Amp recommendations for HD-555s/Computer
Jul 3, 2005 at 5:02 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 35

fustercluck

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Anyone getting tired of these types of threads yet? Well too bad!
tongue.gif


Just looking for some recommendations for an amp. I have Sennheiser HD-555s, and would only used this amp on my computer most likely, so it doesn't matter if it's portable or not, infact i'd prefer it not be portable, but whateva. Price limit would be around $200, i'd much rather spend under $150 though. They are only Sennheiser HD-555s, so a big super powerful amp isn't really needed, just something that's fun to listen too, something to really get me to enjoy my music more, is mainly what i'm looking for. Need something that can be run off a power supply like an Elpac. Would like a 1/4" output as well.

Also, any other places to look at where people sell amps? I've been checking the sell/trade forum here for a long time and haven't found anything of much interest. Hopefully something will come along soon, i really want to be amped up again soon. Thanks for looking, any recommendations are appreciated.

I've searched the forums here for other recommendations for similar situations, which were helpful, but the more advice i get the better.
 
Jul 3, 2005 at 5:22 PM Post #2 of 35
Quote:

Originally Posted by fustercluck
Also, any other places to look at where people sell amps? I've been checking the sell/trade forum here for a long time and haven't found anything of much interest.


Mall-Fi
HeadRoom**
Meier Audio**
Todd the Vinyl (and Headphone) Junkie**
Audio Cubes**
Lehmann Audio**

** Denotes Official Head-Fi sponsor

There is also Mr. Go-Vibe himself who's products and service are highly regarded here. Norm (aka Tigger) is a long time member here.
 
Jul 4, 2005 at 6:09 AM Post #4 of 35
Quote:

Originally Posted by fustercluck
Anyone getting tired of these types of threads yet? Well too bad!
tongue.gif


Just looking for some recommendations for an amp. I have Sennheiser HD-555s, and would only used this amp on my computer most likely, so it doesn't matter if it's portable or not, infact i'd prefer it not be portable, but whateva. Price limit would be around $200, i'd much rather spend under $150 though. They are only Sennheiser HD-555s, so a big super powerful amp isn't really needed, just something that's fun to listen too, something to really get me to enjoy my music more, is mainly what i'm looking for. Need something that can be run off a power supply like an Elpac. Would like a 1/4" output as well.

Also, any other places to look at where people sell amps? I've been checking the sell/trade forum here for a long time and haven't found anything of much interest. Hopefully something will come along soon, i really want to be amped up again soon. Thanks for looking, any recommendations are appreciated.

I've searched the forums here for other recommendations for similar situations, which were helpful, but the more advice i get the better.




I have 555s as well, running out of a computer. When I got a BitHead the week after I got the 555s, the sound quality improved dramatically, also because of the better DAC. The bass got much beefier and tighter, and everything was a lot cleaner. I especially decided to go this route because I'm running out of a laptop, so it's harder to upgrade the sound card. This might be a good way to go if you don't already have a good sound card. Unfortunately, the only other dedicated amp I've heard is a CMoy, so I don't have a lot of experience for comparison. It doesn't have the 1/4" output though, and it is portable, and $200, but HeadRoom is a nice company.
 
Jul 4, 2005 at 6:37 AM Post #5 of 35
first of all, is your soundcard good enough to pair with quality amp? What soundcard do you have? get an m-audio revolution 5 at least for your soundcard first. Try the m-audio's headphone jack with your 555, you might not be disappointed. If the sound is not enough, hook up a pocketamp or something much more substantial like the portaphile v2, z-audio lamda, or the gilmore lite... supermacro if youre into opamp rolling and sr71 if you want to spend much more.
Or you could go another route like get a total bithead or bithead from headroom if your soundcard is bad. It comes with a dac and therefore you won't have to go through your soundcard.

If you have a laptop, go for a echo indigo... it should power your 555 pretty well.

I havent listened to these combos but all of this is taken from my research in headfi since I also have a 555 coming to me.
 
Jul 4, 2005 at 7:09 AM Post #6 of 35
Thanks for the replies. I have an Audigy 2 ZS, not one of the highest recommended for music i know, but i game a lot so i'll keep it. It's not as bad as some people make it out to be.

Where could i find some of the amps mentioned? Like the Portaphile v2, gilmore lite, Electric Avenue's Pocket Amp V2, or SR-71? Specific models of amps are hard to find, if i try to google up information on amps it always leads me back here
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. I'll try and track them down now.

