Ultrasone Pro 900 + Saffire 6...worth buying another amp?
Jul 11, 2011 at 9:38 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 7
lyons238

lyons238

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Yeah, so as the title states I have Ultrasone Pro 900's (loving them btw) and a Focusrite Saffire 6 interface that I use for production and DJ'ing, which has a headphone amplifier built into it. I believe the headphone amp in my Saffire 6 is on the weaker side but still sounds excellent, I just have to turn it up to 8/10 to get a decently loud output (pretty much my max listening level).
 
Do you guys think it would be worth it to buy a separate headphone amplifier, such as the E9 or E11 or something of that nature? Will there even be a difference or will it just be a waste? I'm thinking i should probably just stick with my Saffire 6 and just turn it up to 8/10 if I have to.
 
Also, if I were to get a separate headphone amplifier, how would I hook it up to my Saffire 6 as the source? 
 
Thanks
 
Jul 11, 2011 at 10:04 PM Post #2 of 7
Heya,
 
I do not think it will be worth while getting another amplifier. The Pro 900's are not very hard to drive at all. If you're able to listen to them right now at your maximum listening level with room to go a bit higher, then you're fine. It would likely be a waste to spend money on another amplifier. The only difference would be if you went with a tube amp and rolled tubes to tweak sound, warm it up, etc. I listen to my Pro 900's on my Little Dot MK III and they're just as loud and bassy and glorious as on my portable Vivid V1 Tech amp, except there's a warm and bloom to them on my tube amp. But otherwise, it's slight, not a massive difference.
 
If you do get another amp, you would connect the Saffire 6 via the RCA outputs on the back of it to the RCA inputs of the amplifier.
 
If you want to upgrade amps, the Matrix M-Stage would be good for the money. But realistically, you likely won't hear much of a difference to warrant the cost.
 
Very best,
 
 
Jul 11, 2011 at 10:12 PM Post #3 of 7


Quote:
malveaux said:
Heya,
 
I do not think it will be worth while getting another amplifier. The Pro 900's are not very hard to drive at all. If you're able to listen to them right now at your maximum listening level with room to go a bit higher, then you're fine. It would likely be a waste to spend money on another amplifier. The only difference would be if you went with a tube amp and rolled tubes to tweak sound, warm it up, etc. I listen to my Pro 900's on my Little Dot MK III and they're just as loud and bassy and glorious as on my portable Vivid V1 Tech amp, except there's a warm and bloom to them on my tube amp. But otherwise, it's slight, not a massive difference.
 
If you do get another amp, you would connect the Saffire 6 via the RCA outputs on the back of it to the RCA inputs of the amplifier.
 
If you want to upgrade amps, the Matrix M-Stage would be good for the money. But realistically, you likely won't hear much of a difference to warrant the cost.
 
Very best,
 
Click to expand...

 
thank you for the reply! sometimes i can turn the saffire up to 10/10 depending on the sound but i usually listen at around 7/10 which seems to be a loud enough listening level without causing hearing damage. im not sure on this though because i have always been a loud listener.
 
but thanks again for your insights. ill check out that amp just incase but i think ill take your advice and just run the saffire 6.
 
im loving the sound of my pro 900's straight out of the box. they dont sound too harsh to me...and i usually hate harsh highs. they sound pretty close to my monitors so im really loving them for both production and general listening. 
 
 
 
Jul 11, 2011 at 11:38 PM Post #4 of 7
This isn't meant to be an insulting question, but are your system settings and interface volume controls set properly? I have the Pro750 (which as less efficient than the 900) and the Saffire 6 and it is plenty loud even at 50-60% for me. 
 
Jul 12, 2011 at 12:07 AM Post #5 of 7


Quote:
armaegis said:
This isn't meant to be an insulting question, but are your system settings and interface volume controls set properly? I have the Pro750 (which as less efficient than the 900) and the Saffire 6 and it is plenty loud even at 50-60% for me. 
Click to expand...



umm yeah dude...when i plug the saffire into my mac it automatically locks the system volume at 100%. and other than that theres just the headphone volume on the saffire 6. 6-8/10 is my normal listening volume. from 8 to 10 doesnt change much.
 
Aug 14, 2011 at 3:09 PM Post #7 of 7
Just stumbled on this thread, i've got Pro900s and a Saffire 6 (again for DJ'ing and production). They do benefit from my LD MK V but the headphone out on the Saffire 6 is definitely enough to power them properly. I wouldn't go buying an expensive amp for for this headphones :)
 
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