Amp for HD650 and Xbox one X
Aug 20, 2018 at 7:50 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 3

Martin GH1369

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Hello to you all.

I recently bought some HD650 and am pretty underwhelmed by them, I'm guessing this is because of my amp and dac combo (SMSL Audio sAp 2 pro amp and the SMSL Saskrit 6 dac) and not the headphones.

I originally thought they sounded good but then I played an album that I have listened to a million times (War of the Worlds by Jeff Wayne) and noticed that a lot of sounds were missing.
I got my Philips Fidelio X2HRs out and immediately noticed a difference, the volume was louder (which is why I'm looking at the amp as the source of the problem) at the same volume setting and the missing sounds came back. The X2s sounded exciting and alive where as the HD650s sounded almost bored and tired.... you may notice that I'm not educated in audio parlance.

I have a Denon AVR X3300W that I've tried using the headphones on but it's pretty underwhelming, they sound a bit muddy.

I'm looking for an amp/dac that I can buy that will allow me to get the best out of my HD650s. I will mostly use it connected to my Xbox one, gaming and listening to music so it would ideally have Toslink/optical.
It doesn't have to be portable as I don't see myself wearing the HD650s outside.

My budget would be roughly £300 but I do have some wiggle room.

Cheers.

Edit* I live in England, I'm not sure if this is relevant or not but it may help with recommendations due to the lower availability of goods vs the USA.
 
Last edited:
Aug 20, 2018 at 8:21 PM Post #2 of 3
The computer can be connected to the Denon in three ways, line-output (RCA), Toslink optical and HDMI, have you tried all three?
How about trying to use the SMSL Saskrit 6 DAC, between the PC and the Denon?

Darkvoice 336SE OTL tube headphone amplifier.
https://www.massdrop.com/buy/dark-voice-366se
But does not ship unlit Oct 15th.
 
Aug 21, 2018 at 7:30 AM Post #3 of 3
Hi PurpleAngel

Is your username a reference to the great Prince/Symbol?

I am looking for an amp that I can connect to an Xbox one X, not a pc. My gaming pc has a pretty good sound card but I rarely use the pc for medical reasons. I much prefer the simplicity of a console these days.

I only mentioned the Denon AVR as I am not happy with the way the headphones sound from it.

Thanks for the recommendation.
 

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