Hi!

I know there is headphone amps like fiio, but I would rather sell my currently interface, and buy a better, which have a good amp for headphones, and overall is better as my Scarlett 2i4.

So please give me some advice, I'm loking into pricerage 400 euro.

 

here just buy audio interface + amp and you even get extra money !

here audio interface (it can drive 100Q headphone)
https://aliexpress.com/item/USB-USB-DSP-48-v/32946583502.html?spm=a2g16.search0104.3.40.ddb43e1fmDLmdH&ws_ab_test=searchweb0_0,searchweb201602_5_10065_10068_319_10059_10884_317_10887_10696_100031_321_322_10084_453_10083_454_10103_10618_10307_538_537_536,searchweb201603_51,ppcSwitch_0&algo_pvid=282fe5d8-a3e7-4daf-a1e9-16acb93cb5a3&algo_expid=282fe5d8-a3e7-4daf-a1e9-16acb93cb5a3-6

here headphone amp
https://www.aliexpress.com/wholesale?catId=0&initiative_id=&SearchText=headphone+amp

and here the best DIY headphone amp can drive 600Q headphone
https://bottlehead.com

 

Last edited: Dec 15, 2018

smoker ernst is a chinese dude...cool interfacenever saw similar.. crazy they give a fck on english labeling..

EDIT i found the interface with english letters
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/USB..._expid=282fe5d8-a3e7-4daf-a1e9-16acb93cb5a3-6

 

Last edited: Dec 15, 2018

If you record your stuff take a look at the audient interfaces. Great hardware, ok driver and performance. I have an Id 22 in my bedroom as a DA converter to listen to music. And I am very impressed by the headphone amp. It is better or let's say louder than my mobile rig which is a babyface pro. In my studio, I use a real bargain which is a behringer monitorusb 2. This thing is some kind of clone of the spl headphone amps - Monitor controllers. This is the best Behringer product in terms of build quality/price I ever touched. Feels and looks like a much higher priced product. The built-in DA sucks but the headphone amp is really loud, the crossfeed feature is usable and sounds as good or bad as any other crossfeed solution I heard.

 

Last edited by a moderator: Dec 15, 2018

they will send you English product , you just need to tell him everything before you buy in the massage box !
because you need to tell him which electric plug socket you are using ER/US/...etc (the plug which you connect to electrcity)

buying today label product is tons of money. in china factories you buy it cheep as possible as can and I can tell you
it sounds amazing all the product which I buying from them I happy more then any label products I buy in my life !

btw my friend got this audio interface it sounds amazing ! I hate usb audio interface but this one is amazing

 

What's the lowest lateny ld 22 can go? How does it compare to babyface?

 

Did not record anything with the audient. Bought it used, as a cheap da converter. I wanted to compare it to the babyface right after I bought it. But this ended as a test that everything works only. To be honest, I installed the driver, started a daw and had right at the start a driver problem. The daw did not release the driver properly, no YouTube or any other audio while the daw was running in the background. As a long time RME user, I'm not used to such problems at all. So I only checked the preamps, all in and outs. That's it. A friend of mine that used the legacy babyface and uses the ID 22 now uses it with a rme PCI card with smux adat. He says it's a lot worse in latency and performance compared to the babyface one with the usb connection. But it sounds nice and has better preamps. And I used the legacy babyface and at the moment the pro. There is a really big improvement in latency between this two generations. My pro runs stable with a rtl of <3 ms (I use it live) 96khz while the legacy was I something something around 4 ms stable.

It is sad that we audio people have to praise a company like RME not for making the best product, we praise RME for making a working product.
Imagine this in other industries. "Hey I bought a new car. You won't believe it I can use it on the Highway! The engine did work just like they said! And the brakes also worked without a problem! Unbelievable great product!"

 

Last edited by a moderator: Dec 15, 2018

i would walk into a music shop and try audio interfaces.

 

comment of the decade....

i guess its virtual product thats why

calm down rambo

 

Last edited: Dec 15, 2018

Yeah, after having RME, that YouTube thing is a show stopper for sure. I love my RME but would love a bit stronger headphones amp so looking what's new on the market.

Thank you for your response man, really appreciate it!

 

Have you any experience with the Clarett 2Pre interface, Apogee Duet 2?

