Are you getting the GSX1000 for its surround sound emulation? The one downside to the GSX1000 is its limited power output. Sennheiser specs it to support a max impedance of 150 ohms. If you wanted a more future proof amp, I’d suggest something that could output more power.
i have been thinking of doing this for my brother… he also listens to like alt rock and pop punk and similar stuff and right now he just has these playstation gold wireless headphones… upgrading him with something like DT 880s and a shit hel would be probably a great offer (he doesn’t play competitive games though, he plays MMOs and JRPGs)
I own a Schiit Hel. Good little DAC/AMP. there’s value in it being an all in one unit.
It actually came up on my computer as a Fulla 3, so I assume the DAC and internals are similar to the Fulla, but with the Heresy style AMP on it (though, not quite as powerful as the Heresy).
Drives my Sennheiser HD598cs really well, I can’t really make it passed half volume before blowing my ears off (on low gain). To be fair, the 598’s are not exactly hard to drive.
I picked it up because I wanted a high quality ADC (mic input) in the same unit, for a complete replacement for my PC’s internal DAC. Saved a few dollars on the Modi/Heresy Schiit stack I was eyeballing, plus came with the ADC I wanted, to me that was a win/win. I also didn’t require the extra headroom of the Heresy, so this is the route I went. I may end up swapping it out in a few years when my headphones start being held back by the Hel, but for the moment, for what I have, these ~3.5 year old Sennheisers sound better than they ever have.
To each their own, I’m not pushing the Hel on anyone, just offering my perspective. I’m still waiting for my ModMic in the mail (picked up the Uni - which is also one of the cheapest Modmic’s available).
So the Fulla 3, Hel, and Heresy are literally the same amplifier. The reason why the power differs is that the Fulla 3 users 2 op amps per channel cascaded for amplification, Hel uses 3 op amps, and the Heresy uses 4. Assuming the amplification circuit is isolated from the ADC the Fulla 3 SHOULD measure the cleanest but the differences will be so small that only test equipment should measure differences. Oh, mod mic with the Fulla 3 works great, I’d love to have that volume knob on the ADC.
The only other gaming DAC/amp I’d recommend is Arc Mayflower. Should sound the same but the ability to mix your own music from another source seems really cool if you’re gaming.
The fulla 3 is noticeably worse sound quality from my experience, and the top tends to lean towards the heresy imo. The hel is good but not as good as the heresy imo. The mic input on the fulla also tends to sound similar to motherboard audio so that also gives me pause personally as well.
1 Like
Well… Looks like my mother board mic input is exceptionally bad then. I have been receiving praise for the audio quality with my mod mic 5 on the Fulla 3. Now I’m curious if there is a yield issue or mid model update.