Question External desktop DAC + Amp for HD6xx

[kareldgr]

As the title suggests I am thinking of getting an external dac & amp for my HD6xx headphones. They are currently
connected to an ASUS Essence STX II sound card. I am a newbie but have done some reading and am interested in
the Shiit Modi 3+ paired with a Vali 2+...
Would this setup sound better than the sound card? Thank you.

 

[Gray]

Would this setup sound better than the sound card?

I think most people would think so.
You'll be best placed to say for sure.

 

[Al ears]

I think most people would think so.
You'll be best placed to say for sure.

You could be correct although I think the number of people that have heard this combination would be quite small

 

[nopiano]

I thought I saw an ifi product recommendation recently that is designed for Sennheiser 6xx series headphones. No idea what it’s like, but surely worth considering? It’s almost as though you knew about this already and joined to get this very answer. Is that the case?

ZEN CAN Signature 6XX by iFi audio - A tailor-made headphone amplifier from iFi audio.

The ZEN CAN Signature 6XX is tailor-made to bring the best out of the HD6XX with iFi's unique ActivEQ.

ifi-audio.com

 

[Friesiansam]

For similar, or less money than the Schiit pairing, you could consider a used Audiolab M-DAC, they still pop up on Ebay from time to time. I used to have one and was very happy with it, until an unexpected windfall came along, together with a dose of upgrade-itis.

 

[Gray]

You could be correct although I think the number of people that have heard this combination would be quite small

Yes and if they had.....
wouldn't really help him much.

 

[Al ears]

Yes and if they had.....
wouldn't really help him much.

very true

 

[Tinman1952]

I thought I saw an ifi product recommendation recently that is designed for Sennheiser 6xx series headphones. No idea what it’s like, but surely worth considering? It’s almost as though you knew about this already and joined to get this very answer. Is that the case?

ZEN CAN Signature 6XX by iFi audio - A tailor-made headphone amplifier from iFi audio.

The ZEN CAN Signature 6XX is tailor-made to bring the best out of the HD6XX with iFi's unique ActivEQ.

ifi-audio.com

Excellent suggestion. Paired with a Zen DAC that would take some beating!

 

[kareldgr]

I thought I saw an ifi product recommendation recently that is designed for Sennheiser 6xx series headphones. No idea what it’s like, but surely worth considering? It’s almost as though you knew about this already and joined to get this very answer. Is that the case?

ZEN CAN Signature 6XX by iFi audio - A tailor-made headphone amplifier from iFi audio.

The ZEN CAN Signature 6XX is tailor-made to bring the best out of the HD6XX with iFi's unique ActivEQ.

ifi-audio.com

Not the case. Thank you though!

Edit: Read some reviews. Experiences with the 6XX enhancements seem to be generally positive.
Found this combo deal: https://www.wifimedia.eu/en/ifi-audio-zen-signature-bundle.html
Not sure if I'm ready to spend more than €500. I'll think about it.

 

[Tinman1952]

Not the case. Thank you though!

Edit: Read some reviews. Experiences with the 6XX enhancements seem to be generally positive.
Found this combo deal: https://www.wifimedia.eu/en/ifi-audio-zen-signature-bundle.html
Not sure if I'm ready to spend more than €500. I'll think about it.

Well those are the recent upmarket 'Signature' editions. You can get the ordinary Zen Dac v2 and the Zen Can for £288 in the UK. (c. 338 Euros?)

 

[kareldgr]

Yes but the package is a better value. To quote a review I found: "The neatly packaged set includes the ZEN DAC Signature and CAN Signature 6XX, two iPower X power supplies, a 1ft RCA interconnect, a 1ft USB cable, and an excellent 4.4mm Pentaconn interconnect. The Pentaconn cable retails for $69 and since this relatively new connector style is still hard to find it’s a nice bonus. The real story is the two iPower X power supplies which retail for $99 each..."

Edit: Okay so from what I've read the iFi Audio ZEN DAC v2 is a dac and amp combined. Maybe I'll start there. I wouldn't need anything else?

 

[ThisIsJimmy]

Edit: Okay so from what I've read the iFi Audio ZEN DAC v2 is a dac and amp combined. Maybe I'll start there. I wouldn't need anything else?

Nope you would not need anything else. If you are going down that road and want your cake and eat it with the DSD, MQA etc. the alternative in and around this price point is the Topping EX5.

At this point the Topping EX5 is the only one of the two to have been put through an audio analyzer.