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1-should i get the e9 amp?
2-are there any better alternaitves???(amps)
3- should i upgrade my source which my ipod and my vaio?
4-are amps gonna improve sound quality??
5-finally, are bass good when drived with a good amp??(as i said not the most important thing but a nice bonus if it did)

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1. No that will probably be just a waste of money. I would highly suggest you get a decent entry level desktop amp that is at least well reviewed on head fi. I'm not going to lie. They are all north of $300 dollars. Good cheap well reviewed amps might include the following: Apex Butte, Schiit line, KICAS, Headamp GS-1.
 
2. Yes, if you spend the money. Going straight into a top line headphone like the HD650 you really should have thought about the whole setup first.
 
3. Yes, this will be one of the greatest improvements. Get any decently priced dedicated USB dac to bypass your laptop's built in output stage (which is amplified already when it comes out your headphone jack). You need to get a non-amplified signal (called a line level signal) from your laptop to pass to your high quality amp. You can not recover a signal that has already been ruined by the amp in your laptop. As for your iPod you need to find a dock that offers line level output so you are no longer using the headphone jack output.
 
4. Yes. Its difficult to explain physically what power requirements are needed to drive the HD650, only that anythying battery powered has a tendency to not do well. As before, find an amp that is well reviewed on Head Fi.
 
5. No one knows your requirements for bass. If you think the Beats have loud enough bass then no the HD650 does not have loud enough bass. If you come from bass heavy mainstream headphones, you will find nearly all hi fi level headphones to not have loud enough bass.
 
My best advice for someone looking for the next step up from mainstream earphones/headphones who listen almost exclusively from portable sources is go for IEMs. The best recommendations would be earphones like the Ultimate Ears universal line or the Westone universal line (not the umx line). These earphones are created to be pleasing for generally most types of music. They offer much improved fidelity over mainstream phones and in my experience, most people will instantly hear the difference. They would call it an improvement in "clarity". Be careful though because different IEMs are created for different purposes, something like the Etymotic ER4 which is very well loved will probably have the same affect as the HD650 for you.
 
Hi fi headphones are very different. For someone who has not dabbled deeply into hi fi, throwing them an HD800 they will often not pick up the fine qualities first time. Instead they might say it lacks energy or sounds boring.

1. The E9 is an extremely well reviewed amp, even on review sites that review amps costing much more.

I personally preferred all my headphones on the E9 than on the Lyr with two different tubes. The only headphone I liked more on the Lyr was the HE-4 which demands quite a bit more than the E9 gives. The Lyr gives a lot more weight to the sound, but the E9 has an exciting tone, which I felt brought out the mids and kept the treble bite in comparison, and had had better PRAT. The Lyr has a meatier sound and bottom end. I guess you can attribute this to SS vs Tube, but there is no glaring flaw in the E9 especially at it's price point. I know there is better, but I think it's absolute BS to dismiss it before he's even heard it.

I still think the Lyr is better, but the tone the E9 gave was more to my liking. I do think he should eventually upgrade, but the E9 is a great starting point and will give him a baseline on how amps perform. In this game, the cost of the E9 is essentially almost nothing.

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hamoor said:

 
i dont think being in denial would help my case here. 

i think your setup helped too.
mine is just my little ipod and a fiio e7

 
 

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i was using my nano too.. it takes time i guess.. know what to listen out for.. when u realised the details in the background and the texture of the bass.. it will change your life! hahaha
 
thats where you will start spending more money
 

hamoor said:

lol i came here looking for help but i got more confused than before!

 
and yes! bass are not my top priority ive just mentioned it as one of the beats advantages over the poorly amplefied hd650
 
here is all what i want to say that i didnt get clear answeres for:
1-should i get the e9 amp?
2-are there any better alternaitves???(amps)
3- should i upgrade my source which my ipod and my vaio?
4-are amps gonna improve sound quality??
5-finally, are bass good when drived with a good amp??(as i said not the most important thing but a nice bonus if it did)
 
and i dont think ill get another headphones as i am afraid to get in all this trouble again!
 

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1. Good job getting the e9, hope you like it. If you still hear no improvement after a week, well, return it and come back for new options.

2. As far as better alternatives, yes, there are but I am unsure. Go to the HD650 thread to find out more. But the e7, e9 combo should be enough and I know a lot of headfiers use it.

3. Not for now. The e7 has a dac in it I think so go ahead and use that for your ipod AND your vaio. Get high quality mp3s and FLACs if you have not already. That alone is something you really....really need to do if you have not, its the most important piece to your puzzle. Assuming you are not using them that is. What quality is most of your music?

4. Yes! Due mostly to increase in quality of equipment and in your case, it will provide the power you need to bring the hd650 to life.

5. This is a variable thing. In your case, yes it will. My ad700s bass doesnt get much better through an amp in particular. There is some difference but not much. I feel the bass on my M50s though do get more lively when amped up. Like I said, there are a lot of factors for each situation but for yours, it should improve.

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hamoor said:

hmmm.... you can say the i prefer something between 

Analytical and detailed.

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hamoor said:

YES! that exactly it! 

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Am I the only one who found these two statements contradictory (the second referring to a post where someone said it sounded like the OP wanted loud volume and heavy bass)?  From my experience with the HD650, it doesn't really fit either description.  It will be more detailed and analytical than the Beats, of course, but not to the level of the K701/702/DT880 and other similar headphones.  And while it has more bass than most other Senn offerings, but it couldn't be called a basshead can.  I would characterize the 650 as a smooth, laid-back headphone.  By nature, it will mask some of the details in the music, which is great for lower quality recordings, but not so much for critical listening.  It has just enough bass to give a good solid thump when needed, but it's hardly overpowering.  They're more a headphone that you can plug in, sit back, relax, and just enjoy the music.

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limeanite said:

 


Am I the only one who found these two statements contradictory (the second referring to a post where someone said it sounded like the OP wanted loud volume and heavy bass)?  From my experience with the HD650, it doesn't really fit either description.  It will be more detailed and analytical than the Beats, of course, but not to the level of the K701/702/DT880 and other similar headphones.  And while it has more bass than most other Senn offerings, but it couldn't be called a basshead can.  I would characterize the 650 as a smooth, laid-back headphone.  By nature, it will mask some of the details in the music, which is great for lower quality recordings, but not so much for critical listening.  It has just enough bass to give a good solid thump when needed, but it's hardly overpowering.  They're more a headphone that you can plug in, sit back, relax, and just enjoy the music.

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He has basically said yes to wanting most things people have suggested except bass that over powers all the music. His only real requirement was that it be good for classical music. The HD650 is a balanced headphone cable of handling a lot of different music from what I hear and he already has it so just let's just hear what he has to say after he uses his e9.

finally ive tried the e9+e7and HOLY JESUS!!!!
i knew that it would improve the hd650 but not that much!!!
the sound is louder, less distorted, bassy and crystal clear!it is completely a new monster 
it BLOWS the beats out of the water!
 
thank you everyone for your help. i really appreciate that!
 
 
 
 

We have a new convert. Aww yeee 

told you guys, just let hamoor get his e9 and drive the hd650 up. If i ever get one, im running it through my phone for 50 hours before I unleash the beast. I really wanna experience the increase.

I regret giving up on you. ^_^
Glad to hear you appreciating your cans.

Try the 1/4" jack, it's better than the 1/8" due to smaller output impedance increasing the damping factor by a factor of 4.

already got that covered 

I suppose it's time to change the title and update your OP.

Glad you're enjoying it!

Little Dot 2+ to Ibasso D-Zero.
 
Good idea? 
 
Edit: Wrong thread.