Amp and DAC for Sennheiser HD600

Perhaps the reason no one has responded yet is because your exact question has been asked here around a trillion times.  If you use the search, you'll see that many, many, many people like the HD600s paired with the Asgard and Valhalla.

That said, avoid the uDAC-2, especially as a DAC. Its line outputs clip and it generally behaves in way not conducive to good audio quality.

Doesn't the Asgard have RCA cables bundled? And if you ordered the Bifrost with the USB module, if it didn't come with one you can always use a spare printer cable (or stop by  Fry's/BestBuy). It might even come with a toslink and a 3.5mm adapter so check if your laptop can output that signal. If you really must, better to go with pro-grade cables with robust plugs; either you make them or you order from Blue Jeans cables. Local audiophile/pro-audio stores, even an ECE supply/school, near me do this for about $4 to $8 service charge on top of the parts, since ordering the bulk cable would be pointless for me. For everyone where the minimum wage is much higher Blue Jeans Cable is the way to go.

Don't quote me on this but I believe the RCA cable that comes with the Asgard are 3.5mm to RCA, which wouldn't work. Basically you need a 2RCA to 2RCA or 2 separate RCA cables.

As for the Bifrost's cable, what you need is this: http://tehnosite.narod.ru/ft.files/USB_konektory.gif

Type A to type B USB cable. I assume it'll come with the unit though - I would be surprised if it didn't anyway.

Don't go buying all that stuff and blame me if the units come with the cables you need though, I'm not sure what's included but yeah. 2RCA to 2RCA and Type B to Type A usb cable.

Oh yeah, that might be the case (3.5mm to RCA). In any case since they might change the freebie cables from time to time I'd say it's best to wait for the units to come in and then get cables. On my end though I've never had this sort of problem since I always have spare cables lying around.

My Asgard didn't come with any RCA cables. Just power cable and sticky rubber feet. BTW it draws 23-24 watts regardless of volume. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by NDyse10 

I did not get the USB input BiFrost because I have a macbook pro. So what would the correct connection from the macbook to the BiFrost? 

I'm not sure why you chose not to take the USB input "because" you have a macbook pro, seems to me like now you may not even be able to connect the thing. Your DAC has digital coaxial and optical input, but your laptop doesn't have either outputs afaik. If there's even a solution, it probably isn't a very "clean" one.

Your "usable" outputs are thunderbolt and USB. Thunderbolt won't happen, so what you need is some way to take a USB signal and turn it into optical or coaxial? I don't think it's even possible. Unless they make macbook pro's with digital coax or optical outputs, I think the only way is a DAC with a USB input.

That being said, I'm not at this and I don't know much about macs or sound technology in general, but I can't think of a way to make it work.

Edit: I guess macs have crazy voodoo technology!

2 options:

one use something like the M2tech hiface to convert usb->coaxial

or

use the mini optical out via your headphone jack (all new macbook pros have this) and connect it to your dac via toslink.

Power consumption is 23-24 watts constantly. Given that it supplies less than 1 watt to the headphones, 23-23 watts are wasted in heat. It gets hot, very hot. I set mine vertical to minimize the desk temperature.