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Would Xonar Essence One drive HD650's

post #1 of 24
9/8/12 at 10:11am
Thread Starter 

New to the forum but have been lurking around for a while.  I got a pair of HD650's based on exceptional reviews I have read.  The amp I have is a cheapy and doesn't take them to their full potential, it is the audio technica HA-20.  Even with this amp, the 650's sound good, but not great yet. The HA-20 amp works well with my beyer dt770 80 ohm cans.  I have been wondering about the Xonar Essence One amp.  There are not many reviews on this amp, but it looks nice. I wondered whether it would drive the senns to their full potential or at least closer. 

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post #2 of 24
9/9/12 at 9:39am

Its a full fledged desktop amp. Of course it'll drive them. I'd like to know headphones it *won't* drive, maybe stats.

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post #3 of 24
9/9/12 at 9:49am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by proton007 View Post

Its a full fledged desktop amp. Of course it'll drive them. I'd like to know headphones it *won't* drive, maybe stats.

Great!  I have been debating between the Asus or some Schiit (asgard or valhalla).  Asus also has a balanced output that I thought would be great to try.  Have you tried any of these amps?

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post #4 of 24
9/9/12 at 6:10pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by icehole View Post

Great!  I have been debating between the Asus or some Schiit (asgard or valhalla).  Asus also has a balanced output that I thought would be great to try.  Have you tried any of these amps?

Nope, I'm an ODAC+O2 guy. Fits my needs, and works well with my HD650.

Its a hard decision to make, the Asus is at a disadvantage because of lack of reviews and availability when compared to the Schiit.

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post #5 of 24
9/9/12 at 7:03pm
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Quote:
Originally Posted by proton007 View Post

Nope, I'm an ODAC+O2 guy. Fits my needs, and works well with my HD650.

Its a hard decision to make, the Asus is at a disadvantage because of lack of reviews and availability when compared to the Schiit.

Yeah there are very few reviews that I have read.  I saw there were mostly driver and firmware related problems initially.  Would the O2 work well with the Q701s and / or HE-400s? I hope to end my headphone collection after getting those two.  At least that is what I tell myself, hah. 

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post #6 of 24
9/9/12 at 10:25pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by icehole View Post

Yeah there are very few reviews that I have read.  I saw there were mostly driver and firmware related problems initially.  Would the O2 work well with the Q701s and / or HE-400s? I hope to end my headphone collection after getting those two.  At least that is what I tell myself, hah. 

The O2 (Objective 2) can power my DT880 600-Ohm headphones.

So the Q701 & HE-400 should be no problem.

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post #7 of 24
9/9/12 at 10:49pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by PurpleAngel View Post

The O2 (Objective 2) can power my DT880 600-Ohm headphones.

So the Q701 & HE-400 should be no problem.

Oh wow.  Alright I will deff also look more into this amp.  From review I read it suggested that this amp is very neutral.  I have not had that much experience with headphone amps.  I was fond of the idea that the asus was a little warm.  With that being said the price difference is astronomical.  The reviews on the O2 all look very positive.  Thanks.   

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post #8 of 24
9/10/12 at 2:54am

From the available information, it looks like the amplifier on the Essence One may perform similarly to the O2 (at least the LME49600 running from a +/- 12 V power supply should allow it to, if implemented properly), except it has an output impedance of about 10 Ω, while it is only about 0.5 Ω for the O2. Also, some people reported channel balance problems at low volume.


Edited by stv014 - 9/10/12 at 2:56am
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post #9 of 24
9/10/12 at 8:04am
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Quote:
Originally Posted by stv014 View Post

From the available information, it looks like the amplifier on the Essence One may perform similarly to the O2 (at least the LME49600 running from a +/- 12 V power supply should allow it to, if implemented properly), except it has an output impedance of about 10 Ω, while it is only about 0.5 Ω for the O2. Also, some people reported channel balance problems at low volume.

So in essence (no pun intended) the asus amp will run less efficient than the O2.  Correct me if i am wrong but on lower impedance cans this may lead to a more warm presentation but possibly some distortion at the low frequencies?  I am having a problem finding much fault with the O2 amp other than people might disregard it more because of lower price tag (which doesn't seem like a problem to me).  Sticking with a solid state amp, the O2 seems like a great choice.  Are there any flaws I have overlooked?

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post #10 of 24
9/10/12 at 8:22pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by icehole View Post

So in essence (no pun intended) the asus amp will run less efficient than the O2.  Correct me if i am wrong but on lower impedance cans this may lead to a more warm presentation but possibly some distortion at the low frequencies?  I am having a problem finding much fault with the O2 amp other than people might disregard it more because of lower price tag (which doesn't seem like a problem to me).  Sticking with a solid state amp, the O2 seems like a great choice.  Are there any flaws I have overlooked?

 

The most common argument I've heard against the O2 is that its too neutral. And it uses a separate power supply.

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post #11 of 24
9/10/12 at 8:37pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by proton007 View Post

 

The most common argument I've heard against the O2 is that its too neutral. And it uses a separate power supply.

Yeah i have read that it is neutral leaning towards bright. I am not a big fan of ear shredding treble.  I would prefer a warmer amp, do you have any suggestions?

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post #12 of 24
9/10/12 at 9:09pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by icehole View Post

Yeah i have read that it is neutral leaning towards bright. I am not a big fan of ear shredding treble.  I would prefer a warmer amp, do you have any suggestions?

Little Dot MKIII tube amp.

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post #13 of 24
9/10/12 at 9:24pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by PurpleAngel View Post

Little Dot MKIII tube amp.

I have not read up much on tube amps.  I will deff take a look.  Thanks

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post #14 of 24
9/10/12 at 10:34pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by icehole View Post

Yeah i have read that it is neutral leaning towards bright. I am not a big fan of ear shredding treble.  I would prefer a warmer amp, do you have any suggestions?

 

Its not exactly 'ear shredding' but you should not pair it with bright headphones. Any other should be fine.

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post #15 of 24
9/11/12 at 8:42am
Thread Starter 

Thanks guys.  Think i am going to try out a little dot mkIII whenever I see one pop up for sale.

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