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Sennheiser HD600 w/ Marantz SR5005 receiver

post #1 of 3
1/26/12 at 10:01am
Thread Starter 

Hello all,

 

I am pretty sure that the headphones I would like to purchase are the Sennheiser HD600's. My next issue is if I have to purchase a dedicated amp or what not. I can afford to spend some money on an amp, but would prefer not to. Will my Marantz SR5005 receiver serve me well to drive the HD600's? My source would be either an Itouch or my macbook pro. If I didn't get an amp now I am sure later down the road I would, but I want to make sure that the SR5005 is going to be serviceable until then.

 

Edit to Add: If I chose to go with the HD650 would the Marantz also be servicable with these cans until I get a dedicated amp?

 

Thanks

 


Edited by NDyse10 - 1/26/12 at 10:06am
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post #2 of 3
1/26/12 at 10:26am

I have a SR5005 as my home theater amp. IMO, there are two issues to consider when using it in the way you propose -- DAC and headphone amp.

 

First, the DAC. IMO, the SR5005 does an excellent job with D to A conversion. I use an Apple TV via HDMI and have also used my iPod Touch via the optical out of a Pure i20. I think you would be very happy using your MacBook Pro's Toslink out, but for your iPod Touch I would suggest something like the i20 or a Wadia dock instead of the headphone out or a LOD. This would let your SR5005 do the D to A conversion, rather than the iPod itself.

 

Next, headphone amp. IMO, the SR5005's headphone amp is not very good. No surprise, since almost every modern receiver considers the headphone jack to be an afterthought. Easy to drive headphones like Grados sound OK, but harder to push cans like my T1 and LA2000 Lites are not a good fit. I don't have Sennheisers anymore, but based on my past experience I think the HD600 would probably sound dull, and the HD650 wouldn't be good at all either. I think you'd be best served by hooking a dedicated headphone amp up via the SR5005's tape loop. Something relatively inexpensive like a Matrix M-Stage or a used Purity Audio KICAS would push either the HD600 or HD650 much, much better than the SR5005.

 

Bottom line: yes, do get a headphone amp, but don't worry about a DAC/amp combo, since the SR5005 does the DAC part just fine.

 

Hope this helps.

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post #3 of 3
1/26/12 at 10:42am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Olias of Sunhillow View Post

I have a SR5005 as my home theater amp. IMO, there are two issues to consider when using it in the way you propose -- DAC and headphone amp.

 

First, the DAC. IMO, the SR5005 does an excellent job with D to A conversion. I use an Apple TV via HDMI and have also used my iPod Touch via the optical out of a Pure i20. I think you would be very happy using your MacBook Pro's Toslink out, but for your iPod Touch I would suggest something like the i20 or a Wadia dock instead of the headphone out or a LOD. This would let your SR5005 do the D to A conversion, rather than the iPod itself.

 

Next, headphone amp. IMO, the SR5005's headphone amp is not very good. No surprise, since almost every modern receiver considers the headphone jack to be an afterthought. Easy to drive headphones like Grados sound OK, but harder to push cans like my T1 and LA2000 Lites are not a good fit. I don't have Sennheisers anymore, but based on my past experience I think the HD600 would probably sound dull, and the HD650 wouldn't be good at all either. I think you'd be best served by hooking a dedicated headphone amp up via the SR5005's tape loop. Something relatively inexpensive like a Matrix M-Stage or a used Purity Audio KICAS would push either the HD600 or HD650 much, much better than the SR5005.

 

Bottom line: yes, do get a headphone amp, but don't worry about a DAC/amp combo, since the SR5005 does the DAC part just fine.

 

Hope this helps.



That does help quite a bit. 

 

How would I hook up a dedicated headphone amp to the tape loop? I don't have the first idea of how to do that.

 

Also, that Matrix M-Stage might be just a bit out of my price range. Is there another headphone amp you would recommend that is more in the $150-200 range? Or is an amp in that price range not going to drive the HD600?

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