Interesting replies, I am trying not to convince myself and stay open to all of your suggestions and ideas. thanks for it!

Wouldnt a standalone amp be wasted money, only marginal benefit or possibly overkill for the Sennheiser HD490 Pro Plus? The Clarett+ supposedly is a perfect match for this headphone with more than enough "juice" in the headphone amp for accurate low noise clean translation. This is why im thinking this way, but again I cant test this stuff here so im just trying to learn as much as I can to make the best informed decision for building the ideal setup for my budget and for long term use.

BTW someone said headphones are bad for ears, yes I know and do not ever wear headphones outside of my studio space, not for casual listening, gaming, mobile phone etc. When travelling obviously yes, they will get long hours of use, but when home, only used sparingly to "check mix" mostly at low volume, but of course occasionally loud, because the new monitors will be mostly used for everything above 50khz work.

Yes, I have analog hardware synths and processing I do mostly use during tracking stage. I am just trying to get the best setup I can afford, arent we all


Anyway back to my dilemma. When I compare the KA6m1 interface vs Clarett+, the Focusrite interface appears to be significantly better in all aspects and is supposed to be mastering grade quality conversion among other things it offers for tracking analog gear, vocals etc. I cant find anything with similar specs, reviews and reputation in the same price, so it seems like the winner IF I buy an interface as opposed to keep the KA6m1 + amp + new monitors.

But then while the KA6m1 has and still is good for what it does and I wont retire it completely, I can still use it for mobile use, backup interface, tracking hardware etc., the reason dont think I should keep as my main interface is the conversion quality not being up to todays standard for mixing and mastering and it will create a "bottleneck" type of problem in my studio setup because even with dedicated amp, new headphones and killer speakers, the sound quality will only ever be as good as the interface conversion, just the same sound and "noise" amplified to a louder degree. If my thought makes sense.

All these options and choices and prices and opinions, this is making me a little scatterbrain crazy lol but in a good way for sure


Does anybody here use Clarett+? Dynaudio monitors? It might add some additional perspectives.

 

Slate VSX all day

 

As much as I hate to do it and havent yet, I asked ai for opinions about it

Spoiler: Why buying both is redundant ;)

It is definitely overkill for most home studios, especially since you are producing EDM/House rather than doing high-end orchestral mastering. Buying both means you are paying for two high-end DACs (Digital-to-Analog Converters) when you only need one "brain" for your studio.
The Focusrite Clarett+ 2Pre is the smarter, more "pro-studio" investment because it handles your monitors, headphones, and inputs in one high-quality unit.

Why buying both is redundant

• The Clarett+ is already "Pro": The "Plus" series uses upgraded Cirrus Logic converters with 124dB dynamic range. This is already far beyond what your old KA6 could do and is more than enough to hear the fine details in Tech House or EDM. [1]
• The HD 490 Pro is efficient: Unlike older 300-ohm or 600-ohm headphones, your HD 490 Pro Plus (130 ohms) was designed to work well with modern interfaces. The Clarett+ has plenty of voltage to drive them to their full potential.
• Simplified Workflow: Using one device means one volume knob, one driver, and zero latency issues.

The "Overkill" Breakdown
Setup Total Cost (Est.) Pros Cons
Clarett+ Only ~$450 Pro inputs; great monitor control; plenty of power for HD 490s. Cons: None for your specific setup.

Topping + KA6 ~$550 Best possible headphone amp. Cons: Weak inputs; driver conflicts; bad for monitors.

Both (The "Overkill") ~$900 Theoretical 1% improvement in headphone detail. Cons: Massive waste of money; complex wiring.


My Recommendation: The "Clarett+ First" Strategy

1. Buy the Clarett+ 2Pre first. It is the most significant upgrade for your Dynaudio monitors and your hardware synths.
2. Test your HD 490s directly in the Clarett+ headphone jack.
3. The "Amp Test": If you find you are constantly at 100% volume (unlikely) or feel the bass "slams" less than you want, you can add a $100 Schiit Magni later. You do not need a $450 Topping DX5 II just to get "detail" that the Clarett+ is already providing.

 

Why would a device that (if chosen correctly) can survive any headphones and interfaces for the history of modern technology be a waste of money? What if you don't like the 490? What if your interface breaks? A Magni 2 or newer will go for $100 or lower in the second hand market and it will outlive your entire setup. A Fosi Audio ZH3 not only is an amp, but also a DAC with multiple INs and OUTs, and it's $200. I see no reason why this is a waste of money supposing it fixes your problem "forever".

Of course, that's your money and you can do whatever you want with it, but I think you just want a new interface. Rule of thumb is: any interface that is USB (common) to USB (type B or C) has garbage amplification and any interface that is USB-C to USB-C has okay amplification (like Audient ID interfaces). Any good amp will be 12v, though, so USB is out of the question if you care about mW per ohm for proper amplification.

 

I bought a cheap topping headphone amp for a planar . The difference with my Hd 650 compared to the built in USB interface headphone amp is not small . i do not have golden ears . only problem with the cheap topping is the hardware quality , in my case the headphone jack is wimpy

 

I fully agree. First time I listened to my HD58X with the Magni 2 I almost felt like synths were sucking my brains out. I never thought it would make such a difference, and even my Audient ID24 that boasts a "good" amp can't compete to a proper amp. Even when volume matched I can hear a difference.

