[ac500]

Rather than buying another headphone, I'm wondering if getting a better amp for my HD 650 would be better.
 
Right now I have an NFB-12, which I understand has a good DAC, but lackluster amp? I have a few questions:
 
1) Is it possible to have an amp that is somewhat brighter than the NFB-12's amp, to pair well with my darker HD 650?
 
2) Would upgrading to a better amp and using my NFB-12 as a DAC really noticeably improve sound quality, detail, etc? Or, is my NFB-12 already powerful enough that there shouldn't be a drastic improvement to be noticed?
 
3) (Most importantly What would you recommend as the best solid state amp for the HD 650 to pair with my NFB-12 as a DAC, that is roughly or less than $350?
 
Also I don't want tube based amps because I don't want to ever have to replace tubes. I don't quite understand why people recommend tube amps for the HD 650, because I thought tube amps were dark/veiled, which combined with the HD 650 would seem to double the darkness.
 
If possible, as a bonus, it would be nice if there was a <$400 amp that would do some justice to the top-end headphones like LCD-2's if I ever decide to upgrade headphones, but I suppose that's unlikely.

 

[Satellite_6]

I'm not sure you should bother. I went from a $200 DAC/amp to a $400 DAC + amp and it wasn't much of an improvement. Enjoy what you have, unless you think there is something wrong. (I own the HD 650's) 

 

[ac500]

Well here's what leads me to think something is wrong. I recently got the SRH-940, and quite frankly they just seem better than the 650's when it comes to well-recorded jazz, female vocals, complex sounds from acapella singing groups, and some other things - which I thought people said the HD 650 is excellent for. I believe the detail is there in the HD 650, but compared to the 940, jazz and female vocals simply sound comparatively "veiled" on the HD 650 which isn't necessarily a bad thing I guess, but slightly more detailed would be nice.
 
I hear again and again people raving about the 650 even against things like the HD 800 and electrostatics (which I thought were super revealing), and it perplexes me because this is not what I'm hearing. I'm hearing a great headphone with great bass and nice detail, but as mentioned the SRH940 ($300, low impedance) wins significantly (in terms of detail) in some genres that the 650 is supposed to thrive at.

 

[Hennyo]

Best bang for buck - Promise you is the Cavalli Audio DIY Bijou. Best amp I've ever heard for dynamics at this price range..
 
Or the EHHA rev A.
 
DIY $300 is pretty amazing.

 

[Head Injury]

Quote:

Best bang for buck - Promise you is the Cavalli Audio DIY Bijou. Best amp I've ever heard for dynamics at this price range..
 
Or the EHHA rev A.
 
DIY $300 is pretty amazing.

If you're talking DIY, just make an Objective2 

 
It's possible an amp might help. Audio-GD doesn't seem to like publishing any useful specs like frequency response roll-off or THD, unless I'm missing that section of the product page. The NFB-12 puts out plenty of power, but there's no guarantee it's clean power.
 
If you sell the NFB-12 and get a Yulong D100 for $500, that'll do you well for the HD650 and future upgrades. It's basically a Chinese Benchmark DAC1. You don't have to fear the subjectivists' "bright" impression of it with the HD650. If you ever feel you need more volume, you could get a prebuilt Objective2 in the future.

 

[ac500]

I'm not really interested in DIY or tube amps.
 
So the Yulong D100 has a better DAC and a better Amp, most likely? Will it run an LCD-2 well?

 

[Head Injury]

Quote:

I'm not really interested in DIY or tube amps.
 
So the Yulong D100 has a better DAC and a better Amp, most likely? Will it run an LCD-2 well?

I don't know if its amp section is exactly the same as the DAC1, but the DAC1 runs an LCD-2 fine. Inaudible noise and distortion, enough volume that I didn't have to turn it to 10 o'clock.

 

[Hennyo]

No D 100 has a good DAC, but if you're looking to solely run an LCD-2, you will want the HDP. It has a bit more power, is much more universal, it doesn't slow down for anything and it's got great synergy with LCD-2 / HD 650 type phones.. I heard it with HDP a couple days ago. It... Was... Awesome...
 
Will the HDP drive them to their full potential? No. Will it make them sound flipping amazing. Yes.

 

[ac500]

So HDP is recommended for darker phones like my HD 650? How is the DAC? Is it better than my NFB-12's dual WM8741s?
 
I think the main problem I might have with my NFB12, if any, is that it has a dark coloration which adds to the HD 650's already dark color.

 

[Head Injury]

Quote:

No D 100 has a good DAC, but if you're looking to solely run an LCD-2, you will want the HDP. It has a bit more power, is much more universal, it doesn't slow down for anything and it's got great synergy with LCD-2 / HD 650 type phones.. I heard it with HDP a couple days ago. It... Was... Awesome...
 
Will the HDP drive them to their full potential? No. Will it make them sound flipping amazing. Yes.

Nuforce Icon HDP? Do you have any measurements? The manufacturer's specs don't look bad, but they definitely don't look good, and I can't trust them after the uDAC-2 drama.
 
If you are talking about the Nuforce, it only has "a bit more power" at 300 ohms for the HD650. It has nearly a third as much power at low impedances because of its disappointing 10 ohm output impedance.

 

[anetode]

What you're looking for is EQ. The SRH-940 are considered to be bright phones and if you like them better than the HD650 then that's a reflection of your taste. Neutral sound isn't going to make jazz or voices pop, usually it's the colored headphones you'd want to reach for. Try a cheap Grado, it'll have that crystal clarity edge you might be looking for.
 
As far as DACAMPs go, the Asus Xonar Essence One looks like it might be a pretty nice option at the price point.

 

[ac500]

Well then, any recommendations of a good way to EQ (analog vs. digital)? All software EQ I've tried introduces clipping and reduces resolution (sounds like quantization issues).

 

[Satellite_6]

 


Quote:

Well then, any recommendations of a good way to EQ (analog vs. digital)? Digital EQ seems to reduce sound quality to me, noticeably introducing clipping whenever I adjust anything.

Wat?
 
Turn stuff down, not up of course. . . any EQ will do. 
 
 

 

[ac500]

Software equalization inevitably introduces quantization error, but maybe the error won't be noticeable if I can avoid the clipping by just turning things down. I'll try it when I next get a chance.
 
Another big issue is that only one computer I have (the one I don't usually use for music) supplies an equalizer at all (provided by the default sound drivers), and music player EQs don't work because I play a lot of stuff from grooveshark.com. 

 

[anetode]

If you want to go all out, there's the Behringer DEQ2496. Otherwise, there are a good number of high quality EQ plugins for most media players, like Electri-Q.
 
There was a great guide to equalizing headphones somewhere around here, but I can't find it right now.
 
Alternately you might want to ask Lunatique about it, he has a perfectionist approach to getting the right EQ settings to compensate for a given headphone.