[KuKuBuKu]

Well, Best Buy has a few headphones and so does Guitar Center. Where do you live?

 

[dandrewka]

I was fortunate to have a local store have them both for demo, and the let me sit in a comfy chair with my iPhone for as long as it took.
 
World of Sound in Mill Valley, CA was the store.  Call around your area, checking all the higher end stores.  Even if you have to travel a bit, it's worth it to get it right.

 

[nastyskillz]

Sorry to sound like a total noob, but if I have an Asus Xonar sound card in my computer, do I need an amd with DAC or not? Will there be any benefits to buying an AMP with DAC?

 

[dandrewka]

Depends on the quality of the DAC.  Your computer converts digital to analog via the speaker output port.  If you had a decent DAC/Amp combo, you could output your audio digitally via USB.
 
I have a FiiO E7/E9 combo.  Sound inputs directly via USB.  I also use the FiiO as a pre-amp for my desktop speaker system.  Works great.

 

[VulgarDisplay]

You won't really know if you need a seperate DAC until you hook your amp up to your soundcard.  If you can hear noise and interference in the signal from the soundcard then you will probably want a seperate DAC.  The ASUS cards are pretty nice, so you shouldn't need a seperate DAC.  

 

[nastyskillz]

Quote:

You won't really know if you need a seperate DAC until you hook your amp up to your soundcard.  If you can hear noise and interference in the signal from the soundcard then you will probably want a seperate DAC.  The ASUS cards are pretty nice, so you shouldn't need a seperate DAC.  

Well what if i buy an amp without a DAC and then find out I need one. Can I buy a DAC later? May seem self explanatory but i have never worked with these amps before. I barely know what DAC means.

 

[dandrewka]

Yes, with FiiO.  The E9 is a standalone amp.  The E7 is also a standalone portable amp with a really nice DAC.  The E9 has a dock specifically for the E7.  When using both, the E7 becomes purely a DAC.
 
Virtually all media nowadays is digital - MP3's, CD's etc.  But what you listen to (headphones, speakers) requires an analog signal.  A DAC is simply a digital to analog converter.  

 

[nastyskillz]

Quote:

Yes, with FiiO.  The E9 is a standalone amp.  The E7 is also a standalone portable amp with a really nice DAC.  The E9 has a dock specifically for the E7.  When using both, the E7 becomes purely a DAC.
 
Virtually all media nowadays is digital - MP3's, CD's etc.  But what you listen to (headphones, speakers) requires an analog signal.  A DAC is simply a digital to analog converter.  

Well doesn't my sound card do that work for me? 

 

[disastermouse]

Quote:

Quote:

Yes, with FiiO.  The E9 is a standalone amp.  The E7 is also a standalone portable amp with a really nice DAC.  The E9 has a dock specifically for the E7.  When using both, the E7 becomes purely a DAC.
 
Virtually all media nowadays is digital - MP3's, CD's etc.  But what you listen to (headphones, speakers) requires an analog signal.  A DAC is simply a digital to analog converter.  

Well doesn't my sound card do that work for me? 

Yes, it does the work.  How well does it do the work, though?  The E7 is a CD quality (16/48) DAC - I have it.  Won't output at the highest level of recording that is put onto SACDs and such - but lossless ripped from CD will work.  I think it's pretty friggin' amazing - and it's portable.
 
I've got the E9 coming from Amazon to drive the HD 650s that are likewise on the way.  I'd tell ya more about the combo if I already had the E9 and phones that would benefit from it.
 

 

[VulgarDisplay]

Quote:

Well doesn't my sound card do that work for me? 

Yes your soundcard does the Digital decoding and outputs an analog signal.  A soundcard is a DAC.  All soundcards are not created equally though.  Being attached to a motherboard can cause them to pick up electronic noise from all the other computer components.  A good soundcard usually does a better job of cleaning up that mess.  That's why I recommend you just by the amp first and see how well it cooperates with your soundcard.  
 
If you can't hear any noise then you don't need the seperate DAC and you saved money.   

 

[nastyskillz]

Ok, now I understand. Thank you for clearing this up. Asus Cards are usually pretty high quality, so i'm going to take a gamble and say I wont need a DAC, but who knows. Anyways for choosing an amp for the HD 650s, it is kind of a hard decision to choose between solid state and a tube amp. So many people with the senns swear by a tube amp but I dont feel like messing with the tubes all the time. After reading around, i have determined that affordable amps in my price category would be:
 
Solid State: 
 
 
Matrix M -Stage
 
Gilmore Lite
 
K.I.C.A.S. or  Caliente
 
Tube:
 
Darkvoice 3322 (only if I could find one cheap enough but prob out of my price range)
 
Little Dot MK III

 

[nastyskillz]

What do you think would be the best amp for the HD 650s listed above or sub $250 range? Should I go solid state or tube?

 

[disastermouse]

What do you think would be the best amp for the HD 650s listed above or sub $250 range? Should I go solid state or tube?

You can get the E7/E9 combo for $200 from Micca's store. That would be a solid state DAC/amp - Amp combo. The E7 is a DAC and portable amp. It docks with the E9 to become just a DAC, with the E9 taking over Amp duties. The E9 is also a free-standing amp without the E7.

 

[nastyskillz]

Quote:

You can get the E7/E9 combo for $200 from Micca's store. That would be a solid state DAC/amp - Amp combo. The E7 is a DAC and portable amp. It docks with the E9 to become just a DAC, with the E9 taking over Amp duties. The E9 is also a free-standing amp without the E7.

Well is the E9 a formidable amp for the HD 650? I may not need a DAC because of my high quality sound card and therefore do not want to skimp on the amp if i could use the DAC money to put towards a higher quality amp. Many people have been suggesting tube amps but then you have people that cant stand the chinese build quality (or lack thereof).

 

[ArmAndHammer]

Little Dot amps are very well built and regarded Chinese tube amps. I am not sure how they pair with the 650's though.