 

I dont "just want another interface" just ffor the sake of wasting 500euro money for another shiny new interface

This is exactly my point. The Clarett+ IS 12v external power supplied AND USB C option. The KA6mk1 IS USB B only and is far inferior in every aspect, at least on paper and reviews etc

I understand what you are saying, and I suppose if I buy all this gear and the power is lacking I can always then go buy the extra amp, right? but by waste of money I mean buying 2 things to do the same thing, if it is not necessary, as explained in the previous comment I did which says for these headphones and monitors, no extra amp is needed if using the Clarett+. Keeping the KA6 and with the amp, 490 pro and Dynaudio, it is the big problem in the chain (the conversion sound quality), no? buying the world best amp coupled with the KA6 wont sound any better than the KA6 can capably sound, if it makes better sense

 

I bought a Schiit Magni and sent it back. The Topping of similar price range drives 250 ohm headphones with no problems. I've tested it vs my Motu interface going directly out from it to the Topping and it sounds the same using nice enough analog Roland cables.

The spoiler you posted is from an AI which thinks you already own Dynaudios. Tell it you are still saving up for them, and it will likely spit out a different response. If you are running a bunch of hw synths, a 2 input interface will eventually get pretty annoying..

You could always just get a Scarlett 2i2, it has a Neve 1073 preamp inside it. But yes, the convertors in your NI interface being 10 years old or so, will definitely come up short against new models and technology. The bar gets raised on convertors with almost every generation of interfaces.

 

It is 12v because of the preamps, there's only so much energy you can pass through USB. The Clarett is not terrible, I would say it's above average (since the average is so low), but at 300 ohms it's still only half of the mW per ohm than a Magni 2, a device from 2014. Still, it's most likely enough for the 490. The point is not power, but choice. With a dedicated amp, you can use whatever you want anywhere you want. "Can I" is never a problem. But like you said, you can always get one later.

I think that your worries about conversion quality and the likes are overblown. My Audient sounds the exact same as my Yamaha mixer, except for much cleaner preamps. The biggest upgrade I had were the digital in and outs, and it's understated how important ADAT is in future proofing your setup.

That said, I would never touch a Focusrite interface. I guess I'm racist towards red machines. It's hard to beat Audient and Motu in features per dollar.

 

Again this is all incorrect information.

It is 600 ohms. The KA6m1 is 100 ohms. The 12v external power applies to both the preamps and headphone amp, which when tracking hardware synths matters very little if at all and wont be used simultaneously anyway when the headphones will be used for editing, mixing and mastering. buying the extra amp not only eats 100-300euro more of my budget, but apparently wont make the audio sound quality anything noticeably better than just using the interface built in amp.

The interface has ADAT and can easily add more preamps if needed, but I prefer tracking one at a time and also have the patch bays setup anyway.

Conversion is not overblown lol. Sure maybe once you get to the high end bracket with high end speakers and headphones, it then becomes slightly different subjective flavors and audiophile craziness territory I suppose. I had the pleasure of working with Prisms and Lynx interfaces when I worked with the other producer and singer who brought them to my studio for almost 2 months of use. While the KA6 is not bad as in like so horrible sound its unusable, but comparing budget DAC with high end quality is immediately noticeable in many big ways even on low-mid end budget speakers and headphones. Honestly, from your comments here, disregarding specifications over and over, and you already admit bias, now I think you might just trolling for some reason

Anyway money is the "problem" here friend. if I had a bigger budget I would not be here asking and just buy all of it including a high end amp and then figure it all out when it gets here

 

Last edited: Jul 2, 2026 at 4:08 AM

I don't know what you're talking about, half of the stuff you say I got wrong are things that I weren't saying at all lmao

All I said is that at 300 ohms, the Clarett only outputs half of what an external amp using the same power supply would. Of course the 12v powers the headphones, it makes no sense to power it through USB when it's already connected to an outlet. The issue is the discrete amplification circuit.

On the topic of ADAT, the Clarett only has ADAT inputs. No outputs on the pictures I see on Google. ADAT in is good, though, but the outs once you want it, they won't be there. The digital out on my Audient goes into my Fosi Audio ZH3. That means I have 2 balanced outs and 4 headphones outputs working simultaneously. The number goes up if I switch two of these headphones into XLR/RCA outs on the Fosi. Either way, that's just a tangent. I'm not disputing anything you said, the Clarett has ADAT in, we both said it, but I meant the out as well.

On the topic of conversion, if we're talking about digital to analog conversion, all Class AB circuits will sound the same and will clip the same. That changes if it has transformers that clip before the conversion, but I only remember one interface that has it and it's subtle at best. All interfaces in the market will either have a Cirrus Logic (most common), ESS (somewhat rare) or an AKM (somewhat common). I have all three and I wouldn't bet any money on audible differences in the conversion. Same goes for the ADC.

I mean, I'm definitely not trolling. Never even stepped on this forum for that reason. I think you're either misunderstanding what I'm saying, and also mixing a tiny bit of audio magic into it. You can test your conversion by doing a loopback test, if you can't notice a difference after ten conversions, I doubt the difference is anything more than psychological.

 

and you are incorrect again. The Clarett+ is not "at" 300 ohms it is "at" 600 ohms! You said it must be 12v or USB C to C implying it isnt when it is both 12v and USB C to C option and you said its 12v because of the preamps implying not the headphone amp which it does apply to both of those! You said it needs ADAT for future proof, implying it doesnt have the option when it does have ADAT! You said you think I only want a new interface when all I have said is want mixing and mastering quality and the perfect matching interface for the headphones whatever the equipment brand is bought!

It has everything you said it needs for these headphones and speakers but still you insisted and keep implying it is not up to spec or good enough and buying a amp is crucial when all indications say otherwise and its a waste of money that I can use towards the monitors I buy.

But thats ok I will prevail. Thankss for the confirmations!