How professional can a sound get with iOS alone?

[Perceptualization]

Hmmm, the "Mobile apps & Hardware" is usually for Android & iPhone related stuff. Your query might get better attention in the generic Hardware or Computer Setup section.

Anyway, your cans (Sennheiser HD-650) appear to have a pretty high impedance of 300 Ohm. So they require plenty juice to drive.
See http://www.head-fi.org/a/headphone-impedance

NextDrive has published some specifications

MAX. Power Output
2Vrms @ 600Ω
49mW @ 32Ω

Maybe I got the wrong end of the stick here, but 2 V @ 600 Ohm renders only 6.7 mW power according to my calculator. 49 mW @ 32 Ohm would mean a voltage of about 1.25V. But without knowing the efficiency of your cans, no definite conclusions can be drawn.

Also I cannot find any information anywhere what this DAC/AMP should cost.

You also mention speakers. This device is for headphones only. Speakers require much more power, above 10 W for sure. So for (passive) speakers you need something else.

Thanks BertKoor. So would this amp be alright with active speakers then?

Having headphones an laptop/iPad Air is good enough to get me playing around, but eventually it'd be good to have a bit of wallop with some speakers -- while keeping down the number of components and costs.

[BertKoor]

I'm wondering whether this Spectra would improve audio output for headphones and speakers for mastering tunes.

Nowadays onboard audio is as good as the professional mastering DACs were twenty years ago. Rumor has it that the onboard audio of e.g. iPad2 already isn't that bad: http://www.pocketables.com/2011/10/the- ... tests.html
For composition, production & mixing I'd say it's good enough. No obvious flaws that need fixing.

Especially if you're just starting: forget about mastering your own tracks. Better leave that to a professional. There's a lot that you need to learn already, so why also take on the burden of mastering? That's an art in itself.

So would this amp be alright with active speakers then?

You'd then connect an output designed for a headphone to a line input of the monitors. While your gut feeling might say that can't be right, in practice it works out quite well. And this is exactly the scenario they have quoted these specs for:

2Vrms @ 600Ω

Because 600 Ohm is the regular impedance for line level outputs.

[DayvanCowboy]

Maybe i´m missing something here, but Korg Gadget can´t sound professional imho. The synths are great, but the effects aren´t...

[T-CM11]

How about you check out the first page of this thread.

[DayvanCowboy]

Running a iPad Pro 12.9" here and I can get a pretty decent sounding jam with custom samples and Korg Gadget.

Was referring to this statement...

[T-CM11]

Running a iPad Pro 12.9" here and I can get a pretty decent sounding jam with custom samples and Korg Gadget.

Was referring to this statement...

I know... imho.

[DayvanCowboy]

Unlike you i believe i actually understood OPs question, and was referring to the software component of it. I´m recommending Cubasis btw, i´m absolutely certain AUv3 plugins are the future of iOS music production, and will elevate the platform to near desktop level.

[T-CM11]

Your understanding is absolutely professional!


imho

[whyterabbyt]

Unlike you i believe i actually understood OPs question

How about you explain the industry standard metric for quantifying how professional something sounds, then?

[DayvanCowboy]

Your understanding is absolutely professional!


imho

You´re sounding like someone who tried to be a professional comedian, and is now washing dishes somewhere. Never give up! Live your dream!

Edit:

















































imho

[Nightpolymath]

Most iPad music apps sound good via headphones until one routes them to a pair of monitors and then the reality starts sinking in. But I am a sucker for these cheap apps and I will continue buying them just so that I have something I can play with on the go. They're great for generating MIDI clips that can be transferred later to Logic or Cubasis. Some of the filters aren't half bad, such as Filtatron. The PPG synths are OK enough, and so is Nave.

[T-CM11]

now washing dishes somewhere.

The real question is... am I a professional dishwasher?

[DayvanCowboy]

Most iPad music apps sound good via headphones until one routes them to a pair of monitors and then the reality starts sinking in. But I am a sucker for these cheap apps and I will continue buying them just so that I have something I can play with on the go. They're great for generating MIDI clips that can be transferred later to Logic or Cubasis. Some of the filters aren't half bad, such as Filtatron. The PPG synths are OK enough, and so is Nave.

