How good is the DAC on a Onkyo 605 amp?

[bobsmaginty]

Hi,

Had a pair of Shen 650s for christmas and i use them through my Onkyo 605 amp, is the DAC inside any good?

I also use them with my old but trusty Pioneer SE-DIR800C for 5.1 for movies, Xbox 360 and my PS3. Fantastic quality.


These headphones have changed the way i listen to music, i would have never have known there was so much extra detail to all my cds. It is honestly like listening to brand new music!

[bobsmaginty]

[bobsmaginty]

Ok so hears a more general question..

Are the DACS in mid range amps such as Onkyos comparable to starter headphone amps?

[LFC_SL]

I suspect you are not getting an answer because I surmise that a fair few people use a dedicated headphone amp rather than a receiver

Receivers primarily driver speakers... have many inputs/outputs and have adjustments like treble, mids and bass

Headphone amps are normally class a whereas receivers are class ab
Electronic amplifier - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (apologies for using wikipedia)

That is not to say a receiver cannot drive headphones well. You can get good and bad in anything. How do you find the output of your Onkyo with the HD650? If you feel it is good maybe you can hold back on the idea of a dedicated amp

[bobsmaginty]

Thanks for replying

I love the sound of the HD650s with my Onkyo 605, never thought i would ever hear so much new detail in my Cd collection.

Even my new 120gb Ipod Classic with 320kbps VBR mp3s sound fantastic!

Maybe what i am really asking is that now i have scratched the surface of high end headphone listening, where will it take me