samsoundnoob 0 Report post Posted November 17, 2008 hi all I'm pretty noob to all this sound equipment thingi so please pardon my ignorance. I was surfing around the forum and noticed many new terms like IEM, DAC and AMPs Currently using a Creative Zen X-Fi and ATH-ANC7, listening to jazz vocals and bossa nova, somehow I feel that the headphones are just not producing the clarity they should have. Can someone please offer some advice? Really suffering here Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
heady 0 Report post Posted November 18, 2008 I don't think your Creative is able to drive the AT phones properly. Most MP3 players are designed for ear-buds and IEMs. For headphones, you will need a headphone amp to drive the headphones. In your case, unless you are in noisy environments, turn off the noise cancelling as it does affect the sound quality too. Why not go to Stereo Electronics in Causeway Point or Jaben in Adelphi and try out the extensive range of amps available for demo and see if you will be happy with an amp? No harm, except potentially to your wallet! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
samsoundnoob 0 Report post Posted November 18, 2008 Seems like tube amps are suppossed to do the job. Can someone enlighten me on DACs? what do they do? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
heady 0 Report post Posted November 18, 2008 Whether tube amps are for you or not, only your ears will tell you. But if you like clarity which it sounds like you do, maybe a solid state amp is more your taste. DACs convert digital data into analog signals which are then amplified by the amp and then converted into sound by your headphones. Sources for DAC will be a CD player or a media player which have a digital out port. Types of digital out port can be RCA, optical and others. Most common is RCA and optical. Another type of DACs incorporate a USB port which allows you to connect them to a computer which can then be used as players. I doubt you can use DAC with your Creative X-Fi. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
leekb 0 Report post Posted December 6, 2008 Isn't the ATH ANC7 active noice-canceling headphone? They should work well with most audio sources. Your audio source would not be driving the QNC7 directly, the built-in amp of the ANC7 would provide the juice. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
stjoe 0 Report post Posted August 2, 2009 Yes, ANC7 is active noise canceling with one battery AAA required Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest jacj6049 Report post Posted August 12, 2009 try to off all the EQ,set them to flat Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lekguan 0 Report post Posted September 12, 2009 as above set EQ to flat and you may want to adjust/compensate with custom EQ (does it have?) if you're still unahppy. One more thing do you listen without the ANC turned on? It sounds muffled that way. with the anc turned on it should be very easy to drive. And had a Meizu M6 and it sounded great on it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
