Hey guys!
So lately I’ve been tinkering with the idea of leveling up my listening experience, while knowing my budget is pretty limited.
Currently I have a pair of Sennheiser HD 280 Pro. I also have a Plantronics BackBeat 2 Pro which I use on Bluetooth (they support AptX). My phone is a Galaxy S20.
I connect the Sennheiser HD 280 Pro via the official Samsung Galaxy USB-C dongle, and when I compare FLAC files vs. Spotify (at its highest quality) I can’t tell any difference.
I was wondering if getting a DAC, let’s say the FiiO BTR3K / BTR5, will improve the quality of the music, especially when playing FLAC files. Also, I’m not sure if jumping from AptX to LDAC is also significant.
I’m worried that I just won’t be able to hear the difference, or it will be to minor, and don’t want to throw money away on a DAC.
Would love to hear your thoughts! Should I expect a significant improvement using a DAC / jumping to LDAC? maybe my 280 Pros aren’t good enough anyways to tell the difference? What would you do? 
Thanks!
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Chances are you won’t notice a difference at first. A lot of things in this hobby are kind of abstract and hard to fully understand untill you have personally experienced them. I only recently actually noticed and understood the difference between one amp and another, and that took about 2 years, 4 different headphones (2 of which cost $400+), and 4 different amps to finally get it.
My point is, yes, DAC/amps do make a difference, but it might not be worth your time or money if you are not going to go farther in this hobby.
The same goes for flac VS mp3/Spotify or aptX VS LDAC. there is a difference, but it is not obvious.
If you want to try a DAC/amp, something like the xduoo link2 or fiio btr5 are both good options. I would also recommend looking at the xduoo xd-05 basic. It is much more powerful than the other two and sounds very good imo. It is also much better for use at a desk if you want and you get a Bluetooth module for it if you want. Also, if you do decide to get higher end headphones, the xd-05 will be able to handle more headphones better than the other two imo.
P.S. welcome to the forum!
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280 Pros are known to scale reasonably well with equipment so you’ll likely hear a sound quality difference going with a BTR5/3K.
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That being said the biggest change in sound will always come from the headphones you’re using. So if you notice a lack of some aspect of the sound jumping from a dongle dac to one of the Fiio you suggested may not “change” the sound as much as you want, even if it does improve it slightly.
You can always try something out from retailers that’ll refund you no promlem, like amazon.
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Haven’t tried the new version (apparently better), If it’s the old hd280 pros, I can assure you it’s the problem. Prepare to be shocked if you get better headphones. I can’t believe how good even mp3s can sound with better headphones… I didn’t knew it was possible to have that much “information” in, like, 4mb’s mp3 files.
Also, I made this mistake too: You don’t upgrade to “hear the difference between file types”. With a good upgrade, everything sounds better.
Otherwise, I was like you, thought I’d hear no difference at all between my phone, my AVR, and a 100$ smsl sanskrit 10th dac… until I got it.
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the question is, if your budget will stay limited over time or not. If you want to get more into the game, you could by a DAC/AMP and just find out, if you hear a difference with the 280 pros or not. If so, might have been worth it. But if not, you then have two options: 1. return/sell the DAC/AMP or 2. upgrade your headphones some time later on, because you already have a DAC/AMP that a better headphone will shine on. The question is, if you are willing to spend this much long-term. If not, i would rather upgrade the HP itself but make sure you get a model with a low impedance so that your Samsung dongle can actually drive them and give you enough volume.
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If you get a fiio I heavily recommend the btr5 over the 3, it has superior sound quality.
Also you will absolutely notice the difference, I have tested with some non audiophile friends and everyone could tell the fiio sounded better, even on cheap speakers.
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