Sound Hardware on Mac Mini 6,2

Hey Everyone,
Can anyone point me into the right direction. I am looking for the Sound Card/Hardware specs for my Late 2012 (6,2) Mac Mini. I finally got my hands on a brand new set of AKG headphones that were on sale and they are amazing. However my iPod and Mini both are a little under powered to really make these headphone sound their best. The store I purchased these from while in Singapore recommend a headphone amp. They sold some but I wanted a different brand then they offered.

So last night I purchased one made by Creative Labs LINK
I liked this one as it offers 25 hours battery life, can be USB powered as well as sound piped through the USB. Or plugged into my iPod through the 3.5mm jack. Plus has two outputs for sharing.

Now the hardware sound specs are not the absolute best at only 48khz, compared to some that is at 192khz. But it is 600Ohm and 106dbs, which should carry my headphone very nicely.

But here why I am asking. The 48khz does exceed CD quality, however I have two options or ways to use this device. Through the USB as a dedicated sound card/device or as just an amp via the 3.5mm input jack via my headphone port on the back of the Mini.

I am very curious if the sound hardware is over all better in the Mini or will this device offer better sound. The E1 comes with some software from creative that likely the be more gimmick then an improvement on sound quality. But having the EQ option is nice. They have an E3 model with bluetooth, but I am not fond of bluetooth audio or having bluetooth turned on when traveling with my iPod or iPad.

Well thats what I am up to.. If anyone knows the sound specs on the Mini or knows were I can find them. Please share. Seems Apple is hush hush on their specs for what ever reason.

EDIT:
BTW, here is my headphones I have. They are 120 Ohm and is a main reason I need an AMP AKG 612PRO

BTW, here is my headphones I have. They are 120 Ohm and is a main reason I need an AMP AKG 612PRO

Click to expand...

High impedance headphones will always sound better because of their immunity to noise and vibration, however, you need more amplification to drive them. That's why you need an external amp. I keep a set of low impedance headphones around (10 ohms) to use with iPods and cheap MP3 players because they give enough sound even from weak powered devices.

chscag said:

High impedance headphones will always sound better because of their immunity to noise and vibration, however, you need more amplification to drive them. That's why you need an external amp. I keep a set of low impedance headphones around (10 ohms) to use with iPods and cheap MP3 players because they give enough sound even from weak powered devices.

Click to expand...

Indeed. I been wanting a set of AKGs for some time now. Got these on sale for $170 US dollars, couldn't pass them up.

My mini pushes them fairly good. But not nearly to their potential. My iPod doesn't even come close. So I needed a amp and this Soundblaster E1 can pump out up to 600Ohm.

But the E1 is more then just an AMP, its also a full fledged usb sound card. It only goes to 48Khz though. But CD is 44.1Khz. So it should be enough, 2/3rds of my iTunes library is encoded at 192Kbs 44.1k Stereo MP3. I was just curious if the Sound Blaster would offer any better sound over the built in mac sound system. It likely will. But will find out when it arrives in a few weeks..