# Best Sound for my new akg k550's



## scratchy

Greetings all. I have spent countless hours and more money than id like to admit on my stereo setup over the years, but i have never really had the need to get to deep into headphones. im hoping to change this  I recently purchased a set of AKG k550s I chose the closed back ones as they will be used while on my PC, Laptop, and while traveling. Next on the list is an Amp/DAC. As I will be needing a portable one i was thinking of the Fiio e17, the part that bothered me was how I am going to get a digital signal from my iphone to feed the DAC. I have seen adaptors that fit the dock connection and have a USB out port. Will this fix my problem? appologies if this has been covered elsewhere.
   
  Thanks for you time,


----------



## proton007

You don't need a dac for the iPhone, and not many work with it either.
  The headphone is low impedance, same as stock earbuds, so I won't say it matters that much using an amp.
  Still if you want to get an amp, use a line out from the iPhone into an amp.


----------



## scratchy

Interesting, i have an iphone 4s, So the inbuilt DAC is of reasonable quality? again forgive my ignorance, i have paid over 2k for DACs for my HiFi in the past...


----------



## proton007

Quote: 





scratchy said:


> Interesting, i have an iphone 4s, So the inbuilt DAC is of reasonable quality? again forgive my ignorance, i have paid over 2k for DACs for my HiFi in the past...


 
   
  Yep, pretty good.
  Similar to ones used in iPod (Cirrus Logic).


----------



## proton007

But there are a couple of DACs that work with iPhone/iPod, the Fostex HP1 is one such DAC, but pretty costly (~$600), the difference not worth the price IMO.


----------



## Papander

AKG K550 has high sensitivity and low impedance. It was designed for portable use. It doesn't need an amp.


----------



## scratchy

Thanks, i wasn't too worried about the Amp, more the DAC. i have an iphone, ipod touch, and older model ipod "photo" which one would be recomended for use, and how would it be best to connect it?


----------



## proton007

Quote: 





scratchy said:


> Thanks, i wasn't too worried about the Amp, more the DAC. i have an iphone, ipod touch, and older model ipod "photo" which one would be recomended for use, and how would it be best to connect it?


 
   
  Typical DACs won't work with the iPhone/iPod/iPad, as I said, only a couple do.
  http://www.fostexinternational.com/docs/products/HP-P1.shtml


----------



## PurpleAngel

About the best you could do with your portable apple products is the Fiio E11 portable headphone amplifier and a Fiio L cable, which connects the E11 to the apple products LOD port.
  But as other have said, your kind of stuck using the DAC that comes in portable apple products.
  Apple products come with decent headphone amplification
  and the AKG K550 is an easy headphone to drive.
  The one thing that the portable amplifier might do is free the apple protect from having to power headphones, which might(?) extend the apple products battery charge.


----------



## IamChinese

I dont think : "headphone is low impedance, same as stock earbuds, so I won't say it matters that much using an amp" is right
   
JH13..MG6PRO...ie8  also low impedance.But you cant get them perform well if you dont have an amp.
SR71.SR71B.alo v2.  also ok


----------



## Papander

iamchinese said:


> I dont think : "headphone is low impedance, same as stock earbuds, so I won't say it matters that much using an amp" is right
> 
> 
> JH13..
> ...




I suggest you read how headphones work. Impedance and sensitivity pretty much determine how much "power" headphones need.

If you buy an amp for headphones that don't need it and notice a difference in sound. It is because the amp is coloring it (like EQ). Also it could be because you are expecting to hear a difference, so you will. It's called a placebo effect.

And I would like to hear from you, why would JH13 need an amp? What is your reasoning behind this argument. Because they are 116dB/mW and 28ohms. This means they are extremely easy to drive. Basic ipod can do this..


----------



## scratchy

Thanks again for all the input,. As I have stated before I am a headphone novice and I am greatful for all this input. My concern was, ( coming from a hifi background and having purchased and enjoyed many different dacs over the years ) that the onboard ones in apple products would not be sufficient. But seeing that unless I buy an iPad with a camera connection I am stuck using the apple dac I don't have a lot of choice. So, I will buy a e17 for desktop/laptop use and see how the headphones perform on my iPhone/pod etc without aplification. 

Thank you for the patient responses.


----------



## imackler

Bumping this thread, hoping more out there have tried the K550 amped.
   
  I currently don't have an amp but its pretty hard to drive for my ipod classic. For the first time being in headfi, I may need to take off the safety lock I put on years ago on the volume; not a problem really, but while the ipod has plenty to power genres influenced by the loudness wars, well recorded classical stuff is kind of tough to get enough juice for.
   
  Has anyone noticed any improvements amping the K550? I know AKGs can be tough to amp... Any matching up that you like?


----------



## Mutnat

The headfonia guys make a brief mention of amplifier pairings at the top of page 2:  http://www.headfonia.com/akgs-new-reference-the-k550/2/  You might also want to try combing through the comments section since I bet a lot of people will have asked about various amps.


----------



## TheMiddleSky

AKG K550 is indeed get benefit from amping. 
   