The top-tier iOS synths are competitive sonically as long as we´re talking about 44,1/16 bit. Only limitation right now seems to be the voices, which are 8 or 10 at best, but that´s ok for me. Nave is great, in the VA category it´s Korgs Arp Odyssei and Moog Model 15, which are ironically not even available on desktop, and sound gigantic, especially the Odyssei.

Cubasis on the iPad is pretty nice, the MicroLogue Synth is unexpectedly awesome, creamy first tier VA.

As soon as the AUv3 plugin format really breaks through, there won´t be that much difference between desktop and iOS, apart from pure CPU-power, where laptops aren´t that great either. Right now i have the Klevgrand plugins like Korvpressor, the Bram Bos plugins etc and i don´t think there is any audible difference between iOS and desktop.

Don´t get fooled by the low price of the plugins, especially with the new AUv3 format it´s the same thing. Apple managed to create a flourishing eco system, with a lot of competition and attractive prices for apps. (Like it should be). Korg/Moog are releasing more or less exclusively for iOS, Korg just with the new iWavestation (which i bought and it´s amazing), so it seems to work out well for them economically.

[Cinebient]

Most iPad music apps sound good via headphones until one routes them to a pair of monitors and then the reality starts sinking in. But I am a sucker for these cheap apps and I will continue buying them just so that I have something I can play with on the go. They're great for generating MIDI clips that can be transferred later to Logic or Cubasis. Some of the filters aren't half bad, such as Filtatron. The PPG synths are OK enough, and so is Nave.

The top-tier iOS synths are competitive sonically as long as we´re talking about 44,1/16 bit. Only limitation right now seems to be the voices, which are 8 or 10 at best, but that´s ok for me. Nave is great, in the VA category it´s Korgs Arp Odyssei and Moog Model 15, which are ironically not even available on desktop, and sound gigantic, especially the Odyssei.

Cubasis on the iPad is pretty nice, the MicroLogue Synth is unexpectedly awesome, creamy first tier VA.

As soon as the AUv3 plugin format really breaks through, there won´t be that much difference between desktop and iOS, apart from pure CPU-power, where laptops aren´t that great either. Right now i have the Klevgrand plugins like Korvpressor, the Bram Bos plugins etc and i don´t think there is any audible difference between iOS and desktop.

Don´t get fooled by the low price of the plugins, especially with the new AUv3 format it´s the same thing. Apple managed to create a flourishing eco system, with a lot of competition and attractive prices for apps. (Like it should be). Korg/Moog are releasing more or less exclusively for iOS, Korg just with the new iWavestation (which i bought and it´s amazing), so it seems to work out well for them economically.

I agree in some parts but synths like Dune 2, Zebra...etc. still are just much more bang and sounds better for me.
I missed the Moog app until i explored the P900 modular plug-in which blows Model 15 out of the water (my 2 cents only).
The biggest different is still when i layer a lot huge synths, samplers and put high quality FX on top and want to save that as single performence instrument. Here iOS is years away.
Of course there are other things like flexible MIDI FX, surround sound mixing, storage, RAM etc.
I still think iOS devices are good extensions for workstations and a big DAW but (especially for soundtrack kinds of things) not versatile enough.
I use both side by side but the desktop workflow and it´s tools are far better still.
But iOS apps can be more fun sometimes and there are a few unique tools i really love like Mitosynth, Animoog etc.

[DayvanCowboy]

Here iOS is years away

In this context you´re absolutely right, but i think it´s a rather niché one. If you´re into classical music, cinematic soundtracks etc of course iOS is a bad choice.

For most IDM genres i´d argue that with the right apps, it is so close to the desktop, that other factors are more significant, like creativity and ease of use, where i just feel much more at home on iOS.

iOS Audio is developing so rapidly, and with the Audio Unit standard, the gap to the desktop closed again dramatically.

Now with Auria or Cubasis, and the best Effect and Synth plugins, the sound and workflow is getting perfect, no more app switching etc.