[nwilliams]

I currently own a set of Sennheiser HD650 and will be picking up Hifiman XS Planars.

Looking at many different options from Schiit, Topping, JDS etc. hoping to find a versatile amp that will drive both pairs of and eventually others if I add to the collection.

When looking at different amp specs some manufacturers and models will give you the power output at different impedances. They may start at 32 ohms and then state 50/300/600. Others will start at 16 ohms and will work up to 600.

The HD650 are 300ohms while the Hifiman are 18ohms.

Should I look for an amp which states it's specs starting at 18ohms? Is it important for the amp specs to state the output power at the impedance of my headphones? Many amp specs start at 32ohms and not lower..is this a concern?

 

[PurpleAngel]

With an 18-Ohm headphone, you want to get a headphone amplifier that has an output impedance of around 2-Ohms or less, for good damping control, which means a solid state or hybrid (tube and solid state) headphone amplifier.
An OTL (pure) tube headphone amplifier would have a high output impedance, which is fine for a 300-Ohm headphone.
A solid state or hybrid head amp is just fine for driving 300-Ohm headphones.

Budget?

 

[nwilliams]

With an 18-Ohm headphone, you want to get a headphone amplifier that has an output impedance of around 2-Ohms or less, for good damping control, which means a solid state or hybrid (tube and solid state) headphone amplifier.
An OTL (pure) tube headphone amplifier would have a high output impedance, which is fine for a 300-Ohm headphone.
A solid state or hybrid head amp is just fine for driving 300-Ohm headphones.

Budget?

the specs are always power (W or mW) at impedance.

As an example here is the Schiit Magnius:

Balanced Headphone Output:
Maximum Power, 16 ohms: 6.0W RMS per channel
Maximum Power, 32 ohms: 5.0W RMS per channel
Maximum Power, 50 ohms: 3.2W RMS per channel
Maximum Power, 300 ohms: 1000mW RMS per channel
Maximum Power, 600 ohms: 500mW RMS per channel

Single-Ended Headphone Output:
Maximum Power, 16 ohms: 2.2W RMS per channel
Maximum Power, 32 ohms: 2.0W RMS per channel
Maximum Power, 50 ohms: 1.3W RMS per channel
Maximum Power, 300 ohms: 300mW RMS per channel
Maximum Power, 600 ohms: 150mW RMS per channel

It also shows this:

Output Impedance: Less than 0.1 ohms at either gain
Input Impedance: 50k ohms

I was looking to spend between $200 to $300 ideally. Just for an amp...no DAC

 

[PurpleAngel]

I would get the Magnius and a balanced cable for the HD650.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

I currently own a set of Sennheiser HD650 and will be picking up Hifiman XS Planars.

Looking at many different options from Schiit, Topping, JDS etc. hoping to find a versatile amp that will drive both pairs of and eventually others if I add to the collection.

When looking at different amp specs some manufacturers and models will give you the power output at different impedances. They may start at 32 ohms and then state 50/300/600. Others will start at 16 ohms and will work up to 600.

The HD650 are 300ohms while the Hifiman are 18ohms.

Should I look for an amp which states it's specs starting at 18ohms? Is it important for the amp specs to state the output power at the impedance of my headphones? Many amp specs start at 32ohms and not lower..is this a concern?

Schiit Asgard 3 will give you double the power the HD650 needs and about quadruple the power the Edition XS will need, all without piling on distortion.

It will practically be within Class A mode on the HD650 unless you're really out to damage your eardrums, while on judicious listening with the Edition XS it will probably still be within its Class A bias limits. Not that it sounds bad when it switches over to Class B.

 

[nwilliams]

Schiit Asgard 3 will give you double the power the HD650 needs and about quadruple the power the Edition XS will need, all without piling on distortion.

It will practically be within Class A mode on the HD650 unless you're really out to damage your eardrums, while on judicious listening with the Edition XS it will probably still be within its Class A bias limits. Not that it sounds bad when it switches over to Class B.

Sorry but I am not very well versed in headphone amps.

Are you saying that the Asgard 3 would be better than the Magnius?

I found a used Magnius for a good price but I am open to going with an Asgard 3 in the event it will be a better fit for my needs.

 

[Thomasr]

My SMSL HO200 drives everything I own (see my signature) effortlessly. Look for a solid state amp with at least 5W output power and a Gain setting, and you should be set for pretty much anything.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

Sorry but I am not very well versed in headphone amps.

Are you saying that the Asgard 3 would be better than the Magnius?

I found a used Magnius for a good price but I am open to going with an Asgard 3 in the event it will be a better fit for my needs.

I didn't write that in comparison to the Magnius, but if I'd take it into account now, I'd still take the Asgard3 for a number of reasons:

1. The Asgard3 (note: does not apply to prior versions) has more power than the Magnius in SE. Meaning you can get a fair bit more power without having to get balanced cables.

2. You also won't need to get a balanced DAC to maximize it. Note that if you give a balanced amp a 2V SE input instead of a 4V balanced input signal in some cases you actually get less power than quoted, which, unless otherwise specified, is when it's fed with a 4V balanced signal.

3. It actually sounds better than my Cantate.2 driving the HD600. Slightly, there's a trade off. The Meier amp's bass is really coming from having a totally black background; Asgard3 just has a more raw, powerful slam to it. It's very quiet but compared to that Meier, in a quiet room and I hit pause at my regular listening level, I can hear some very, very faint noise from the Asgard. It's not very distinct like ringing or static, but if you compare it to a really black background there's something there. Note: if I don't have them back to back I won't even notice it to be honest. I can trade that for how much punchier the Asgard gets at a slightly lower overall volume level than the Cantate.2.

 

[dunring]

I have both those headphones and they don't need crazy power. I've had them on many amps and DACs. The JDS Atom amp+ DAC+ sounds great, anything more powerful will help you stay in low or medium gain, which always means lower distortion.
The Topping A30pro/D30pro, or Sabaj A20h and Topping d10b is very affordable and tons of power. I'd stick with amps that have the same power on all outputs since you can save a ton buying balanced cables. XLR is a superior connector, but I have both types and never heard a difference.

 

[nwilliams]

I have both those headphones and they don't need crazy power. I've had them on many amps and DACs. The JDS Atom amp+ DAC+ sounds great, anything more powerful will help you stay in low or medium gain, which always means lower distortion.
The Topping A30pro/D30pro, or Sabaj A20h and Topping d10b is very affordable and tons of power. I'd stick with amps that have the same power on all outputs since you can save a ton buying balanced cables. XLR is a superior connector, but I have both types and never heard a difference.

I wasn't sure if balanced was worth it. It makes sense to find something with good power on all outputs and not focus on balanced and having to purchase balanced cables for both set of headphones which will add costs.

the three units that are easily available to me at this point are the Topping L50 or A50s and the Schiit Magnius. I can possibly also get my hands on a A30pro. I'll compare the single ended performance on all three and go with the one that provides the most mW/W at 16 and 300ohms to go with both of my headphones, or look at total cost if I decide to factor in balanced cables for the Magnius or A50s which both provide increased power in balanced mode.

Sounds like I can't really go wrong in either scenarios as they should all drive my HD650 and XS more than adequately?