Using DAC and/or AMP on portables Bang&Olufsen H9 and Beolit15 ? Is it worth the effort ??

[amaleksix]

Hello all, well these two are usually linked to a mac or iphone, via BT however, both do have a 3.5 m line-in jack. I could've lived with their little downsides (H9 lacks volume/ Beolit lacks esprit) until, I found your thread here and also this Audirvana software came across my eyes. eversince kind-of caouldn 't stop believing that there actually might be a cure for their "bottleneck" deseases but still this app is not really handy nor easy to understand. Also of no use when using a phone as audio-source. So I came to the conlusion that all that hassle of sampling and tweaking around in the end always would lead to nothing but naught as the signal I produced is being transmitted via digital bluetooth connection. On wirerd link the programm would recorgize the final devices. All the IT- hassle with "Audivirna" of tweaking, upsampling, converting my entire library and who knows what else will end up as a gigantic waste of time at the gates of bluetooth ... Both devices support aptx and have a 3,5 jack line-in. Whereas the headphones would continue working without active noise canceling on the 3.5 jack even with empty battery, but the speaker has to have either battery power or a direct cable to a wallplug. Reading all these super helpfull threads here, I ended up believing in the thesis that both seem have a built-in amp(H9 must be a very weak one though), but I am not sure wether only one of them, or both have a built-in DAC. I strongly suspect at least one of them would benefit a lot from an external DAC. Afterall I'm afraid I still cannot determine wether they really do or don,'t .. Also what type would they the need? Combo of Amp/ Dac, or Dac only? what type would you guys suggest? Is it worth the effort ? High What can I and what can I not expect ? Also I don't want to fry their electronics first-handedly lol.. I would really appreciate if some of you guys could set some light on my path here, guys ! Cheers and thank you !

 

[americanaudiophile]

BT headphones all have a built in bluetooth digital receiver, DAC and amp. Noise cancelling adds more digital processing.
Bluetooth itself is a bottleneck. The quality of the built in DAC/Amp is limiting too since it has to be very small, battery powered, and not cost a fortune.
Do you find that your headphones sound better when wired to your phone or PC?
If you don't notice any difference then that could be due to the headphone or file quality.
Do you use high res audio files or mp3s? Mp3 are limited too although the difference does depend on the quality of the recording and type of music. A better DAC won't help much on mp3. If you use lossless or higher files then it would improve the sound quality. A headphone amp won't make as much difference unless you headphones are hard to drive.
I suggest you post your questions on head-fi.org. Lots of headphone listeners there that will have more specific info on those particular headphones and what will work best with them.

 

[amaleksix]

BT headphones all have a built in bluetooth digital receiver, DAC and amp. Noise cancelling adds more digital processing.
Bluetooth itself is a bottleneck. The quality of the built in DAC/Amp is limiting too since it has to be very small, battery powered, and not cost a fortune.
Do you find that your headphones sound better when wired to your phone or PC?
If you don't notice any difference then that could be due to the headphone or file quality.
Do you use high res audio files or mp3s? Mp3 are limited too although the difference does depend on the quality of the recording and type of music. A better DAC won't help much on mp3. If you use lossless or higher files then it would improve the sound quality. A headphone amp won't make as much difference unless you headphones are hard to drive.
I suggest you post your questions on head-fi.org. Lots of headphone listeners there that will have more specific info on those particular headphones and what will work best with them.

 

[amaleksix]

Hi there ! thanks for the detailed reply ! I do think they sound better when wired. in terms of the mp3, I re-imported and upsampled them with iTunes (AAC 256kbs/,44.100kHz, vbr, optimized for voice), others I bought already in this format. In near future I am planning to do a serious upgrade on the whole system though, not only the headphones but also speakers and players. once agin thank yopu very much for the tip and the quick and detailed help. Will go and check head-fi.org soon ! Cheers !