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Buying an Amp vs Another pair of headphones

post #1 of 7
8/31/11 at 2:11pm
Thread Starter 

Hi,

 

I recently bought a pair of HD650 along with a Matrix Cube and the headphones were a huge improvement over what I had previously owned/listened to (wesc bag pipes, bose in-ears, bose qc 15, Beats Pro/Studio (in other words cheap stuff that's expensive)) for every type of music and every single sound.

 

However I found the audible difference made by the Matrix Cube was not close at all than the difference from two headphones (vs. coming from Imac>pa2v2>HD650). It made a nice difference but a subtle one.

 

From my current setup I really really like the way Jazz/Classical/Folk sounds, and Hip-Hop sounds pretty good too, but I'm not really satisfied about my HD650 with rock and punk music or anything that has many layers of guitar in it... I had the chance to try Grados RS2 ans SR325is since then and even if I found them a bit "piercing" (the highs are strong) I loved the sound with classic rock/ punk and low-fi stuff... 

 

Where I'm going with that is: will I see a significative difference (not necessarily for rock music but for all types)  if I choose to go with an external amp (looking at either Woo Audio 3 or M-stage...)  or am I better off buying a different pair of headphones to listen to different types of music?

 

(in case it's important: my musical preferences are something like 25% Hip-Hop, 25% Jazz, 15% Indie/folk, 20% Rock/Punk/Prog, 15% Classic)

 

Thanks. 

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Gear mentioned in this thread:

Sennheiser HD 650 Headphones
Grado Reference RS2 Headphones
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post #2 of 7
8/31/11 at 2:25pm

In my experience headphones won't change a lot by adding a different amp if you don't like the sound signature it has.

You will get more satisfactory results by buying another headphone that is more suited to those other genres.

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post #3 of 7
8/31/11 at 2:32pm

My .02 cents... get different headphones.

From my limited experience, I haven't noticed that big of a change with the same headphones on different amps...

 

On the other hand, I've read on different places that the HD650s "grow" with better (and I guess expensive) gear...

 

Still I would prefer a different sound signature by acquiring a different set of cans.

 

I had similar questions just a few weeks ago... ;-)

 

http://www.head-fi.org/t/564610/is-it-my-ears-p-amp-differences

 

 

Good Luck!!

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post #4 of 7
8/31/11 at 4:04pm
Thread Starter 

Thanks a lot that previous thread helped, but you're still using a dac/amp combo that costs around 400$ and is rated for 600ohms headphones I'm wondering if that might have played a role in the comparaison with the Woo... And you touched something important, I love my senns and I also keep reading they need "serious amping" and they scale up well with high-end stuff... S

 

So I'd like to know if someone compared an integrated/portable amp (rated for 300ohms) with something like the Woo 3 with the hd650 and was blown away by the difference or will it still be a really subtle change even with these headphones...

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post #5 of 7
9/8/11 at 8:27pm

I know the guys and gals at headroom first say upgrade your source and then your headphones / speakers.  They also mention that a high end DAC will almost make a poor source sound as good as a high end transport.  This has been my experience as well.

 

I was asking myself the same question: "Do I want a new amp or a new headphone?"  I ultimately settled on headphones and do not regret the choice.  If you go new headphones be sure to get something with a different sound signature than what you already own.  For me this was going from my nice AH-D2000's to a pair of DT990's.  They really compliment the D2000's from my m903.

 

For example:

The Doors - [Essential Rarities CD1 #07] I Will Never Be Untrue

Is just not the same with a closed can.


Edited by NA Blur - 9/10/11 at 7:59pm
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post #6 of 7
9/9/11 at 5:04am
Thread Starter 

I settled for a pair of pro 900 :), I'll buy them next week, I think they'll be good with the 650. 

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post #7 of 7
9/10/11 at 8:00pm

I think you will enjoy the light bass boost as well as a more up front sound.

 

Try this track out of both:

Preston Reed - [Metal #01] Blasting Cap

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Gear mentioned in this thread:

Sennheiser HD 650 Headphones
Grado Reference RS2 Headphones
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Bose QuietComfort 15 Acoustic Noise Cancelling Headphones
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