I'm not sure what opamp rolling is, so i probably don't need that. Sounds interesting though
tongue.gif
 
Jul 4, 2005 at 7:53 AM Post #8 of 35
opamp rolling is like changing tubes to get different types of sound in a tube amp, only this is solid state. opamps are an extra expense. Read the supermacro thread in the amps forum, You will get an idea of what kind of fun you'll get into with this
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Also, have you tried your 555 with the audigys headphone jack, is it ok? which 555 do you have, the 50ohm or the 120ohm version? If you have the 50ohm version, the pocket amp should be sufficient. It would probably be a waste of money to spend more than $150 on an amp if the source isn't that great. The differences in amp resolution will probably be wasted. If you plan to upgrade your souncard to something like an emu1212 or get a good source like a cd/dvd player front end in the future... thats a different story... you will be happy with the more expensive stuff too. The differences in the amps will also be clearer if you plan to upgrade or buy other headphones in the future. mmmmmmmm, I'm already thinking of the sa5000... I havent even got my 555s yet.
 
Jul 4, 2005 at 9:19 AM Post #10 of 35
Get a Rockhopper Audio PIMETA Home. They're $200, run off a 24V Elpac and will take your HD555s as far as they can go.

http://homepage.mac.com/skatsaounis/...dio/pimeta.htm

The included AD8610/20 opamp should work perfect with the HD555s too. I know you'd rather spend just $150, but I think a PIMETA Home would be worth the extra $50.

My second choice would be a Shellbrook Labs Maxi Moy. It also runs off an AC wall wart. It should run you $145.

http://www.shellbrooklab.com/maxi.htm
 
Jul 4, 2005 at 1:37 PM Post #11 of 35
Quote:

Originally Posted by cmirza
Get a Rockhopper Audio PIMETA Home. They're $200, run off a 24V Elpac and will take your HD555s as far as they can go.

http://homepage.mac.com/skatsaounis/...dio/pimeta.htm

The included AD8610/20 opamp should work perfect with the HD555s too. I know you'd rather spend just $150, but I think a PIMETA Home would be worth the extra $50.

My second choice would be a Shellbrook Labs Maxi Moy. It also runs off an AC wall wart. It should run you $145.

http://www.shellbrooklab.com/maxi.htm



Thanks for those recommendations. The Rockhopper Pimeta looks pretty nice, but yeah, a little too costly for me. It's probably a good price at $200 but then i'd have to buy a 24 Elpac which would probably be $20+, and i'd probably buy some nice cables like Zu Pivots, which would add around $40.

One amp i was considering here looks quite similar to the Rockhopper Pimeta, maybe that's the amp for me. The last amp i had used the AD8620 opamp, and i liked it pretty well. Not sure at all how the OPA637BP/27BP would be or how it pairs with the HD-555s...so many questions when buying an amp, i guess the only way to find out if an amp goes well with my phones is to buy it and try it.
 
Jul 4, 2005 at 1:54 PM Post #12 of 35
Quote:

Originally Posted by fustercluck
Thanks for those recommendations. The Rockhopper Pimeta looks pretty nice, but yeah, a little too costly for me. It's probably a good price at $200 but then i'd have to buy a 24 Elpac which would probably be $20+, and i'd probably buy some nice cables like Zu Pivots, which would add around $40.

One amp i was considering here looks quite similar to the Rockhopper Pimeta, maybe that's the amp for me. The last amp i had used the AD8620 opamp, and i liked it pretty well. Not sure at all how the OPA637BP/27BP would be or how it pairs with the HD-555s...so many questions when buying an amp, i guess the only way to find out if an amp goes well with my phones is to buy it and try it.



you can always roll some AD8610s or AD8620s..
 
Jul 4, 2005 at 8:49 PM Post #13 of 35
I'd seriously consider spending a bit more and getting a Bithead or a Porta Corda MkIII USB. Yeah, they're more than your budget, but you're getting two things: soundcard and headphone amp.
 
Jul 5, 2005 at 2:56 AM Post #14 of 35
Quote:

Originally Posted by sacundim
I'd seriously consider spending a bit more and getting a Bithead or a Porta Corda MkIII USB. Yeah, they're more than your budget, but you're getting two things: soundcard and headphone amp.


You mean a sound card is included when you purchase those amps or is there some kind of internal sound card?

I'm still interested in Opamp Rolling, if anyone cares to elaborate more or link me to some more info that'd make me happy
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Jul 5, 2005 at 6:33 AM Post #15 of 35
Quote:

Originally Posted by fustercluck
You mean a sound card is included when you purchase those amps or is there some kind of internal sound card?


Those two are combination USB soundcard + headphone amp.
 

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