I'm pleased to find such an active forum of headphone enthusiasts. I thought I was a headphone geek until I discovered DIY folks building extravagant headphone amps and soldering Opams into the X-Fi!
In high school 9 years prior I had to save my lunch money for several months to swing the $150 price tag of the HD590s. They were great headphones, in-fact they will continue to be great at work in my office.
I've been eyeing the HD600s for several years and I'm proud to report last month I finally pulled the trigger on the HD650s. However they’re begging for better electrics upfront.
I've cycled through the backorder que twice now for the Audiotrak Prodigy HD2 during the past 2 months thanks to a billing snafu. The vendor keeps telling me any day but my patience is drawing to a close.
I like the HD2 for the AK4396 DAC and Opamp in socket for easy replacement (pending pin-out correlation). My plan was to install an Opamp that jives with my HD650s and live happily ever after. Perhaps you headphone ampaholics can tell me if that scenario will enable my HD650s to reach their potential?
Plan B is looking to be the E-MU 04040 USB. I find the external USB design appealing. Getting the analog stages out of the computer chassis can not be a bad thing. It also has the same high-end AKM DAC as the Prodigy HD2, good. It’s quite a bit more expensive, but after spending nearly half a kilobuck on the HD650s, what’s another ~$200?
My main question is if I do go the 0404 route, will I/should I acquire a dedicated headphone amp. What headphone amp is recommended for HD650s?
Thanks for the guidance here.
In high school 9 years prior I had to save my lunch money for several months to swing the $150 price tag of the HD590s. They were great headphones, in-fact they will continue to be great at work in my office.
I've been eyeing the HD600s for several years and I'm proud to report last month I finally pulled the trigger on the HD650s. However they’re begging for better electrics upfront.
I've cycled through the backorder que twice now for the Audiotrak Prodigy HD2 during the past 2 months thanks to a billing snafu. The vendor keeps telling me any day but my patience is drawing to a close.
I like the HD2 for the AK4396 DAC and Opamp in socket for easy replacement (pending pin-out correlation). My plan was to install an Opamp that jives with my HD650s and live happily ever after. Perhaps you headphone ampaholics can tell me if that scenario will enable my HD650s to reach their potential?
Plan B is looking to be the E-MU 04040 USB. I find the external USB design appealing. Getting the analog stages out of the computer chassis can not be a bad thing. It also has the same high-end AKM DAC as the Prodigy HD2, good. It’s quite a bit more expensive, but after spending nearly half a kilobuck on the HD650s, what’s another ~$200?
My main question is if I do go the 0404 route, will I/should I acquire a dedicated headphone amp. What headphone amp is recommended for HD650s?
Thanks for the guidance here.
