[fanta]

The HD650s I bought were one of the best purchases I've ever made. I love them. I really, really love them. At that point I didn't even know about amps and dacs, when I did I got a cheap ~20 penguin cmoy. I doubt there was much of a difference, I never bothered to test.

Now I received a Pico amp/dac. This thing is ~500 dollars, and the dac apparently is as good as 1000 dollar ones.

I tried the amp first... no difference? OK there's something different about it.... but I'm not exactly blown away. I connect the dac and set it as the default playback device in Vista... now the music is going through the dac and amp... before buying the pico I thought I won't be able to believe the sound coming out of it, and now I'm switching between songs and default players in vista just trying to hear the difference. I went to that linn records site and listened to high-quality samples, and yeah, same thing...

Now I'm thinking I probably would've been just as happy with cheaper headphones too.

I hate this. I feel left out. I feel like I'm deaf. And stupid.

 

[MaloS]

Try using what you listened to before again.

 

[number1sixerfan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MaloS /img/forum/go_quote.gif Try using what you listened to before again.

x2 and also give it time. As time goes on you may start to recognize the differences.

 

[chouman]

Is your music ripped in lossless or is it compressed? The pico has such an incredible dac that it will reveal all the flaws in your source, or it will showcase the strengths in good recordings. What do you listen to? I also agree with Malos, listen with the Pico for a good while, then return to the original way you listened. You should then realize the improvements. They are sometimes subtle, but plenty noticeable after you've acclimated to the better sound of the pico and return to a lesser setup.

 

[vvs_75]

You are not deaf! Consider yourself the Lucky one.

Wait few hundred hours for the amp to settle down. If then you can't hear the difference then sell it and be happy.

 

[IPodPJ]

Aww, don't feel bad. You're not deaf and you're not stupid.

What media player are you using? Are you using ASIO? What is the quality of your music files?
If you aren't using ASIO (or Kernel Streaming) then you are not getting a bit-perfect signal.

Your ears and brain will require lots of training. Being able to distinguish all the pros and cons between different audio pieces takes time. Don't get frustrated. You will get there.

One thing I will say is that the HD650 are 300 ohm headphones which are hard for ANY portable amp to drive. I never recommend anyone use higher than a 40 ohm headphone for portable use. Setting it to high gain is not the solution (it's just a workaround), since high gain will always give you lower quality performance than low gain. Try a lower impedance headphone to do your comparing with. See if you are able to tell differences between the amps then.

Keep your chin up.

 

[d-cee]

you're probably experiencing diminishing returns

 

[classic_rock_69]

It takes training to hear differences, for some it is easier than others. I find closing your eyes and focusing on the music to be a good way to do it. When your eyes are open you don't focus on listening as much. Take others advice and switch the two listening to the same songs.

 

[Capunk]

You need to properly set your source.
iPodPJ mention ASIO, and that's the first thing you must do.
Install FooBar2000, get ASIO plug ins, and configure it.
There is a guide inside computer-as-source forum, how to properly setup ASIO. So at the end you will enjoy a bit-perfect music from your PC.
Try it, and I guarantee it will be better than your "plug & play" setup.

 

[MaloS]

You know guys - if it takes that much work to pick up differences, then he might as well return the Pico...

 

[ZepFloyd]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Capunk /img/forum/go_quote.gif You need to properly set your source. iPodPJ mention ASIO, and that's the first thing you must do. Install FooBar2000, get ASIO plug ins, and configure it. There is a guide inside computer-as-source forum, how to properly setup ASIO. So at the end you will enjoy a bit-perfect music from your PC. Try it, and I guarantee it will be better than your "plug & play" setup.

do you mind finding that thread..would love to try it out

 

[IPodPJ]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MaloS /img/forum/go_quote.gif You know guys - if it takes that much work to pick up differences, then he might as well return the Pico...

Normally I'd agree with you. But he's new to the hobby. If he can't hear the differences now, eventually he will be able to (if he sticks with it) and when he does he will need a new amp all over again.

I remember when I went crazy spending oodles of money on a car audio system. At the time, I thought lots of bass, low midrange, and incredibly sharp treble sounded great. It took me a long time to realize that it didn't, but at the time it sounded good to me. As someone becomes more knowledgeable about this hobby (and can do so with the wealth of information on this site), the knowledge they've acquired becomes tantamount to understanding why X sounds better than Y.

 

[stevenkelby]

After getting your source sorted out as mentioned above, listen again with the Pico. Don't do anything else like using the PC. Sit in the dark in a silent room. Listen to a full album you love start to finish. Just listen to the music, try to imagine you're there. Pay attention to the rhythm and follow the tune. Listen closely for details you never heard before.

Listen to it again with your Cmoy.

Don't listen for differences, just listen to the music again.

The differences will become obvious on their own. If they don't, that's cool, you can save a lot of money! Don't feel bad, we all hear differently. I bet a lot of people are in the same boat as you, but don't have the guts to say it.

 

[ZepFloyd]

I d-loaded foobar, and installed the ASIO output file and installed it into the components folder in foobar as it said to do so. what else do i need to do?

 

[fanta]

I'm getting headaches from listening through the Pico now... When I have something loud like Tool it gets harder to listen by the minute. o_O

Although I'm not completely sure it's the Pico, guess I'll know after a few days of use. I'm not going to sell or return it right now, I'll just use it for a while and see how it goes.