Should I add a headphone amp? Or external dac? Or better player to improve music qual

[chaitanyaht3]

Hello all, im using YHT196+yamaha floorstanders. Its great for movies, and just ok for music.

Is there any trick to improve music quality from my set up? I generally play music from my mobile or laptop with foober or vlc player.

Should I add an external dac? Or...
Is it possible to add a headphone amp to avr?
Or should i use a better music player than my laptop?
Please help me guys...

Chaitanya

 

[chaitanyaht3]

Re: Should I add a headphone amp? Or external dac? Or better player to improve music

Dear admins, thanks a lot for approving my post in this forum. Its s wonderful forum !!!

 

[chaitanyaht3]

Re: Should I add a headphone amp? Or external dac? Or better player to improve music

Hello all..
If we consider a chain like this....

Laptop - headphone amp or external dac - Avr ...

Can you help me understand which DAC is actually working?

I mean.... laptop...avr...headphone amp also have inbuilt dacs within them. How to identify which dac is actually working?

Thanka a lot for any guidance...

 

[MaSh]

Re: Should I add a headphone amp? Or external dac? Or better player to improve music

Avr dac works if you feed in digital signal to it via coax, optical or hdmi. Any signal being fed to receiver via is analog connectors, do not utilize the receivers dac.

Computer - - > USB dac - - > receiver (analog input) makes most sense. If you want to use headphones then the receiver need not be switched on if you get a dac/amp combo.

MaSh

Sent from my Redmi Note 3 using Tapatalk

 

[chaitanyaht3]

Re: Should I add a headphone amp? Or external dac? Or better player to improve music

Thank you so much Mash...

I was waiting so curiously to understand this. So it basically depends on which signal (cable) we use.

Now i have to find a DAC that's better than inbuilt dac in yht196. I am not sure which budget dac I have to use. I will explore.

Thanks a lot for the help.

 

[Naveenbnc]

Re: Should I add a headphone amp? Or external dac? Or better player to improve music

YHT196 avr is definitely good for its price. But I was a bit dissatisfied with it. Later I came to know the "real reason" is lack of good music source.

I used airtel dth mostly. The audio quality is good. But I always felt im missing some clarity.

Surprisingly, in the middle of a movie, we get ads for the next upcoming movie or some movie that is scheduled to the weekend. In that short 15sec ad, they broadcast very good quality audio. The difference is clearly felt. All of a sudden I felt wow. It happens all the time.

Again, after the ad is over, the sound quality comes down to normal. Then I started suspecting the high quality music source is the key.

Seniors like Mash also helped me to understand that source is very important. Right now I am getting an active sub. It will be done in a few days may be. After that I have to focus on good music source too.

Having said that... I am "guessing" a good music source can improve the output with the in built dac in the avr itself.

 

[MaSh]

Re: Should I add a headphone amp? Or external dac? Or better player to improve music

Thank you so much Mash...

I was waiting so curiously to understand this. So it basically depends on which signal (cable) we use.

Now i have to find a DAC that's better than inbuilt dac in yht196. I am not sure which budget dac I have to use. I will explore.

Thanks a lot for the help.

Well, a budget DAC might not necessarily be better than the one in the receiver, yes the sound signature could be different. So in those terms, you can call one better or worse for you.

For example, when I use a super budget dac Fiio X1 with my Marantz receiver, it sounds Smoother and Warmer than the receiver's dac. I cannot call it better, it just depends on what mood I am in and what kind of music I am listening to.

MaSh

 

[chaitanyaht3]

Re: Should I add a headphone amp? Or external dac? Or better player to improve music

Wow...lot of useful tips.. I understood regarding sound signature...

Just help me with one more step of a wild guess please....

Which of these might be good?
1. Laptop with foober + FIIO EK10 + avr
2. Fiio X1 or Fiio M3 player + avr

(E10K is a usb dac, and X1 and M3 are media players as i understand...)
Thank you...

 

[neocore]

Re: Should I add a headphone amp? Or external dac? Or better player to improve music

Considering that you are including AVR/laptop i think you are looking for a desktop setup, if you are not into portability then best to look into schitt stack or ODAC+amp(tube amps like Darkvoice will be a good choice) combo. IF you want portability then i would suggest you try dragonfly black(for iems) or dragonfly Red(for moderate headphones like Grados or fidelio series, though the Red can drive the 300 ohms sennheisser hd600/650 but they are not the best for the job).

Also please list your headphones so that suggestions can be made accordingly.

A little costly option would be to go for chord mojo/geekout which is the current leader in portable market(less than 80k inr).

 

[chaitanyaht3]

Re: Should I add a headphone amp? Or external dac? Or better player to improve music

hi neocore...

Thanks a lot for responding. I do not use headphones at all. All I need is some improvement in music quality for my setup....(YHT196 htib with front satellites replaced with yamaha floor standers)

(My first comment at the begining of the thread)

I play music using laptop. In that context I asked....
Which of these might be good?
1. Laptop with foober + FIIO EK10 + avr
2. Fiio X1 or Fiio M3 player + avr

Thanks for suggesting dragonfly too... I will check it also...

 

[MaSh]

Re: Should I add a headphone amp? Or external dac? Or better player to improve music

Wow...lot of useful tips.. I understood regarding sound signature...

Just help me with one more step of a wild guess please....

Which of these might be good?
1. Laptop with foober + FIIO EK10 + avr
2. Fiio X1 or Fiio M3 player + avr

(E10K is a usb dac, and X1 and M3 are media players as i understand...)
Thank you...

Sorry, no idea about DAPs. DAP or DAC is a decision you will have to make based on your need. If it's going to be permanently plugged into the computer then option 1 makes the most sense. EK10 is a well reviewed DAC and a great place to start from.

MaSh

 

[chaitanyaht3]

Re: Should I add a headphone amp? Or external dac? Or better player to improve music

Thank you very much MaSh...