In the past, when it came to listening to music, it was common to listen to it at home using a vinyl or CD player and listening to it through speakers, but even if you don’t have a great level of equipment, the vinyl or CD is a lossless, high-quality source that is not compressed as much as the sound source.
(These are the ones I had when I lived in Seoul, but some of them are not great equipment, such as the speaker I bought when I was a bachelor, the Maranz set I bought when I got married, and the one I received as a gift from the company afterwards, but they are not great equipment, but they have accumulated memories, but the only ones that remain until now are the two dumbbells that you can see in the lower right corner of the photo. 😢)
When I think about the music I used to listen to at home, the sound source of the electric shaft or CD is lossless, the amplifier (Marantz) is only for music playback, and the speaker (JBL) is just so-so, the treble bass separation is good and the degree of correspondence is not bad, so I had a taste of listening to music from classical to music.
Since MP3 was introduced, compressed music has became the mainstream. Since the music card first appeared on the PC, there was development and investment in music cards at first, but at some point, music cards were integrated into the motherboard, and the quality of the music cards became mediocre to a level where there are many limitations for hi-fi music listeners.
Compared to traditional vinyl players and CD players, in today’s era where everything is done on computers and iPhones, the sound quality for listening to music is much worse.
Therefore, the question that has arisen is how to listen to music on the computer that is used all the time.
In order to appreciate music, you need to be able to deliver music of the right quality. sound source (source), 2. Amplifier (amplification or switching), 3. Speakers (headphones, earphones, etc.). There are three points.
1. Sound Recordings
When the quality of the sound source is not secured, no matter how good the amplifier or speakers are, it is meaningless.
How to easily secure high-quality sound sources on a computer that does not use CDs is 1. Save an existing CD as a lossless sound file, or 2. There is a way to subscribe to a high-quality music streaming service.
When I converted the music from the CD I actually had to a lossless file and listened to it, I found that the sound quality was the same as what I was listening to on the CD.
On a Windows PC, you can use the CD rip feature of the built-in Windows Media Player program to save music from the CD as a file. In the settings, you can choose the type of music file from mp3 (compressed format) or FLAC (lossless format). Personally, I save it in m4a, Apple’s lossless compression format, for ease of use on the iPhone, and transfer the files to the PC and iPhone. When you listen to music from these files, you’ll get better sound quality than if you listen to streaming services like Spotify. Nonetheless, I almost always listen to music on Spotify because of convenience.
There is a limit to the music that can be listened to with music files transferred from CDs, and it is inconvenient, so I ended up using a music streaming service, but now I use Spotify because of its convenience and reasonable price. Surprisingly, Korean music is also provided in abundance, so I am quite satisfied except for the occasional search for songs in English. In addition to the amount of music offered, similar types of music recommendations are quite useful, and it’s easy to save playlists and use them across devices.
In the end, even if you give up a bit of sound quality, Spotify is still a satisfying music source with its excellent convenience.
Among music streaming services, there is one that offers lossless music, and one of the most popular is Tidal. There are quite a lot of music in the collection, and the sound quality is definitely good. However, it lacks some variety including Korean music and is a bit more expensive than Spotify. After looking at the reviews of several existing users, it was determined that there was a lot of lack in terms of convenience and variety that I wanted. If you’re very sensitive to sound quality, Tidal is an alternative.
2. Amplifier.
Once you have the music source ready, it’s time to prepare the amplifier, and if the music source is Spotify, the music will play on your PC or mobile phone. An additional need is a DAC (Digital-to-analog converter) that converts the digital signal into an analog signal.
In the beginning, when sound cards were installed in PCs, there were a variety of sound cards from low-end to high-end, but at some point, they were equipped with built-in DACs that were not enough for listening to music, but were suitable for gaming and video conferences. Therefore, if you want to listen to music on your PC, a separate DAC is recommended.
This is where the deep contemplation begins. This is because there are so many options. If you’re like me and your main purpose is to use headphones, DAC or amplifier can be broadly divided into stationary and portable, and there are usually many DAC/AMP integrated types.
Some of the most recommended inexpensive introductory products include:
DAC/Amp – Portable
– Qudelix 5K US$109
It is a domestically produced product that has been praised by the Kliang community as a portable wireless mobile phone amplifier that is cost-effective. Buyer reviews from overseas have also been quite good. It’s portable, but you can also plug it into your computer’s USB port and use it as a stand-yet.
– ifi hip DAC $217
headphone amplifier, etc. The performance is reliable, but it’s a bit portable and has a short battery life.
– Little Bear B4X (Tube) $150
It is famous for its unique feature of being a portable amplifier using vacuum tubes and for its unique tone.
DAC/Amp – Desktop
– SMSL SP200 $388
Famous for its cost-effective headphone amplifiers. Although it is made in China, the quality of Chinese products in the amplifier/speaker side has improved considerably in recent years, and among products in the same price range, Chinese products are always in the top 3 in terms of cost-effectiveness.
– ifi Zen Can $ Class-A Amp
The strongest in its class. If you bite it with the Zen DAC below, it’s the best introductory spec. The Zen DAC below is used as both a DAC and an amplifier, but the reason why the Zen Can appears is because it uses a Class-A amp. To put it simply, one level makes a different sound.
