[noxa]

Hello all

I am lookin to buy my first pair of full size cans after having various IEM's and i need to know if the sennheisers can be used with an ipod, will i need a portable amp if so which one would be a good choice.

Thank you for your help.

 

[rockgod213]

The Senns have a 300OHM impedance so there's no way the weak amp in an iPod (and other portable players) will have the power to drive them. Only a very good portable amp will hope to drive them. Why do you want a portable amp anyway? They are open headphones so they offer no isolation at all and people will hear whatever you are listening to. Not to mention to get the best out of the 650s you need better sources than an iPod anyway. If you must then get a desktop amp. Thats more what the 650s are meant for. Have you tried the Audio Technica ES7s? I have them and they dont even need an amp and sound fantastic. They are much smaller too.

 

[ronnielee54]

Just about any headphone can be used with an ipod but the results will vary. I used to have a pair of HD580's and they didn't do well at all straight out of an ipod. I ran them through a Headamp AE2 and they sounded better, but the results were not as good as a pair of ES7's or MS1's through the same amp. I even prefered the HD595's. I feel the HD650's will need a pretty good amp to get the results they are capable of. Do some searching. There all ready alot of threads on this subject.

 

[boomana]

A portable amp will make them sound better than nothing, but even an good portable amp won't be able to drive them as well as a decent desktop amp.

 

[Sennshead]

I agree with boomana. my 650s even with a little MKI+ the gain turned all the way up and the jumpers installed...it still doesn't really control them well. you'll struggle to get sufficient control with a portable source; although there are several people who have posted their satisfaction with various amps. As far as portable, I gave up on trying to power the 650s out of the house and bought some IEMs which don't need the extra power.

 

[moogoob]

I wear Grado SR80s out of the house specifically because of the amping issue.

 

[TopPop]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rockgod213 /img/forum/go_quote.gif The Senns have a 300OHM impedance so there's no way the weak amp in an iPod (and other portable players) will have the power to drive them.

Not true.


Quote:

Originally Posted by ronnielee54 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Just about any headphone can be used with an ipod but the results will vary.

True.

 

[iancraig10]

Quote:

Originally Posted by moogoob /img/forum/go_quote.gif I wear Grado SR80s out of the house specifically because of the amping issue.

Return of the cybermen?

I have used a Meier Audio 'Move' with the 650 and it works.

 

[Geek]

The 650 is kind of a waste of money if you're not planning on spending a ton of money in the future on amp and source upgrades. Especially with a portable source that lacks a dedicated line or USB out. Anything above PX 100 or SR 60 will reveal source flaws with any ipod, amped or not. Unless you are planning on going for a dedicated non portable setup to use the 650s, you are going to be burning up hundreds of dollars on a pair of cans that may sound no better than their cheaper brethren...

For the record the PX100 and SR60 sound great directly out of the ipod's output...

 

[TheMarchingMule]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Geek /img/forum/go_quote.gif The 650 is kind of a waste of money if you're not planning on spending a ton of money in the future on amp and source upgrades.

Total agreement. I find myself having to repeat this story all the time, but here it goes: Back when I had an iPod 5G, an ALO dock, and an RSA Hornet, I listened to a HD 650 through that setup. It was rather muddled and slow, and the bass was very monotonous. I played the HD 650 through various other setups that were DACs and home amps, and the sound quality increased substantially. It was really amazing what thr HD 650 really had the potential for, but that was only after quality equipment was applied to its chain, which means a lot of money in the run.

 

[carledwards]

Not satisfactorily, no.

 

[muffin9988]

Quote:

Originally Posted by carledwards /img/forum/go_quote.gif Not satisfactorily, no.

Is that a word?

But as the others have been saying, it would be best to find a different pair of phones than the 650's for portable use

 

[ronnielee54]

Quote:

Originally Posted by muffin9988 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Is that a word?

According to Funk & Wagnalls it is

 

[sunneebear]

I used to use my 600 on my ipod classic and I thought it sounded very good. Though the level was a little low and it was in no way near the full potential of the 600, the sound quality was still better then the ibuds. The SQ of the ipod gen 5 and 5.5 is quite good.
My ipod headphone out had no sound degradation at max level with the 300ohm HD600 but it distorted and clipped when driving a 70ohm im716.

 

[carledwards]

Quote:

Originally Posted by muffin9988 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Is that a word?

Perhaps not a word in your vocabulary...until now!