parhelictriangle
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Apr 18, 2006
- Posts
- 243
- Likes
- 13
Hi all,
I love my current setup with the Apogee Duet, and my HD-595s sound great through the headphone stage. I know this is a powerful professional little unit, and it's certainly driving my 50-ohm headphones to their max potential.
While I love the 595s, I'd love to get a bit more refinement and clarity with blacker spaces between the notes and less graininess in the highs. I do like the slightly forward presentation of these cans, but I've heard that the "new" version of the 600s and 650s are brighter and less veiled than the old (pre-2006?) units. If the Duet can drive either of the upper-echelon dynamic Senns well, I might be willing to splurge on either.
Has anyone used 600s or 650s straight outta the Duet? Just wondering if upgraded cans would get me any improvements over the current setup. A dedicated amp can come in later, but I'm not willing to spend my money on amplification before the cans considering my source is quite good (that wonderful apogee DAC) and the 595s are being driven rather authoritatively. I know new Senns will scale up if I add an amp to the Duet's DAC and the 595s won't, but right now, ampless, would I get any benefits from new cans or would harder-to-drive Senns sound worse than the 595s from the Duet's headphone out?
[Note: if the benefits from upgrading headphones are marginal, I'm considering upgrading my SE-310s to SE-530s for portable use/use through the Duet. Lately, portability and isolation have been important to me (it's noisy in downtown LA when you're studying for the Cal. Bar exam), so new IEMs might be a more rational way to spend my money. After the damned bar exam, that is.]
I love my current setup with the Apogee Duet, and my HD-595s sound great through the headphone stage. I know this is a powerful professional little unit, and it's certainly driving my 50-ohm headphones to their max potential.
While I love the 595s, I'd love to get a bit more refinement and clarity with blacker spaces between the notes and less graininess in the highs. I do like the slightly forward presentation of these cans, but I've heard that the "new" version of the 600s and 650s are brighter and less veiled than the old (pre-2006?) units. If the Duet can drive either of the upper-echelon dynamic Senns well, I might be willing to splurge on either.
Has anyone used 600s or 650s straight outta the Duet? Just wondering if upgraded cans would get me any improvements over the current setup. A dedicated amp can come in later, but I'm not willing to spend my money on amplification before the cans considering my source is quite good (that wonderful apogee DAC) and the 595s are being driven rather authoritatively. I know new Senns will scale up if I add an amp to the Duet's DAC and the 595s won't, but right now, ampless, would I get any benefits from new cans or would harder-to-drive Senns sound worse than the 595s from the Duet's headphone out?
[Note: if the benefits from upgrading headphones are marginal, I'm considering upgrading my SE-310s to SE-530s for portable use/use through the Duet. Lately, portability and isolation have been important to me (it's noisy in downtown LA when you're studying for the Cal. Bar exam), so new IEMs might be a more rational way to spend my money. After the damned bar exam, that is.]