[ZaWorld]

I currently have 500-700 to spend on an amp, but I am unsure what I should be doing at this point. I already have a neutral amp/dac combo driving my HD 650 and HE400s. Would it make sense to upgrade to a more powerful neutral amp or should I start looking at sound distortion qualities of tube amps? My goal is to improve soundstage, impact and become closer to the music. My thoughts are that more power will only make the music louder. Can anyone explain how more or excess power would affect my headphones?

 

[cel4145]

It would probably help a lot if you say what amp/dac you have already

Depending on the power output if your amp, it may reach the volumes you like, but may not have the power to support the dynamics in music because the amp is already near its limits. In that case, a more powerful amp would help.

Also, you have a high impedance headphone and a low impedance headphone. Many amps are more suited to one of the extremes over the other. For instance, a tube amp would allow you to tube roll to experiment with sound stage, etc. But OTL tube amps are not suited for low impedance headphones, and hybrid tube amps are typically not as well suited for high impedance headphones.

 

[kramer5150]

What amp/DAC are you using now?  Start with that...
 
Personally I have found the HD650 to be a very efficient / sensitive headphone, despite its high impedance.  It just doesn't need much grunt, so long as your amp can cover the AC voltage swing it requires.  I think its also colored enough to mask over a LOT of the sonic attributes of whats upstream.  So I personally don't think upgrading from a "small wire with gain" to a "bigger wire with gain" makes any difference with the HD650.  But thats with the MAJOR assumption that all gain stages sound identical.  Circuits sound different, components sound different... better or worse from one listener to another.  Its more a question of perception and preference than anything technical.
 
Personally the sonic differences between my Earmax and DV337 are slight but noticeable with my HD650.  The 337 with tung sol tubes and dual mono topography is the better amp and rendering the soundstage, and layering an image.  The 337 is also a cleaner sounding amp, more "dry" and analytical.  Where-as the earmax has a warm-throaty kind of character.  Slight but noticeable depending on the music and my frame of mind.

 

[ZaWorld]

I run a o2/dac combo which can easily drive my headphones. This is why I think more power may not be the right answer. 

 

[cel4145]

I run a o2/dac combo which can easily drive my headphones. This is why I think more power may not be the right answer. 

Depends on how loud you like to listen. I didn't have the HE-400s when I had the O2, but they certainly like a good bit of power if you want to crank them up

 

[ProtegeManiac]

Quote:

  I currently have 500-700 to spend on an amp, but I am unsure what I should be doing at this point. I already have a neutral amp/dac combo driving my HD 650 and HE400s. Would it make sense to upgrade to a more powerful neutral amp or should I start looking at sound distortion qualities of tube amps? 

 

Well if you ask someone like me, why pay for more distortion? Paying more should get you less distortion, tube or SS, it doesn't matter. If anything, the only real argument against a properly designed tube amp is that you'd have to assemble the tubes and then test them at some point, but then again the advantage is that at least tubes can be tested and replaced easily, unlike taking off the soldering on chips and then guessing which specific chip is screwed up (unless you have obvious clues like blackened bits where a certain component got fried).
 
Quote:

  My goal is to improve soundstage, impact and become closer to the music.

 
Lower distortion whether tube or SS can do that. Refer  to what I wrote above regarding the real considerations for tube vs SS.
 
 
Quote:

  My thoughts are that more power will only make the music louder. Can anyone explain how more or excess power would affect my headphones?

 
A higher quality amp doesn't just have more power, it will have more power with less distortion. That means you can listen louder with less distortion; however if you're already listening at optimal listening levels then you just get less distortion. The question there is whether it will be noticeable. The thing is a neutral, low noise (ie blacker background) source - CDP, DAC, etc - with a low noise and distortion (but relatively high power) amp working together with a good headphone (or speaker, as the case  may be) is the key, in other words the entire system. The need for a bigger, better amp depends on what the headphone (or speaker in a given room size) needs.

 

[davidsh]

Seems to me you are set regarding your source. No point in upgrading further if you get plenty of undistorted volume for your use

 

[ZaWorld]

Thanks for all the input everyone. I have a better idea where to go from here on out. I can rethink the amp if I ever decide to upgrade my headphones.