 

better see it parted...headphone amp 1 thing interface another thing...

hq sls approved
https://www.project-audio.com/en/product/pre-box-s2-digital/

but dont underestimate aliexpress (hate to say it), always check comments and rating ...if there are 1-2 negative rating its good...means no fraud and mostly they come from noobs

 

Last edited: Dec 15, 2018

@wasgedn, I paid 598€ for new babyface (ups shipping and everything inc..). Edit: to answer your Q on superliquid thread ;))

Funny story, I was chasing the audient since iD44 was announced. This is my third, "beach house" setup ..;) and like the OP did not want to spend more than 400€. I wasn't going for 44.. but for iD14 or 22, thinking the prices will drop a bit and esp. for the new low latency drivers they promised. Then the release date was postponed and I wasn't really happy with the information audient was throwing out, like:

"The Converters on the iD44 aren't Burr Browns as you mentioned. After a lot of late nights here in office conducting listening tests, we found a great combo of other converters which sound great and improve on the sound of iD22.."

Oh, so the Burr Browns conv. (one of the main audient selling points!) aren't that great anymore?! Then the 44 came out, the drivers were nothing to write home about (and I think the reason for the delay..). The update was more stable, but it even added to the round trip latency, esp on 22.

It was then that I realized - either I get myself something 700+, or take something like 2i4,6i6 or even a behringer.. so I decided to take the RME, if it ever drops to ~600.. was checking the idealo.de on black friday at 3AM and saw that price (/w coupon). When I woke up the offer wasn't there anymore. Fortunately I bookmarked the shop, the offer was still valid and so I got my baby in 2 days via ups.

That is the simple TRUTH behind all of it. You couldn't put it better!

BTW, "Inputs can be used from an unlimited number of WDM and ASIO software at the same time, as the driver simply sends the data to all applications simultaneously. RME's sophisticated tool DIGICheck operates like an ASIO host, using a special technique to access playback channels directly. Therefore DIGICheck is able to analyse and display play-back data from any software, no matter which format it uses."

Things like this, the speed (for round-trip-latency junkies, like me.., the TotalMix control SW /w all the routing capabilities is what make this an ALU brick with so much clever engineering under the hood. You are up and running from the first day, and then you only discover new features, that you didn't even know about. 600€ was quite a lot for me atm, because I have to build a new pc also.. but so is 400€, especially if you get a headache along for free..

Agree. To be fair (and to get back on topic;), Babyface lacks 2 separately controlled headphone outputs. There are 2 HQ output jacks, though. I didn't track anyone yet, but when/if necessary I'll probably get myself an amp..

 

Last edited: Dec 16, 2018

sls meant the headphone amp makes stuff audible which he never heard so it seem great for mixxing...
i will try cheap behringer headphone amp but the review are good...nowadays many behringer output seem to be hq like in w-germany days

not addressed to you but motu interfaces are well overseen i have feeling...

 

Sry @wasgedn I didn't notice the link in your post before.. If I get it right that amp is really a hi-end DA.. surely suitable for super-mixing.

With HQ "standard" I/O interface I would use just the (integrated) headphones OUT for mixing. I will probably need the additional amp with multiple outputs to have separate control of the volume on the phones for me and let's say my friend, when tracking guitar.. in which case the sound quality is not that important.

As I can see the AKG Q701 are 62 ohms.. AFAIK any decent interface should blow your head off at this impedance. Scarlett has +9 dBu - a bit weak. But the problems should be noticeable above 300Ω. Well it all depends on available and desired volume..

RTL (from Gearslutz utility calculated) Buffer - 64, iD22 - 8.295 (a bit slower /w 4.xx driver), Babyface - 5.578
these are 44.1k Win7 numbers, depend on driver, comp aso.. you can read everything at GS 100 pages long debate.. but the relative roundtrip is about there

 

Last edited: Dec 16, 2018

andrew says its to high claimed ...to high price....but sls did really like it...

but isnt the secret of headphone amp to hear more when working on low volume level..?
dunno...maybe also through transformers i dunno im such a n(.)(.)b

 

Last edited: Dec 16, 2018

Well, here you got me.. I may be completely wrong but my logic is this: my headphones output already has an amplifier behind (I think) and let's suppose it's super hi-fi. Is it a good idea to put another amp (also super hi-fi) after that one..? Would any hi-fi maniac put 2 high-end amps in series..?

What you are talking about is a DA converter/amp of highest quality. Exceptional for mixing/mastering.. I'm not good at either and my ears are not of a 15y old anymore.;)) What I'm talking about is just a "splitter" for tracking duties, so anyone can adjust the volume as they please..

 

check out the behringer for that price a must i would say....
https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias=aps&field-keywords=Behringer+MICROAMP+HA400

bout amp after amp...you right i bet but when gained right it should work
EDIT or just find out the specs of youre headphone out

 

A headphone splitter is a device that allows two people to listen to the same audio source using their headphones.

This can be useful when you want to share music or audio with a friend without disturbing others around you.

Headphone splitters are also sometimes used to connect a single pair of headphones to two different devices, such as a computer and a TV.

This can be useful for sharing music with a friend or watching a movie together. Headphone splitters are usually very affordable and easy to use.