[Adelz]

Hey, I'm planning on purchasing a pair of headphones along with an amp and dac. My budget is roughly $1000. I mostly listen to electronic music (Electro, House, Drum and Bass) and occasionally some Rock and Classical. The audio source will be my PC (Asus Maximus Gen3/Gene-Z motherboard with SupremeFX X-Fi 2 Built-in, if that's relevant). 
 
Originally, I planned on getting the Sennheiser HD 650s along with a Magni and Modi. The HD 700s are in my price range as well. Would it be worth it to go for the 700s (with the Magni and Modi) or either the 600s or 650s, assuming I was to go with a Sennheiser brand headphone? Other than those, the HiFiMan HE-500s were also recommended to me, and any other recommendations are appreciated. As I have no first-hand experience with these headphones, I'm not sure which sound signature would be best for the type of music I listen to. I also hear that the 650s scale very well, so I'm not sure if I should go for those and get a more expensive amp like the Lyr or Bottlehead Crack. 
 
Any advice is appreciated. Thanks!
 
EDIT: I purchased the Sennheiser HD 650s from BuySonic for $350. In my opinion it was a great deal and I think they'll be a great fit for me. I'm still deciding on an amp and DAC. Currently I'm leaning toward the Little Dot MK IV or Valhalla, however I'm not sure if it would really be worth the money over a Magni (most likely will all be paired with a Modi unless there are other suggestions).

 

[ToddTheMetalGod]

If I were you I would wait a bit for the Hifiman HE-400i or pick up a Hifiman HE-500. While the HD650 has a great mid-range, the Hifiman's have a good midrange but with a deep and mostly flat bass response. Not everyone likes a flat bass response, but I think it's perfect for electronic music. They go a lot deeper in the bass and sound much better in this region than the 650. Also the lush midrange that planars usually have sounds great with the electronic music that most people listen to.

Either option would be great, but I would personally go with the Hifiman. As for the DAC and amp either a Schiit Modi and Magni combo, or a well-built ODAC and O2 combo (such as Mayflower or JDS Labs). Good luck.

 

[Adelz]

Hey, thanks for the info. I'm still really not sure which to go for, I'm still really considering the HD 650s. It seems like most of this is left up to personal preference; hopefully I'll be able to try a few pairs before I purchase any. 

 

[ToddTheMetalGod]

The classical will probably fair better on a pair of HD600/650, but in my opinion rock and electronic are better suited to one of the Hifiman. HD600 are especially known for their accurate instrument timbre and very natural sound, whereas the HD650 is slightly warmer and more fluid. Don't worry too much, both are among the top choices for mid-fi headphones. You could also consider the popular AKG headphones at the price point, known for their large soundstage. I don't know anything about the HD700 so I really can't suggest it.

Hopefully someone else can give more insight, but hearing the headphones first is highly recommended. Sometimes people have very different definitions of audiophile terms, or just have a totally different perspective on sound coming from different equipment... so sometimes what they're describing is different from the experience of others.

 

[Head Injury]

Having not heard any of them personally, my vote would be the HE-500. Deep, flat orthodynamic bass is awesome for electronic music, though it might not "impress" as much on first listen as a dynamic driver bass hump. For $600 the HE-500 is a great "value" too. It traded blows with the LCD-2 for forum favorite ortho back when it was, like, $900. If it were $600 3 years ago, I'd have probably chosen it myself.
 
For amp and DAC, get an O2 from JDS or Mayflower, then get any half-decent USB DAC. You can get an ODAC bundled in with the amp, but you don't really need to spend that much on a DAC if you don't want to.

 

[Adelz]

Thanks for the advice. I definitely want to test the headphones out before I buy. At this point I think I have a pretty good idea of what to expect from the HD 650s and HE500 (at least without listening for myself). It would be great if someone with experience with the HD 700s could leave their opinion on them.

 

[Adelz]

  Having not heard any of them personally, my vote would be the HE-500. Deep, flat orthodynamic bass is awesome for electronic music, though it might not "impress" as much on first listen as a dynamic driver bass hump. For $600 the HE-500 is a great "value" too. It traded blows with the LCD-2 for forum favorite ortho back when it was, like, $900. If it were $600 3 years ago, I'd have probably chosen it myself.
 
For amp and DAC, get an O2 from JDS or Mayflower, then get any half-decent USB DAC. You can get an ODAC bundled in with the amp, but you don't really need to spend that much on a DAC if you don't want to.

Hmm, I'll definitely have to find somewhere to test the HE-500s. As for the amp, is the O2 ($129, I believe) worth it over the $100 Magni? I know the price difference is negligible, I'm just not sure which is considered the better amp. Also, could you link to the amps and dacs you mentioned? I just want to make sure that I found the correct products. 

 

[Head Injury]

  Hmm, I'll definitely have to find somewhere to test the HE-500s. As for the amp, is the O2 ($129, I believe) worth it over the $100 Magni? I know the price difference is negligible, I'm just not sure which is considered the better amp. Also, could you link to the amps and dacs you mentioned? I just want to make sure that I found the correct products. 

