Do i really need an amp/dac for the hd650?

[Hey23]

They sound the same as the skullcandy with no amp/dac. Which means the hd650 sounded like crap. Will a f10k fio make a difference. I,m on budget btw.

 

[PurpleAngel]

They sound the same as the skullcandy with no amp/dac. Which means the hd650 sounded like crap. Will a f10k fio make a difference. I,m on budget btw.

The Sennheiser HD650 do sound their best when decently amplified.
What sources exactly are you plugging the HD650 into?
Assuming it's a computer?
Make and model of the motherboard?
It might be better to spend all your budget for a amplifier (not DAC/amp).

 

[Dr. Hugo]

check out bravo audio v2. Great little tube amp.

 

[Hey23]

The Sennheiser HD650 do sound their best when decently amplified.
What sources exactly are you plugging the HD650 into?
Assuming it's a computer?
Make and model of the motherboard?
It might be better to spend all your budget for a amplifier (not DAC/amp).

Its plugged into an lenovo u530 laptop, the soundcard is a realtek high defintion ( cant specify more because its intergrated into the motherboard, and not a custom bulit).

 

[Me x3]

They sound the same as the skullcandy with no amp/dac. Which means the hd650 sounded like crap. Will a f10k fio make a difference. I,m on budget btw.

If they sound the same as the Skullcandy to you, then you're not paying enough critical attention to the sound.
They should sound different no matter the circumstances or setup.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

They sound the same as the skullcandy with no amp/dac. Which means the hd650 sounded like crap.

Hard to tell if you would be able to tell the difference given this. We can't tell if you're focusing too much on the bass response, if the HD650 is just sounding lazy because you're not cranking it up while feeding it more power, or if you really can't tell the difference.

Will a f10k fio make a difference. I,m on budget btw.

E10K I think has around 70mW at 32ohms. Given that power input and decibel output is logarithmic and the E10K depends on 5v 500mA via USB, it will have even less power which has less of an effect at 300ohms. You might as well save up for a Modi2 and Magni3.

 

[Hey23]

Hard to tell if you would be able to tell the difference given this. We can't tell if you're focusing too much on the bass response, if the HD650 is just sounding lazy because you're not cranking it up while feeding it more power, or if you really can't tell the difference.




E10K I think has around 70mW at 32ohms. Given that power input and decibel output is logarithmic and the E10K depends on 5v 500mA via USB, it will have even less power which has less of an effect at 300ohms. You might as well save up for a Modi2 and Magni3.

Will e10k make difference though, i do hear a neutral sound and bit more clarity between them.

 

[cossix]

Better to buy a Magni 3 than the E10k IMO. The extra power seems to make more of a difference than the dac of the E10k. Most mobo dac chips are decent enough, but their amp sections are usually bad

 

[cossix]

Also, what type of music file are you listening to? Mp3, FLAC, YouTube, etc

 

[Hey23]

Also, what type of music file are you listening to? Mp3, FLAC, YouTube, etc

Digital vinyl Flac at 24\96.

 

[Hey23]

Some music files ihave play at 24\192.

 

[cossix]

I'd go with the Magni 3 for now and add the Modi 2 down the road as an upgrade.

 

[Hey23]

I'd go with the Magni 3 for now and add the Modi 2 down the road as an upgrade.

Ok

 

[Me x3]

E10K I think has around 70mW at 32ohms.

E10K has 200mW into 32 Ohm
Around 2.55 Vrms for 300 Ohm load which means 111-112dB for the Sennheiser HD650

 

[Zadok]

The Senn HD650 is historically one of the most responsive headphone sets to proper equipment in headphone history. They beg to be amplified properly, especially against the standard computer outputs (even the decent sound cards) if only for the fact that they are not usually tuned to put power out at the higher impedances. I've had mine for about 7 years now, and I feel like they change quite a bit with each amp I've used them with.

That does NOT mean that you need to spend a lot of money, however. The magni 3 suggested here or even a combo product like emotiva big ego will do wonders for your headphone set compared to now.