Is my motherboard audio solution good enough as a temporary solution?

not a good idea trying to use the 6xx on the motherboard… but works fine for the 6xx… personally, I would say I am more of a fan of like the ifi amps for something such as 6xx or tube amps… but geshelli works well enough

incorrect as this depends on the audio codec… the higher grade ones such as from asus are rated up to 600 ohms… while they struggle at 600 ohms they power anything underneath that quite well enough to not need the amp… granted the amp will definitely provide more headroom and a better sound.

For shits and giggles I plugged into my DT 880 600 ohms plugged into my Asus x570 Tuf Pro. Completely maxed volume out, it’s not loud. Less bass and the rest of the FR sounds grainy, less clear. They sound much, much better in my A90. Can you run high impedance cans on onboard audio. Sure. Is it a good idea? Not if you want to do them justice.

thats the 1200a audio codec from asus… not the 1220a which is rated for the 600 ohms.

Interesting. If you can keep EMI under control (e.g. I’ve never seen a shielded front audio cable, “HD” on board audio has been shit on every computer I’ve used in the last 25 years), that could work then. Still sounds like a bad idea if good, clean audio is what we’re pursuing.

I can agree on that, I did say that earlier that you will definitely gain better sound quality and headroom out of using an amp… ampless is good for headphones without much on the scaling if the motherboard can drive them… 58x Jubilee comes to mind… it responds well to an amp yeah but not by too much… I use them from my phone even which is nice.

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Well, I don’t mind going ampless for a little while. I think I’m gonna pull the trigger on it

Less you have the current highest grade audio codec on your board, mentioned it earlier, your almost guaranteed to not be able to run 6xx ampless. Wont hurt to try if you are okay with grabbing an amp later though

I have the SupremeFX S1220A right now

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Wow! It’s been a while. Just had a follow up question. If i can get the HD660S for 200, that’s definitely something i should get?

lol i’d say yes… I’d also save my money and play around with the SupremeFX S1220A.
You can always upgrade amp/dac later down the rabbit hole. It sure is enough power & decent sound for a start.

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thank you! much love and appreciated!

Happy Lunar New Year!

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Follow up question, is the DAC/AMP in this thread still suitable for the HD660S?

And are there any mods that I should do on the 660S?

Probably, just gotta check for balanced/single ended. Geshelli is balanced only afaik.

Dunno, I can just tell you that getting them for 200 is a bargain. Even for second hand standards.

Woo sorry I just now saw this lol.

200bucks for a 660s is a very good deal I love that headphone.

I take it by amp you mean the geshelli? Yea they should be strong enough…

I was looking at the JDS Element II, could probably snag a used one for 250-300, what do you think?

I don’t recommend any combo unit past $150 as you can just get two dedicated units and get more out of them

For sure, I’ll stick with the Geshelli Dac and AMP originally.

Only thing is to buy some cables from Hart Cables and I think I am set!