Knowledgable folk in headphones, recommend me a setup with a budget of £400!

For those who have come to help, thanks!

After a long history of listening to music on my laptop at home with a standard Koss PortaPro, I came across threads about the wonders of music through good setups. I wanted to see if it did indeed make night and day difference when listening to music.

I understand headphones are tailored for certain music genre's, this itself is quite confusing for myself. I mainly listen to pop/trance/electrical/light rock. I don't listen to jazz or heavy metal, on the rare occasion classical. There is no chance for demo's in the UK, so I have to go through general conclusions.

So in the end I picked up a cheap pair of Senn HD650 because of the many comments of it being warm and laid back so I could expect hours of use without fatigue, like a jack of all trades type of headphone. And I'm not impressed with it so far though it's without a dac and amp. I'm worried if I'm not impressed with the default HD650, will a dac and amp make the day and night difference I wanted?

If you think I've went with the wrong purchase, what should I be looking towards with £400?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gwarmi 

 

So you're just running it out of the laptop headphone out? If so, that is definitely no good.

 

Do you like extended treble or are you sensitive to bloomed highs?

Pretty much running bare out of my laptop. Since I picked these up on a cheap deal, and with them beside me I thought, why not use them and see how they are whilst searching for Dacs and Amps.

I favor treble more then bass to be honest, though things I'm hearing about fatigue are really putting me off as I intend to listen for a few hours.

Quote:

Originally Posted by JRG1990 

Yea the laptop headphone out might not have the power to drive them properly, if your headphones are under driven by the laptop then a proper amp will make a difference otherwise the difference will be very minimal, I recommend the fiio E7+E9 can be had for around £120 and will drive the hd650 fine.

That is one of the very popular dac/amp solutions I came across, though many said it is just adequate. This is pretty much a one off purchase for me to last for years, which is why I'm hesitating on the E7 + E9.

Double post, not intended.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gwarmi 

The E7 + E9 is a nice entry level solution for those who need budgetary performance and perhaps intend

to upgrade at some stage. It is not suitable for an avid music lover for wants an 'end rig' to last a few years

- for 400 quid you can do much better.

 

Question is, are you going to keep the HD650's?

 

Way I see it, you've got nothing to lose - get a competent DAC + Amp, if the HD650 still stinks according

to your ears then sell them and with the extra cash seek out a new can.

 

Have you looked at any particular DAC and Amp units?

I've been looking at the CEntrance DACport, Yulong D100 (I'm very cautious about this with the long Static problem thread on here) and the Nuforce Icon HD so far. I'm aware of certain amps complementing certain headphones, which is making me think carefully about the HD650.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gwarmi 

Forget the Nuforce Icon HD it does not have the grunt

 

152mW rms @ 300 Ohm

 

The Dacport though should :- unknown impedance for this output

 

 

Output Power

1.5W (total), drives 600 Ohm headphones

 

 

With what you said, I think it will be the DacPort that I will go with as of now. I had no idea the watt was that important,  Hopefully it's it works well with other headphones if I still do not like the HD650.

If you know any alternatives within similar price region, then suggest away.