Big noob here. I recently came into possession of a Sennheiser HD660S and a Shure SM7B and need help with a DAC+Amp / pre-amp / audio interface setup into my desktop PC. After reading these forums and watching various videos for approximately 6 hours the most I’ve gathered is that balanced XLR options would be preferred given the equipment and that likely a tube amp would take the most advantage of the Sennheiser(?) If so, what would be the simplest/cleanest interface setup for me without compromising the maximum potential quality of output to the monitors and keeping their neutral (albeit possibly slightly-warm-if-via-tube) sound? I’ve seen the majority of DAC+Amp pairings here come out to ~240 USD and an example Focusrite Scarlett Solo being ~110 USD. It would be nice to keep the budget around that total of 250-550, I just have no clue which ones to look at and whether an all-in-one would be possible or if separate mix-and-matching would be beneficial (I assume it’s the latter). I’ve also read on numerous reviews of the Shure that it is recommended to pair with this Cloudlifter. Any thoughts?
So the sm7b is a gain hog and is pretty demanding when it comes to your interface. You can get by with a cloudlifter + scarlett, but personally I would suggest something like a dbx 286s and an audient id4 as a minimum to really take advantage of what that mic has to offer (no cloudlifter needed here)
Regarding the amp for the senn, you can then use the dac in the audient and send it out to a nice headphone amp like a schiit asgard 3 or lake people g103-s (the asgard is warmer smoother more full bodied while the 103s is more studio neutral but with a bit of added warmth and both match the sennheiser pretty well imo)
Hey M0N, thanks for the swift response, I saw you on most of the threads I’ve researched!
So for the headphone amp are we not looking for a balanced XLR output? I thought it was recommended to swap out the cable the senns came with with such.
Personally a balanced headphone amp really isn’t going to change much, the headphone doesn’t care about if it’s running balanced or not, and a single ended headphone amp can preform equally as well as a balanced one, so no worries there imo
The general rule is, if you have a balanced/differential amp, you want to plug in via XLR, and if you don’t, don’t worry about it.
There is no inherent advantage for differential designs, especially at lower price levels.
Is this just marketing jargon then? Not sure how to make use of the 4.4mm balanced connector… unless you’re suggesting that a balanced headphone amp is significantly more expensive. I don’t mind widening the sound stage and I certainly don’t mind clearer separation (if that is a legit claim) seeing as I’ve read here many times that the hd660s has a pretty intimate stage.
It all depends on your amp, just having balanced will not do these things, the quality of the amp will dictate these aspects, which aren’t reliant on balanced. But yes that is pretty much marketing jargon
These claims most likely come from comparing the balanced out to a single ended out on a balanced amp (an amp that is balanced but also has a single ended output for compatibility). In that case this would be true because the single ended output on a balanced amp generally doesn’t sound as good as the balanced output (because the amp is designed to be used balanced not single ended so the amp is optimized for balanced performance). So for example if you get something like a monolith liquid platinum, if you use the balanced out on it, it sounds better than the single ended out of the same amp. But if you only have a single ended amp like let’s say a rupert neve rnhp, this isn’t a concern do nothing to worry about as they designed the amp to preform with its only output which is single ended. Balanced is a design choice and having it doesn’t inherently make the amp better than one that isn’t balanced
If you really wanted to get a balanced amp that goes well with the 660s, the aforementioned monolith liquid platinum does pair well with the 660s and is a more width focused amp. But really it all depends since that would def go past your budget and might make less sense. The reason why I mentioned the asgard 3 and the g103s is because imo they offer solid value for sound and also have wider stage and good detail while sounding organic which is pretty nice. The hd660s isn’t the widest so while you can make it wider it’s not going to really massively increase it’s stage width no matter what amp you put it on, but stuff like the liquid plat, asgard 3, and g103 can help
Gotcha yeah that headphone amp costs as much as the whole setup we’re planning right now but I’ll keep that in mind for future upgrades. Thank you for the explanation! Now I just need a little help with grabbing all the cables I need because the outs and ins on both sides of the Audient iD4 are a bit confusing to me and I haven’t a clue how best to connect the DAC to my PC - Or does everything communicate through the USB 2.0 (hence DAC)?
This is what I have so far but it may likely be incorrect:
The Shure SM7B mic XLR recording goes to the XLR mic input on the back of the dbx 286s.
A 1/4" TRS goes from the output on the back of the dbx 286s to the 1/4" TRS D.I on the front of the Audient iD4.
USB 2.0 from the back of the Audient iD4 goes to my PC.
2x 1/4" TRS’s go from the stereo L-R output on the back of the Audient iD4 to the stereo L-R inputs on the back of the Lake People G103-S.
The Sennheiser HD 660S cable plugs into one of the 1/4" TRS outputs on the front of the Lake People G103-S.
Ah yes, I misread the description, the stereo inputs on the rear panel of the g103s are RCA. Much thanks! I’ll let you know how everything is once I’ve received the hardware!
Reposting the corrected list below for reference sake:
The Shure SM7B mic XLR recording goes to the XLR mic input on the back of the dbx 286s.
A 1/4" TRS goes from the output on the back of the dbx 286s to the 1/4" TRS D.I on the front of the Audient iD4.
USB 2.0 from the back of the Audient iD4 goes to my PC.
A pair of 1/4" TRS-to-RCA male to go from the stereo L-R output on the back of the Audient iD4 to the stereo L-R inputs on the back of the Lake People G103-S.
The Sennheiser HD 660S cable plugs into one of the 1/4" TRS outputs on the front of the Lake People G103-S.
As in the female XLR port is housing a 1/4" insert in the center? Double-checked the documentation and if I’m interpreting that correctly that’s awesome.
