Source
r/headphones•
DoctorLoveMachine

[Help Request] Philips X2HR sound significantly worse through my pc than my phone. should i look into affordable amp/dac?

Discussion

I love my Philips X2HR headphones, but i've always felt in terms of volume they were quite low.

I've had them for 6 months and just rolled with it.

But today i plugged them into my galaxy s10 and they are absolutely perfect sounding.

Tried back in pc and yep....very noticeable difference in terms of loudness at highest volume.

Any tips?

Thanks

Posted Jun 16, 2020, 9:48 PM UTC

416
nhatlam96SMSL 10th MK II -> SMSL SP200 -> Focal Elegia•

Get something like a Fiio E10k, that would be a good match up in terms of price and performance

5
raistlin65Focal Elear & Elegia, Senn HD660S & HD-1•

Check out the Tempotec Sonata HD Pro dongle reviews. Sells for $40 on Amazon (when in stock) and AliExpress. Gets louder and has better sound than my S9 plus phone.

https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/tempotec-sonata-hd-pro.24181

I can confirm the reviews. Sounds just as good as my $250 desktop amp/DAC stack with my Focal Elear and Sennheiser HD660S headphones. It will work with your PC.

3
Skystalker512MH752, soon a DT880BSE•

Motherboard?

1
DoctorLoveMachineOP•

Yeah buddy. It's the front headphone jack I use.

I've tried the back audio jack and it's the same

1
Skystalker512MH752, soon a DT880BSE•

No, I asked what motherboard does your PC have. If it’s an outdated and/or bad one, it most likely had bad on-bord audio causing your problems.

1
DoctorLoveMachineOP•

Oh it's a socket lga1150, gigabyte h81n.

Quite old. But it sounds fine ...it's just the headphones are considerably quiter

2
Skystalker512MH752, soon a DT880BSE•

And that’s because your on-board is outdated. Get a proper amp.

1
Raimei-TemplarGrado GH4/DT880 600ohm-Schiit Asgard 3/Modius•

Yep, motherboard audio is crap, you have a old board I see but new ones aren't amazing either. Those old motherboards put almost no power and have enormous output impedance. Get yourself a nice amp at the very least and seriously consider a dac as well.

1
Degru404LE,001mk2,moddedLCD2C,moddedCD900ST,isine10•

Yep, cheapest solution would be a apple usbc dongle and USB a to c adapter if you don't have USBC ports. There is also stuff like fiio k1 that sounds fine and connects via a micro USB cable if you prefer something that can reach to your desk.

The Philips are easy to drive so getting a better source wouldn't make much sense until you plan to upgrade your cans too.

1
xcore111•

i have the same headphone. the different between onboard to dac/amp was huge on my board with realtek audio. i had the fiio k5pro and the sb x3 for testing and i went with the x3 with focus on gaming and music.

1
iijm•

Kinda hard to believe a phone has better amp than a mobo, even a barebone one. From what I remember of the galaxy phones they come with some eq by default, might be that.

Otherwise you need a dedicated amp.

-1
WellhellobHifiman Ananda/ Topping E30/ THX 789•

No. Those flagship smartphones really sound better. Mobos doesnt even have low output impedance

6
DoctorLoveMachineOP•

Yeah I know it sounds bizarre but it is genuinely louder on my phone. It's definitely noticeable.

I have all EQ software disabled on the phone.

3
Raimei-TemplarGrado GH4/DT880 600ohm-Schiit Asgard 3/Modius•

It is really not hard to believe if you look at the measurements out there for motherboards, they are crap. Even the high end gaming boards with "real Japanese gold plated caps forged in the fires of Mount Fuji on a midsummer moon" can't put out more than 6-7mws into 32ohms. They also have insanely high output impedance which makes it even worse. The average smartphone these days is going to work much better for most headphones.

1