried something new - not to remove Pulseaudio, but just to disable it (it will come back whaen I restart the computer) and use ALSA. I hope I haven't ruined anything and when I restart the computer, it will still boot up into the system.

:rockout: WOW, now that is SOMETHING. The sound is already wow wow wow, perfect?

I need to find the way to do this permanently and not ruin the installation.

I can't wait to hear, what the Schiit will do the sound now.

Sound in Win7: 1,5 stars. Sound in Linux: 3 stars. Sound in Linux (with ALSA without Pulseaudio): 8 stars.

 

[nima]

Two days ago the Schiit Vali finaly arrived (after taking a very long nap at the customs office). First impressions, and these really are first impressions, the overall sound quality (with my computer's MB soundcard as a source, without a DAC): 9,5 stars.

It should be noted that I wasn't able to replicate the conditions, that gave me the 8 stars SQ, mentioned above.

I can clearly hear that the sound is being held back by the poor source quality. I will give the Vali few days of burning in and also take some time to gather my thoughts, use it with my CDP as a source and then give more elaborate report.