[Digital Enigma]

Thanks. This was what I was looking for - something tangible I can observe.

Don’t expect night and day differences but these are subtle refinements that add up to an overall higher quality listening experience imo.

 

[megabigeye]

I'm in the camp that says the HD 650/6XX really don't need as much voltage/power as people claim. I often use mine straight out of my M1 MacBook Pro (and several generations of Mac desktops and laptops before that, all the way back to a G5 Mini!) and my iPhone/dongle, and don't hear any difference between those and more powerful amps.
If you listen loudly or listen to music with a lot of dynamic range, then you may run up against the voltage and power limits of a low voltage device, which will sound like very audible distortion.

 

[kman1211]

I'm in the camp that says the HD 650/6XX really don't need as much voltage/power as people claim. I often use mine straight out of my M1 MacBook Pro (and several generations of Mac desktops and laptops before that, all the way back to a G5 Mini!) and my iPhone/dongle, and don't hear any difference between those and more powerful amps.
If you listen loudly or listen to music with a lot of dynamic range, then you may run up against the voltage and power limits of a low voltage device, which will sound like very audible distortion.

They don’t really need much but they do benefit from it. Difference between the Apple dongle and say an amp that can put out a lot of voltage is noticeable but not huge. More control of the sound even at lower volumes and better imaging the most notable things. I notice things get less fatiguing with long listening sessions with better gear but it’s like that with basically all headphones. My experience with the HD 650 is it doesn’t scale any more than other headphones of similar quality.

 

[jasonb]

Got a secondhand, mostly clean (minor scratches on the inner side of the adjusting band above the cups) HD6XX for USD$140. The previous owner replaced all the paddings to brand new and included a custom balanced 4.4mm cable.

Right now, I'm using the stock 3.5mm cable attached to my laptop's internal DAC directly. It sounds fantastic, and as hackneyed as this sounds, I'm picking up stuff I never heard with other headphones. The clamp force is to my liking, but I needto remember that these are NOT closed backs.

I guess laptop DACs are now much better than they were 5 years ago. I do have a Qudelix 5K, so I could use that...but my laptop 3.5mm is admittedly the path of least resistance most of the time.

I just want to say that I like the headphone jack on my M1 MacBook Air better than my Qudelix 5K. I think it just sounds better. I don't currently own an HD6XX, but the M1 MacBook Air does great on all my IEM's and my Focal Elear with Clear pads.

 

[mainguy]

I just want to say that I like the headphone jack on my M1 MacBook Air better than my Qudelix 5K. I think it just sounds better. I don't currently own an HD6XX, but the M1 MacBook Air does great on all my IEM's and my Focal Elear with Clear pads.

I'm using the 2021 16" Pro jack with HD6XX and its pretty superb.

 

[tyk103]

I think the new M1+ Macs use Cirrus DAC/AMPs when I checked their specs capable of 24/96.

 

[jasonb]

I think the new M1+ Macs use Cirrus DAC/AMPs when I checked their specs capable of 24/96.

Apple stuff has been known to use Cirrus Logic stuff, so it’s possible. All I know is that I like it.

 

[adelaidestevens]

Just picked these up yesterday for £140 in the UK.

My god they're good. For that price as well...Tempted to say most people starting out should just get these and quit buying headphones until they can drop 1500+ comfortably.

Also I'm suprised people say the 560s competes with the 6xx or similar. Having owned the 560s I feel like the 6xx are just a much better headphone in every way apart from soundstage width...

560s & 6XX are same same but different if you know what I mean, 560s have more bass extension 6XX more mid bass, one is airier, the other is more refined in the treble, male vocals sounds best on 6XX whereas 560s is thinner but female vocals shines more. I use both of them interchangeably and complements each other very well.

 

[adelaidestevens]

The HD6XX sounds good with just the Apple dongle with my iPad Pro via USB-C. It sounds great on my M1 MacBook Pro 14" as well.

Unless your ears are gone, the apple dongles does not do the 6XX justice, they simply do not provide enough current & voltage even for the more efficient 560s, compare it to any half decent desktop amp it'll sound thin, lacking dynamics especially in the bass. For the life of god only use apple dongle for IEMs

 

[megabigeye]

Unless your ears are gone, the apple dongles does not do the 6XX justice, they simply do not provide enough current & voltage even for the more efficient 560s, compare it to any half decent desktop amp it'll sound thin, lacking dynamics especially in the bass. For the life of god only use apple dongle for IEMs

I'm not going to argue about it, but I strongly disagree.

 

[adelaidestevens]

I'm in the camp that says the HD 650/6XX really don't need as much voltage/power as people claim. I often use mine straight out of my M1 MacBook Pro (and several generations of Mac desktops and laptops before that, all the way back to a G5 Mini!) and my iPhone/dongle, and don't hear any difference between those and more powerful amps.
If you listen loudly or listen to music with a lot of dynamic range, then you may run up against the voltage and power limits of a low voltage device, which will sound like very audible distortion.

I'm not going to argue about it, but I strongly disagree.

many people have a hard time noticing subtleties in audio. In that case, consider yourself lucky!

 

[megabigeye]

many people have a hard time noticing subtleties in audio. In that case, consider yourself lucky!

Maybe you're not meaning to be, but you're being a bit rude.

 

[tyk103]

Unless your ears are gone, the apple dongles does not do the 6XX justice, they simply do not provide enough current & voltage even for the more efficient 560s, compare it to any half decent desktop amp it'll sound thin, lacking dynamics especially in the bass. For the life of god only use apple dongle for IEMs

I'm 100% aware of the limitations of just using the dongle, but I'm ok with it as I have another rig and headphones for serious listening sessions.

 

[kman1211]

I'm 100% aware of the limitations of just using the dongle, but I'm ok with it as I have another rig and headphones for serious listening sessions.

I personally find the dongle better than many people want to admit. I find many cheaper amps/dacs don’t really sound all that much better and sometimes they sound worse.

 

[penmarker]

Improvements are always incremental and when you look for it the differences are amplified. Its the same as when we see lipstick and we see they're all red. Technically yes they're all red, but this red is cerulean while that red is vermillion. These two look the same but one is actually maroon while the other is burgundy. Etc etc.