The O2 and Magni should sound exactly the same, as long as the Magni measures as well as the specs suggest. I think the O2 is worth considering for a couple of reasons:

• It started as a DIY project to achieve complete transparency within audible limits, and the best measurements for the price. Whether or not it succeeded depends on who you ask, but in any case there are very in-depth measurements which prove its transparency driving all sorts of loads. You'll have to look them up as we aren't allowed to link to the blog. To my knowledge, the Magni doesn't have published specs like this, so we don't know how it performs outside of the specs on their product page, what the graphs look like exactly, or what impedance load achieved those specs. The O2's performance is (more or less) a sure thing.
• The Magni drives 32 ohm loads with 1.2 Watts rms. You don't need that much. The O2 limits current more, so you get about 600mW into 32 ohms, but about as much as the Magni into high impedances. This is NOT a big deal for the HE-500, which requires a lot of power, but if you ever decide to use the amp with easy to drive low impedance headphones like IEMs, you'll be able to turn the O2's volume up higher and avoid potential issues with noise, crosstalk, and channel imbalance low volumes can cause. Basically, the O2 has enough power to drive any headphone, but not too much.
• The O2 offers 2 gain settings, 2.5x and 6.5x by default, but can be customized by the manufacturer or yourself to some combination of 1x, 2.5x, 3.5x, and 6.5x. Lower gain settings further help with low volume issues, and allow you to switch between desktop DAC and portable source like a smartphone with less extreme gain differences.
• The O2 is portable by default, with a pair of batteries able to output 4.5 Vrms and 8-10ish hours of battery life (I think). Not relevant to the HE-500 unless you want to impress your friends, but it's good versatility.

 
With all that said, I bought an O2. None of it matters as much for the DAC because all DACs drive a similar load with a similar voltage, so the specs you see are normally what you get. The ODAC still has way more published specs than other DACs in the price range, so if you like the guaranteed performance it's another "buy and forget" product and worth it for peace of mind. My soundcard has been pretty thoroughly tested so I didn't bother.
 
Mayflower Electronics and JDS Labs are the best places to buy. Mayflower sells the combo O2+ODAC in default configuration for an unbeatable $239.99. You can also buy a separate O2 without the batteries for $119 if portability doesn't interest you at all.
 
JDS is more expensive (you have to buy the power adapter separately, so about $139 total before shipping), but IMO the end product look nicer. You can also have them laser engrave custom text or an image onto the amp for free, which was for me definitely worth the extra $10. See below 

 

 
I hope this post makes sense, I can't even remember what I typed.
 
EDIT: I want to reiterate that the Magni is fine. I'm sure it's as good as everyone says, and Schiit makes good schiit. Most amps are more than capable of being completely transparent with most loads unless they're designed not to be. You will be happy with either choice. Just so it doesn't look like I'm selling O2s 

 

 

[ToddTheMetalGod]

I've heard plenty of good things about the Magni, and people that own both the O2 and Magni frequently state that both sound almost identical. The reason that I would go with the O2 is more options in terms of manufacturers, also the gain switch may come in handy... I've heard stories of low impedence, high sensitivity headphones not having enough room to play with on the volume pot of the Magni given it's high power output.

 

[Adelz]

Wow, thanks for all the info. I definitely will have to consider both the O2+ODAC as well as the Magni and Modi. If their performance is about the same with the headphones mentioned before, then I'll most likely go with the cheaper option. Also, it's not very important, but aesthetically, I prefer Schiit's products. 
 
As for the headphones, I guess I just need to try a few different brands and models. I am still considering getting the HD 650s as they're $350 right now on BuySonic. I know my budget says $1000, which is true, but if I can spent $600 and achieve a similar result then I think I'd like to do that. In the future I'll most likely be saving for a pair of HD 800s regardless.

 

[Rhamnetin]

Don't leave Audio GD out of the equation either, they have highly regarded budget options like the NFB-15 and NFB-11.
 
$350 for the HD 650 is hard to pass up.  You might want to consider an OTL tube amp for it like the Little Dot MKIII or MKIV, or G1217 Project Sunrise III or Project Horizon III.  These are said to be great matches for those Sennheisers.

 

[Adelz]

  Don't leave Audio GD out of the equation either, they have highly regarded budget options like the NFB-15 and NFB-11.
 
$350 for the HD 650 is hard to pass up.  You might want to consider an OTL tube amp for it like the Little Dot MKIII or MKIV, or G1217 Project Sunrise III or Project Horizon III.  These are said to be great matches for those Sennheisers.

The Little Dot MK III or IV are both pretty tempting. I'm guessing those would also be a good pairing for the HD 800s if I were to upgrade in the future. If I were to get one of those amps, what type of DAC would be recommended to go along with it?

 

[Rhamnetin]

  The Little Dot MK III or IV are both pretty tempting. I'm guessing those would also be a good pairing for the HD 800s if I were to upgrade in the future. If I were to get one of those amps, what type of DAC would be recommended to go along with it?

 
I have no idea how they pair with the HD 800, you might want to ask here.
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/650510/the-new-hd800-impressions-thread
 
As for a DAC, the Modi or ODAC are still good choices.

 

[Adelz]

   
I have no idea how they pair with the HD 800, you might want to ask here.
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/650510/the-new-hd800-impressions-thread
 
As for a DAC, the Modi or ODAC are still good choices.

Okay, I'll read through the HD 800 amp thread linked over there. If I do go this route of getting the HD 650s at $350, that leaves more money for the amp and DAC than I originally thought. So, I could potentially go for the Valhalla, or maybe even the Lyr, from Schiit, and pair with a Modi. How would those two amps compare with the Little Dot MK IV? It's listed at $500 on Amazon, however this Ebay seller has it listed new at $315. I rarely buy anything off ebay; is that price legitimate or am I missing something (linked below?
 
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Little-Dot-MK-IV-Tube-Headphone-Amplifier-Pre-amplifier-tube-preamp-stereo-tube/120912373455?_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D23492%26meid%3D8ee9133625ff40858f9d968d82c682fa%26pid%3D100005%26prg%3D10073%26rk%3D2%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D261093881874&rt=nc

 

[Adelz]

Double posted by accident.