– ifi Zen Dac $ DAC + Class-D Amp
If you buy a headphone amplifier, you can buy this product that combines a DAC and an amplifier.
– Shiit Magni 3 + Modi US$99 each.
If it’s not IPI, then this product. It is a product from Shiit, which is a combination of Modi, a DAC, and Magni, a headphone amplifier. Made in the USA and known for its cost-effectiveness.
After much deliberation, they chose Qudelix as the best combination of limited budget and portability.
One of the YouTube videos I was listening to was Producer DK, which reviews a lot of sound equipment, and it was a broadcast concept that compared it to the Chinese-made FiiO BTR5, and the BTR5 won completely in almost every way. There is a story that many of the patriots who used Qudelix made angry comments.
(Update 2023-02-19, as of the date of the update, Qudelix has a tremendous rating of 4.9 on Google Review and 4.7 on Amazon Review. The Producer DK review assumes the average user and doesn’t delve into the EQ controllability, which is considered by the Qudelix 5k to be the most surprising thing about it overseas. It is a pity that the products were compared without the maximum advantages of the product. The reason why it is highly rated overseas is that there is no product that can match the Qudelix 5k for mid-to-high-level users who want to adjust the EQ to the limit. Other benefits include EQ presets for hundreds of Heyphones/earphones, long battery life, a long, stable Bluetooth connection, and a Chrome Extension version of the Qudelix 5k app. )
Personally, the Qudelix 5K is the only headphone amplifier and cannot be compared to other products, but compared to listening to music without a headphone amplifier (+ DAC), the sound quality is definitely better. One of the most important things to think about is that the sound can be heard in a tight, round, and round way, which is hard to explain, but the sound becomes clear and clear.
When you listen to music with the sound quality in this way, you get a whole new taste of the music that you have listened to a lot before. People who produce music play with various instruments on the premise of high-quality sound to some extent, but if you can’t distinguish the instruments while listening to the low-sound quality, the intention of the person who produced the music is not conveyed at all. Also, when people say that a certain piece of music is good, they don’t know why it’s good.
In that respect, it has an affordable price, the strongest portability, a long battery life, and sound quality that is not bad for the price. Lastly, to the soup. I have no regrets about my choice.
As for the sound quality, there is no limit, so as long as it exceeds a certain level, I am personally satisfied.
3. Headphones
In fact, if you can invest in only one of the music sources, an amplifier, and headphones (speakers), many people would choose headphones. As such, the role of headphones in music appreciation is important.
At the level of 200~300 dollars as an entry-level headphone, 3 products are talked about in a big way.
- Sennheiser HD599 or HD560s
- The HD599 is a low-end version of the HD600, which is a representative reference headphone. Reference headphones can be accepted as the standard of headphones, but they also mean that they sound surprisingly dull and uninteresting, so many people who make music as a business use them in studios, but there are many reviews that they are not suitable for personal music appreciation. However, when I listened to the HD599 with ifi Zen Dac + Zen Can, the sound quality was definitely hi-fi for me as an ordinary person.
- The HD560s is a low-end model of the HD660s. Buy it on Amazon for AUD$299. The listening is HD599, but this is the purchase. In various reviews, the evaluation is that the 560s is better for sound sense. It is lightweight, comfortable to wear, and the sound quality is good enough. Is that why Sennheiser’s flatness is overcome a lot in the 560s? I’m glad I haven’t listened to the 660s. Satisfied is a personal feeling, so why bother letting go of the ears?
- HifiMan Sundara
Chinese-made headphones that use a flatbed head technology to express delicate sounds. Grade like HD660s. - Headphones made in Germany in the same class as the DT 990 Pro
HD599/560s, but the treble is particularly good.
According to Joshua, a leading headphone reviewer, the HD560s is the best in terms of price-performance ratio, exceeding the 660.
If you look at the recommendation for beginner headfies that start at 250,000 won, director Jang, who reviews a lot of headphones, recommends the Sennheiser HD599, which is lightweight, sturdy, and has a sound quality that can be described as listening to music from there. From this point on, even if you spend more money, the improvement in sound quality will not increase as much as you spend money. So he says that this will be enough. I can relate to that. In fact, sound quality has many subjective aspects, and it is not a world where there is no end anyway.
Combining the above two reviews, headphones in the 200,000 won range are enough for an average person to get a sense of sound. Among the headphones in the 200,000 won range, the most cost-effective is the HD560s.
conclusion
Thus, the PC-HI configuration I am currently using is 1. Source – > Spotify on your laptop or iPhone 2. The DAC and amplifier can be carried and mounted with the Qudelix 5k 3 at a time. The headphones are a combination of the HD560s, which is the best value for money for an introductory sound experience.
There are so many possible combinations in the world of pitch that it can never be said to be an absolute combination, but it can be seen as an alternative to cost-effective combinations. Maybe one day it will change one by one. In my experience, the best combinations make sense at the time, and they change over time. In fact, the HD660s has the same tone as the HD560s, so if you can afford it, you’ll be curious about HifiMan’s Sundara.
So below is your own ultimate PC-Fi combination.
References
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