  Actually, what we get from amping isn't only the quantity of power, but also the quality of sound.
   
  For now my favourite for them is ALO RX MK III-B, meaty and dynamic sound, bass boost fitur also suit for K550 if you prefer some "kick" to draw the fun musical effect.


----------



## Rufus-TheDog

Hi all! Just joined the Head-Fi community and the VERY first question I wanted to ask already has an ongoing thread. Lucky me!
   
  I'm literally waiting for a delivery of my AKG K550, which should arrive any day now. While I am waiting, I was doing some research about whether I can enhance my listening experience by getting a portable amp. I'm using my iPhone for listening to music at the office/home, so I thought getting Fiio E17 DAC was good idea. Thank god I did some research as well as discovered this topic that made me realize that a) E17 wouldn't be able to bypass the built-in iPhone soundcard and b) the iPhone soundcard is in fact decent and I wouldn't benefit much from a DAC.
   
  So I guess now I'm back to the amplification-only point. Some said in this topic that K550s don't actually need an amp to drive but while others say that they do in fact benefit from it.
   
  I do have a small budget (not more than 150euro) that I set aside for an amp. I was primarily looking at Fiio E11. Is there anything else in that price range I could look into? Of course I am not trying to go out of my way to spend this money, but if my listening experience can improve, I won't mind.


----------



## imackler

Quote: 





mutnat said:


> The headfonia guys make a brief mention of amplifier pairings at the top of page 2:  http://www.headfonia.com/akgs-new-reference-the-k550/2/  You might also want to try combing through the comments section since I bet a lot of people will have asked about various amps.


 

 I left a question under the name eagle1776. We'll see what he says!


----------



## scratchy

Quote: 





imackler said:


> Bumping this thread, hoping more out there have tried the K550 amped.
> 
> I currently don't have an amp but its pretty hard to drive for my ipod classic. For the first time being in headfi, I may need to take off the safety lock I put on years ago on the volume; not a problem really, but while the ipod has plenty to power genres influenced by the loudness wars, well recorded classical stuff is kind of tough to get enough juice for.
> 
> Has anyone noticed any improvements amping the K550? I know AKGs can be tough to amp... Any matching up that you like?


 
  I can testify that apming these cans greatly increased my enjoyment levels... Infact, before i bought my dac/amp (fiio E17) i found the sound a tad dull and unexciting. Sure in ipod CAN power them, but i found the sound SO much better after i bought the amp. the E17 is also a good choice as it has the bass controll. i leave mine at +2 just to give it that extra bit of oomph.
   
  Just my 2 cents but i highly recomend the Fiio E17. It made listening so much more enjoyable. you wont regret it


----------



## Rufus-TheDog

Glad to know E17 improved your listening experience.
   
  I'm considering getting E11 as apparently, talking strictly amplifiers, it is the better device.
   
  Can you tell me if you managed to get E17 to work as a DAC when hooked up to your Apple device?


----------



## PurpleAngel

Quote: 





rufus-thedog said:


> Glad to know E17 improved your listening experience.
> I'm considering getting E11 as apparently, talking strictly amplifiers, it is the better device.
> Can you tell me if you managed to get E17 to work as a DAC when hooked up to your Apple device?


 
  Hooking an external DAC to a portable apple product is not cheap (HRT $150) and Fiio (even the E17) have no way to bypass the DAC built into portable apple devices.
  At least with apple laptops, you can hook the E17 to the laptops USB port to bypass the internal DAC.
  Apple products usually come with decent DACs, better just to add an amplifier (E11).
  The E17 and E11 are about equal amplifier wise.
  Get the Fiio L cable for connecting the E11 to the apple (portable) products LOD port.
   
  Sign
      My Two Cents.


----------



## proton007

What he said. ^^


----------



## Spawn300Z

Hello, I have been trolling the forum for a while now. I have usually been into home and car audio. I have an iTouch 4G and just picked up an iPod Classic 7G since I needed more space so 

I'm green to the headphone amp thing. I have ordered a set of the AKG K550's and plan on eventually getting a pair of Hifiman HE400/HE500s. 

Would it be better to get something like thw Headstage 12HE 4G to use in my portable setup for these two headphones or will the Fiio E11 or E17 good enough for booth headphones.


----------



## xStreame

Quote: 





scratchy said:


> I can testify that apming these cans greatly increased my enjoyment levels... Infact, before i bought my dac/amp (fiio E17) i found the sound a tad dull and unexciting. Sure in ipod CAN power them, but i found the sound SO much better after i bought the amp. the E17 is also a good choice as it has the bass controll. i leave mine at +2 just to give it that extra bit of oomph.
> 
> Just my 2 cents but i highly recomend the Fiio E17. It made listening so much more enjoyable. you wont regret it


 
  Having the same setup, I agree that the k550 does benefit well from the E17. 
   
  I am looking forward to adding a desktop amp to add even more liveliness to these cans, though with a small budget. I will still be using the E17 as a DAC. I am looking at the Bravo audio v2 tube amp. 
  Any impressions/experiences with this setup?


----------

