[Von krumm]

I went looking for the best value listening setup under $2k, and came up with the following:
RME Babyface > Bottlehead Crack with Speedball > Sennheiser HD6XX

While the babyface isn't your usual Hi-Fi DAC (I bought it for the recording options also) it is meant to be extremely accurate. Unfortunately, even with the Bottlehead amp, the sound is very similar to the Focusrite headphone jack.
There is a touch more 'clarity' in the music and instruments are easier to hear, but the difference is negligible.

Is there something I can do to squeeze more juice out of this setup....?
Or do I need to upgrade something?
Any help is much appreciated....

Regards,

Josh

 

[Mightygrey]

At the end of the day you have a pair of headphones that first came out in 2003, and are usually $200 (when available on Massdrop). Appreciate that they sound great our of your Focusrite, they're not going to sound hugely 'better' out of more expensive gear.

 

[Audio Aficionado]

I went looking for the best value listening setup under $2k, and came up with the following:
RME Babyface > Bottlehead Crack with Speedball > Sennheiser HD6XX

While the babyface isn't your usual Hi-Fi DAC (I bought it for the recording options also) it is meant to be extremely accurate. Unfortunately, even with the Bottlehead amp, the sound is very similar to the Focusrite headphone jack.
There is a touch more 'clarity' in the music and instruments are easier to hear, but the difference is negligible.

Is there something I can do to squeeze more juice out of this setup....?
Or do I need to upgrade something?
Any help is much appreciated....

Regards,

Josh

IMO it seems like you have put too much faith in to believing that the HD600 is the be-all and end-all of headphones. It is an extremely neutral/colorless headphone with detailed mid's and high frequencies, but that doesn't mean it is still the best choice. I used to own an HD600 and my experience when using it with the Cyrus CD6 and Cyrus amp I have (my best system), was that it's sound quality didn't scale-up very well at all compared to the other headphones I had such as AKG K702, Q701, K712, and the HD700. My advice would be; if you are going to invest more than $500 - $600 on an amp, you might as well invest in a headphone that is at least equally priced, if not more expensive than the amp.

____

EDIT: Okay..I just re-read and realized you said HD6XX..there's something spooky going on as I originally read it as HD600..

 

[Von krumm]

you might as well invest in a headphone that is at least equally priced, if not more expensive than the amp.

Yeah I have realised that now. I am looking at the next price bracket with strong intent.

they're not going to sound hugely 'better' out of more expensive gear.

Its interesting you say that because the DAC is meant to be better on the Babyface, and I would have thought that the Bottlehead would have added extra sound quality also. I guess not...