AMP/DAC suggestion for ATH-W5000 & Sennheiser HD 650

^^^ suggestion may be great for HD600 but not with W5000.  Only one amp I heard that make the W5000 sings is the HA5000 and it does not need an expensive source to feed it.  I'm totally floored when feed it with iPod is as good as gamma2.

I cant speak to the w5000 but otherwise - I always thought the nfb-10 was the single best value in headfi and the amp is simply great.  The nfb-1 was the first fully ballanced DAC under $1000, then the -10 was a fully ballanced amp/DAC <$1000 but this week they released the nfb-10SE which basically the same but on promo for 1/2 the price.  I don't think you could possible find a better price to performance ratio.

Quote:

Originally Posted by whatsntomake 
Hey Head-Fi'ers 

 

I'm looking into AMPs and DACs to drive my Audio-Technica ATH-W5000 and Sennheiser HD 650.

Could you guys give me some good suggestions?

 

Thank you!

Why don't you post what you're using now, and what you want to improve about it? Do you already have those headphones or are you planning to get them? And what's your budget? More info is needed.

FYI, there's no single amp that will drive both the W5000 and HD650 effectively as they have opposite electrical characteristics - the W5000 is an efficient low-impedance headphone and the HD650 is an inefficient high-impedance one. And the W5000 is notoriously sonically picky with amps to add on top of that. So you'd have to decide whether you want an amp more for the W5000 or more for the HD650.

You should read this thread: http://www.head-fi.org/t/211770/w5000-owners-amp-registry

Other amps I've read about, but not heard for myself, that you might want to include in your research: Yamamoto HA-02 and Trafomatic Experience Head One.

I'm not very well-experienced in budget DACs, but if I had to recommend anything to look into, they'd be: HeadAmp Pico (if you need just a USB input), Arcam rDac, or Schiit Bifrost (not out yet, but soon). The absolute cheapest options I'd recommend would be the DIY-based AMB y1 or y2 (Gamma1 / 2, more at www.amb.org/audio) or possibly studio-gear type DACs made by companies like E-MU, PreSonus, etc.

I have a corda HA-2 MKII, if you can find one it might work wonderfully. It drives my HD650's absolutely wonderfully, the 120Ohm additional output powers low impedance phones such as my IEM's brilliantly.

Quote:

Originally Posted by dyl1dyl 

Burson 160d

I had the chance to listen to the W5000's with a 160D on a local friends meet. I have no words to describe it, it sounded better than others. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by jackwess 

I had the chance to listen to the W5000's with a 160D on a local friends meet. I have no words to describe it, it sounded better than others. 

I have not heard the combo but I think the 160D maybe a tag too warm for W5000.

I have a Yulong D100 DAC/AMP driving my HD650's that works nicely, and its certainly worth the money for around $500. Has a low impendance output that i use with my IEM's, and has a nice range of inputs. Probably not the best amp out there, but the DAC used is brilliant

I was wondering how would LF339 fare with the W5000s? Would Burson do a better job? 

I'm currently using the Matrix m-Stage with my W5000 and they sound a little harsh and bright occasionally. Vocals sound emotionless