[Yeti]

Hi!
 
I've had HD555s for nearly ten years and they're getting very worn out and so I decided to treat myself to a new pair. I've generally used them unamped (more on that later), and I'm not an enormous audiophile.
 
I've settled on the HD600s and will be using them in only one or two situations:
 - on my laptop which only has a headphone jack and has a crappy soundcard (Conexant SmartAudio HD)
 - on my iPhone in my apartment
 
Ideally, I'd like an amp that is portable-ish, so I can move around rooms with my devices and still listen. I'll admit I don't fully understand the distinction between amps/DACs, but from the reading I've done I imagine I will need a solution that has a soundcard if I want to use my laptop (given the crappy Conexant)? Therefore, there may not be a great solution that can be used with both devices well and is portable. If that is the case, it probably wouldn't be such a bad thing to do everything via the phone, but of course it would be great to have flexibility.
 
Lastly:
 
- I have a Creek OBH-15 that I used to use with my TV. Is this a good option for using with my laptop? (I guess it doesn't have a soundcard). Someone on reddit was pretty negative about it.
 
Other stuff:
 
- Mostly listening will be 320kbps Spotify streams.
- I live in Australia.
- Not looking to spend too much, maybe $100-$150 USD? (the headphones are only $270 USD, which I can't quite understand as stuff is normally absurdly expensive in Australia )
 
Many thanks for reading this far.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

 
- I have a Creek OBH-15 that I used to use with my TV. Is this a good option for using with my laptop? (I guess it doesn't have a soundcard). Someone on reddit was pretty negative about it.

 

IIRC, I think that's becuse at the time the Creek headamps came out, you could buy amps with similar circuits for a lot cheaper, or better amps for the same money. And then some DIY-modders were modding units for a hefty fee, considering the components of course, but then the question was why not just get a whole new amp. Headroom for example was the big, bang-for-buck thing back then.

 

 

[Yeti]

The guy's reply regarding the Creek was:
 

While it is possible to connect a regular DAC to the iPhone using the camera connection kit, and connect the DAC to the Creek, I'm not sure I would bother. By looking at the specs of the Creek, it's not much more powerful than the iPhone is on its own, and has significantly worse distortion, plus the output impedance is unknown on the Creek, and is known to be good on the iPhone.

 
Anyway, have been doing a bit of research into DAC+Amp combos.
 
It seems:
 
iBasso D6 or
Fiio E7 + E9 combined
 
might be what I'm looking for? And without looking at prices too closely right now, maybe the iBasso has the edge due to portability (assuming I simply can't use the E7 alone with the HD600s)
 
Any thoughts? I'll of course go read more on these later now I feel I'm on the right track...
 

 

[ProtegeManiac]

I ran into some reviews in the past that seem to suggest that the E7 sounds a little dark, or too warm (whichever, not sure, but either way it's not neutral); not sure if that's true using it as just a DAC for the E9 though (if it was then that means its DAC section is what's "dark").

 

The D6 sounds a lot better than the D4 though (which has a slightly distorted, excessive bloom on the bass), so I'm more about what I'm sure of isn't too bad than one that might be worse.

 

BTW when you use them at home, get a dock for the iPhone so it organizes the cables behind them, like how I sometimes use my SGS3 and D-Zero (I usually do this more with my reference amp and HD600). Which reminds me - why not the D-Zero MkII? I have the D-Zero and it's not far too off my Meier amplifier (considering the price difference), and the MkII has an improved amplifier stage. It's thinner too, so that could mean markedly better portability for you also.

 

 

 

[Yeti]

nice setup! thanks, i will look into the d-zero mk2 tomorrow.
 
i did a ton more reading. i'm *this* close to just ordering an o2+odac and saying screw it. because i know otherwise i'll spend another 40 hours browsing.