Every element of your signal chain matters if you’re seeking the best sound possible from your headphone rig. From your over-ear headphones to the quality of your music source (streaming, high-res audio files, and so on), each piece has an impact on your listening experience. While investing in a top-class set of headphones should sit at the top of every aspiring audiophile’s to-do list, peripheral gear such as external amplifiers and DACs has the potential to take your listening to the next level.
- What Is a DAC?
- Do DACs Improve Headphone Sound Quality?
- What Is a Headphone Amp?
- Is an Amplifier Necessary for High-end Headphones?
- Is Investing in a DAC or a Headphone Amplifier Worth It for Me?
What Is a DAC?
DAC stands for “digital-to-analog converter,” and it’s a core component of just about every digital music playback device you’ve ever encountered. What makes a DAC so vital?
Unless you’re spinning vinyl records or listening to cassette tapes, the music you listen to every day is digital, which means it’s stored and transmitted as binary data — ones and zeros. Digital music allows us to explore, share, and enjoy music in ways that our analog ancestors could have only dreamed of, and every time you stream a song or play a file, you’re benefitting from the advancements of digital music.
However, for all our innovation in the digital world, headphones are still very much analog devices, and they require an analog input signal to make sound. So, how do the ones and zeros of your digital music files and streamed songs get converted into an analog signal to drive your headphones? That’s the job of a DAC.
Do DACs Improve Headphone Sound Quality?
Your smartphone, computer, audio interface, and every other device you use to play digital music already features a DAC, and most modern DACs perform well for most listening applications. However, there are certain situations where upgrading your DAC makes sense.
For instance, a listener seeking high-quality sound from their headphone rig may want to pursue ultra-high-resolution audio — formats such as DSD (Direct Stream Digital) are championed by audiophiles around the world for their unrivaled fidelity. However, not every DAC is created equal, and you’ll likely need to invest in an external DAC to make the most of DSD and other high-res formats.
What’s more, while it’s certainly less common now, your listening device may feature a less-than-stellar DAC that introduces noise. In this scenario, investing in a quality external DAC is a no-brainer since you can bypass the stock DAC in your device.
What Is a Headphone Amp?
Once your digital source has been converted to analog, it’s necessary to amplify that signal to a level that is adequate to drive your headphones — this is the job of your headphone amplifier. In fact, amplifiers are even more prevalent than DACs, as every device you’ve ever used to listen to music — digital and analog — sports an amplifier in its circuit. However, when serious listeners refer to a “headphone amplifier,” they’re referring to an external device with far more wattage on tap than a built-in amp.
Is an Amplifier Necessary for High-end Headphones?
Whether you need a dedicated amplifier largely depends on the headphones you’re using. In this regard, the most important spec to consider is impedance.
Measured in ohms (Ω), impedance represents resistance to electrical current — in practical terms, the higher the impedance of a pair of headphones, the more power that will be required to perform optimally. Plug a pair of high-impedance (roughly 100 ohms or more) headphones straight into a laptop or a smartphone, and there’s a strong chance that you won’t be able to turn them up to a comfortable listening level without maxing the device’s gain.
Pairing your power-hungry high-impedance headphones with a quality amplifier not only solves your volume issues but also allows you to run your amp at more modest levels. Pushing any amplifier to its limits to achieve a desirable listening level can result in distortion, loss of dynamic range, and other unwanted aberrations.
Is Investing in a DAC or a Headphone Amplifier Worth It for Me?
Whether it’s worth investing in an external DAC or amplifier very much depends on the gear you use. If you have a set of high-impedance headphones in your sights, then a powerful headphone amplifier is a must. Similarly, a top-shelf outboard DAC can be a boon to those diving into the world of DSD and other high-resolution formats.
Luckily, many modern DACs and amplifiers come paired together as a single system, and Sweetwater carries a slew of them! These comprehensive devices also greatly expand the connectivity of your setup — an important quality as phones, laptops, and other playback devices continue to cut out headphone jacks — and they enable you to utilize balanced connections.
While Sweetwater carries plenty of gear for your stationary home setup, ultra-portable amps and DACs are becoming ever more popular for listeners who require high-fidelity sound on the go.
Sweetwater Is Your Hi-fi Hub
Need help choosing a new set of cans or the perfect amp/DAC combo to go with your setup? Make sure to give your personal Sweetwater Sales Engineer a call at (800) 222-4700 for industry-leading expert advice on getting the best possible sound from your headphone rig!
