[asha1997]

Hi, I'm slightly new to the audiophile world, my first "real" pair of cans were a pair of sennheiser hd595's I got for $100. I am new to amps, I understand that the fiio e11 is a good amp, but then a friend of my told me about tube amps, and I just have my mind blown. I don't really understand them other than they are they best you can get, any where from $100 to $10000. My question is, what the BEST cans/amp combo for around 400$. I have been reading the hd 580's are good, and so is the little dot mkiii, and that together, people like them alot. I am thinking of doing the hd 580's and doing the little foam pad mod for more bass, and then doing hd 650 wires, and I love the idea of the little dot mkiii, the build quality, the looks, and the design. What I'm wondering is what other combinations you would recommend, I listen to anything from rock, to rap, to dub step. I like bass, but I like it better when it is matched with treble. Thanks guys.

 

[biggbenn74]

Quote:

Hi, I'm slightly new to the audiophile world, my first "real" pair of cans were a pair of sennheiser hd595's I got for $100. I am new to amps, I understand that the fiio e11 is a good amp, but then a friend of my told me about tube amps, and I just have my mind blown. I don't really understand them other than they are they best you can get, any where from $100 to $10000. My question is, what the BEST cans/amp combo for around 400$. I have been reading the hd 580's are good, and so is the little dot mkiii, and that together, people like them alot. I am thinking of doing the hd 580's and doing the little foam pad mod for more bass, and then doing hd 650 wires, and I love the idea of the little dot mkiii, the build quality, the looks, and the design. What I'm wondering is what other combinations you would recommend, I listen to anything from rock, to rap, to dub step. I like bass, but I like it better when it is matched with treble. Thanks guys.

I have been wanting to get the HD580's myself. I'd say go for it. I'm also looking to upgrade my portable amp to a FiiO E17, I heard it is much better than the E7. All in all, that's around $360. And that sounds awesome. Hope this helps.

 

[NimbleTurtle]

Quote:

Hi, I'm slightly new to the audiophile world, my first "real" pair of cans were a pair of sennheiser hd595's I got for $100. I am new to amps, I understand that the fiio e11 is a good amp, but then a friend of my told me about tube amps, and I just have my mind blown. I don't really understand them other than they are they best you can get, any where from $100 to $10000. My question is, what the BEST cans/amp combo for around 400$. I have been reading the hd 580's are good, and so is the little dot mkiii, and that together, people like them alot. I am thinking of doing the hd 580's and doing the little foam pad mod for more bass, and then doing hd 650 wires, and I love the idea of the little dot mkiii, the build quality, the looks, and the design. What I'm wondering is what other combinations you would recommend, I listen to anything from rock, to rap, to dub step. I like bass, but I like it better when it is matched with treble. Thanks guys.

 
Yes tube amps look very sexy But sorry to burst your bubble, but they are far from being the "best you can get". Tube amps distort the sound, and while some music designed way back then (like the 1960s) have distortion in the sound, tube amps distort EVERY aspect of the sound. In other words, it's unnatural coloration. 
 
It's funny that you like bass matched with treble. The 595 and 580 both have a good deal of rolled off treble and the 595 in particular are bass lean. For music like dubstep, you'll find huge improvements when you "upgrade" to certain headphones. Not sure the HD580 will be a good choice though, which has better bass but... is it worth the money? Anyways you might want to do a little more research outside of the Sennheiser line. 

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

Hi, I'm slightly new to the audiophile world, my first "real" pair of cans were a pair of sennheiser hd595's I got for $100. I am new to amps, I understand that the fiio e11 is a good amp, but then a friend of my told me about tube amps, and I just have my mind blown. I don't really understand them other than they are they best you can get, any where from $100 to $10000. My question is, what the BEST cans/amp combo for around 400$. I have been reading the hd 580's are good, and so is the little dot mkiii, and that together, people like them alot. I am thinking of doing the hd 580's and doing the little foam pad mod for more bass, and then doing hd 650 wires, and I love the idea of the little dot mkiii, the build quality, the looks, and the design. What I'm wondering is what other combinations you would recommend, I listen to anything from rock, to rap, to dub step. I like bass, but I like it better when it is matched with treble. Thanks guys.

I'm assuming you do not have a DAC (Digital to Analog Converter) to go along with this amplifier.
DAC budget, maybe $60-$150?
What source(s) are you getting your audio from?

 

[theeyealtering]

I gotta agree with the turtle, tubes aren't "the best", they are just different. Most (I didn't say all) of the best amps south of $1k are going to be solid state anyway. The only tube amps you'll get within that budget and still have nice headphones are cheap and nasty Chinese ones, which are probably just going to make things sound worse.

My opinion is that the best sound for $400 is going to be achieved by getting a reasonable sound card, Xonar DX or DG or something, and some efficient headphones... Audio Technicas, Shures, Denons, Grados, etc. Choosing the headphone is the hardest part because that'll depend on taste, maybe Denon D2000 if you want bass. You could even use your E11 if you felt like you really needed an amp.

 

[asha1997]

I had a really. Ice xonar sound card, and I'm looking at getting the fiio e17 as a dac and see how well that would amp by its self, and source would be my phone (all mp4 files) and and iPod.

 

[MalVeauX]

Quote:

Hi, I'm slightly new to the audiophile world, my first "real" pair of cans were a pair of sennheiser hd595's I got for $100. I am new to amps, I understand that the fiio e11 is a good amp, but then a friend of my told me about tube amps, and I just have my mind blown. I don't really understand them other than they are they best you can get, any where from $100 to $10000. My question is, what the BEST cans/amp combo for around 400$. I have been reading the hd 580's are good, and so is the little dot mkiii, and that together, people like them alot. I am thinking of doing the hd 580's and doing the little foam pad mod for more bass, and then doing hd 650 wires, and I love the idea of the little dot mkiii, the build quality, the looks, and the design. What I'm wondering is what other combinations you would recommend, I listen to anything from rock, to rap, to dub step. I like bass, but I like it better when it is matched with treble. Thanks guys.

 
Heya,
 
For someone looking for a complete setup from A to Z for $400, I'd recommend a few combinations:
 
Denon D2000 + Fiio E10
AKG Q701 + NFB12
Sennheiser HD600/HD580/HD650 (used only) + NFB12
Hifiman HE-300 revision 2 + Fiio E10
 
Very best,