[Answerawake]

Wow I kept picking the 128kbps MP3. Im using Sennheiser HD58X. I'm plugged into the headphone jack of my Desktop monitor which itself is getting audio via USB-C. Maybe the amp is bad in the monitor? Wonder if an external DAC would be any better.

[simias]

If you keep picking the 128kbps track it does mean that you can hear a difference, and maybe that you subjectively prefer the more compressed audio.

That's why usually good audio tests use ABX where it's not about seeing if you can identify what is best, but rather if you can identify a difference at all. See for instance: http://abx.digitalfeed.net/

EDIT: I actually just tried the test and... ended up doing the same thing you did. On the Neil Young track I could hear a definite difference in the high pitched violin-like background, but I ended up selecting the 128kbps track as the "highest quality", maybe because the compression made it sound smoother.

[rodgerd]

Here's one way to think of it: spend money on audio gear until you can't hear the difference, or until you run out of money.

If you can't hear the difference at a low price point, that's not a curse, it's a blessing.

[samplatt]

The HD58X uses 150-ohm drivers. These can be used without an amplifier just fine, but detail will be lost and they'll be quieter. My general rule is anything 80ohm and over will want an amp... You DEFINITELY want an external DAC+amp for those 58X's.

The DAC chip in a monitor will be the absolute cheapest one they can source, and is probably receiving a lot of noise from the monitor itself as well. The good news is that you don't need to break the bank to get something decent; a budget of ~$100 will get you something a million times better than a screen could ever deliver.

[sumedh]

Which DAC do you recommend?

[samplatt]

I'm going to confine myself to DAC+ Amp devices here. The main trick to suss out audiophile-snakeoil is checking the specs to see what the Total Harmonic Distortion is when the volume is maxed out (ie, before the signal starts clipping). THD is easy to have low (<0.01) when there's little load. With amplifiers of all kinds, quality is determined by how low the THD is when it's turned up. If it's >1% then it's poo, if it's ~0.1% then it's okay, if it's 0.01% or less then it's pretty good.

The $400 Element II [1] from JDS Labs (makers of the legendary Objective-2, a DAC+Amp that was designed to give top-end performance at bottom-end prices) is very literally as good as it gets without snakeoil entering the equation. THD when under a 150-ohm load is 0.0008%. That's very good. This is what I'll be upgrading to if my setup at work ever dies.

My work rig is an Aune T1 [2] which retails for $250 but Massdrop does them for $100-$150 sometimes. Yeah it's a "tube" but that doesn't matter as much as myth would have you; today's tubes are pretty transparent unless you deliberately get something that isn't. THD is good however nowhere near JDS Labs-level of perfection.

The Fiio Q2 mk2 [3] can be found for as little as $100 and it's a solid performer, though I haven't personally used it, Fiio's reputation is impeccable.

[1] https://jdslabs.com/product/element-ii/

[2] https://www.amazon.com/Aune-Second-Generation-Amplifier-Deco...

[3] https://fiio.com/newsinfo/53025.html?templateId=1133604

[maxwelldone]

When I was in the mark for a decent DAC last year, I settled on JDS Atom DAC. Cost $100 I believe and seems like their support is good. Though I don't have anything else to compare, it seems good so far.

[samplatt]

JDS Labs are the very definition of bullshit-free top-tier stuff. You chose well.

[floren]

That's the road you walk down to $10,000 audiophile RCA cables.

A man sits on a weight bench, wondering if the equipment is defective because he can't seem to bench press 800 lb...

[psy-q]

I think in this case it's more like you've bought a truck but you put a lawnmower engine in it.

It's a big step between esoterics and "please don't use the cheap shitty DAC that was integrated into your monitor to satisfy a feature checklist".

The amp part will matter a lot the more impedance the cans have, and many of the better headphones are high(er)-impedance. Might as well spring for a headphone amp + DAC combo just to see how it sounds. It's not that expensive, FiiO has some for under 80 bucks, for example.

[jordache]

high end consumer audio is largely snake oil

[daveslash]

Your honor: I give you "Exhibit A" - the HDMI Cable with Anti-Virus that reduces virus noises.

https://gizmodo.com/is-there-anyone-stupid-enough-to-believe...

[Edit: Fixed Link]

[psy-q]

I see your HDMI cable and raise you a USD 1000 audiophile Ethernet cable complete with esoteric review https://audiobacon.net/2019/11/02/the-jcat-signature-lan-a-1...

[nr2x]

Which is why you should purchase studio equipment.

[rodgerd]

I do. I'm very pleased with the (relatively) flat response using powered studio monitors in my home theatre setup, which are (relatively) affordable compared to something with similar performance purchased from a hi-fi specialist.

[pier25]

> Maybe the amp is bad in the monitor?

Yeah the AMP and the DAC.

[fullstop]

Either that or you've been conditioned to like the compressed sound. Or maybe your ears are not what they used to be?

[arprocter]

The sound from my monitor (DisplayPort) is definitely not as good as what comes directly from my PC, even without a DAC

The Apple USB-C to 3.5mm doesn't break the bank, works with Windows fine and the headphone nerds seem to rate it