[obobskivich]

 not portable though

Hey, Koss includes a battery pack (that eats D-Cell batteries) and a shoulder bag (that's big enough to hold a child) that includes a space for a portable CD player, so you can take your party on the road.

 

[hodgjy]

I have not tried the Crack, but I have tried different tube amps, including one of a similar 6AS7 power tube design, and the HD600s sounded terrific.  The Crack is a smoking good amp according to many people, so if you decide on that, it will be a great match the HD600s.  If it is even on par with the Asgard, it will sound great.  I have no complaints at all about the HD600 + Asgard combo and, in fact, think it is a killer pairing.
Quote:

 
By the way hodgjy, I've read at headfonia that Bottlehead Crack is a great amp for HD600 and according to Mike, much better than Asgard. Have you ever tried this one?

 

[goldoon]

Wow what a speed!!
 
Thanks Keithpgdrb for your reply.
 
Quote:

 
BTW, why aren't the Q701s in this mid-fi discussion? You can get them for like $200 now, and that's a kick-ass value for that level of quality.

I haven't included Q701 in my list, because I had them for a short time. But if you the truth, I didn't like them at all. Their soundstage is really wide but not much depth and their bass quality was not very good. It has enough impact but I couldn't feel the texture very well. IMO DT880's are much better than them. Even for me that mostly listen to Doom metal, Ambient Music, Noise Music &...

 

[goldoon]

Quote:

I have not tried the Crack, but I have tried different tube amps, including one of a similar 6AS7 power tube design, and the HD600s sounded terrific.  The Crack is a smoking good amp according to many people, so if you decide on that, it will be a great match the HD600s.  If it is even on par with the Asgard, it will sound great.  I have no complaints at all about the HD600 + Asgard combo and, in fact, think it is a killer pairing.

Thanks, dear hodgjy.

 

[Katun]

Quote:

I have no complaints at all about the HD600 + Asgard combo and, in fact, think it is a killer pairing.

 
Agreed, fantastic combo! But I personally find the Valhalla a better match. Brings the HD600 out of it's shell better than the Asgard does.

 

[hodgjy]

I've never heard the Valhalla, but I think I know what you mean. My only complaint about the HD600s (among 1000 praises) is they can be too polite sometimes. Knowing that, I don't think I'd like the HD650s too much.

Agreed, fantastic combo! But I personally find the Valhalla a better match. Brings the HD600 out of it's shell better than the Asgard does.

 

[Magick Man]

Magick Man, can you do a quick comparison on ESP 950 & HiFiMAN HE-6 & Denon AH-D7000, please?

Okay. The HE-6s are brighter, more "edgy", have neutral mids, smooth yet powerful bass, and their imaging is top notch. Downsides, they may be too bright for some people, and they really need a gutsy amp to get 100% out of them. A lot of owners run them directly off the speaker taps on the back of a two channel integrated amp or receiver, and that really is the most cost effective way of driving them. Unless you're like me and you run them off a $4000 Cary tube amp. Hey, don't judge me, it's an awesome piece of gear.

The D7000s are more bassy, have somewhat recessed mids, and a sweet and sparkly treble. They're more colored than the other two, but are awesome with pop and bass-centered music (Dubstep, Hip-hop, etc.). For a semi-closed headphone they have very good imaging and are quite comfortable. Also, they're very easy to drive and sound exceptional out of practically anything, including small MP3 players. The one major downside is that Denon isn't making them anymore, if you buy a set there's no telling if you'll get proper warranty service. Also, some gripe that they're a little boomy, but I don't think so.

The ESP/950s are mostly neutral with slightly colored mids. Their bass is dead-on accurate, and they have very detailed highs with a little sparkle at the top end (8-10kHz). They're great with just about anything, except perhaps metal. They have the best imaging in their price range and aren't equaled until you get over $1000, where they're tied with the HE-6s and surpassed by the HD800s (at twice the price). Also, there's the lifetime warranty that covers everything. They also come with their own dedicated amp, the E/90, which is said to be pretty solid. I don't own one, my 950s were used and didn't come with it, so I run them off my STAX SRM-717. Downsides, they feel cheap and "plasticky" compared to the other two. Also, if you do decide to get a better amp you're going to need an extension with a STAX plug on one end, and high end electrostat amps are very pricey ($2500+).

What would I do? Get the ESP/950s ($650), a set of Denon D2000s ($250), and the best used Grados I can find for ~$400. That's about the price of the HE-6s and I'd have more variety.

 

[Katun]

Post removed.

 

[devhen]

Quote:

 
Never mind. Upon further testing, I find both sound quite good when driving the HD600, but I think I prefer the Asgard now. Just better synergy. But Valhalla is more forward sounding, yet Asgard has a better all-around presentation.
 
Yes, I'd agree with that. I think that's why I really have been enjoying the SRH1440s. I've had the HD600 and HD650 a few times each, and now that I find the HD600 almost too polite, I couldn't imagine how tame the HD650 would sound to me.

Why do you think the 650 would sound more tame to you? I have the 600 and I'm starting to think maybe I should have gone for the 650 for the added bass impact. But I'm very happy with the 600s in every other way and I can't imagine parting with them... wish I could try out a 650 to find out for sure.

 

[Katun]

Quote:

Why do you think the 650 would sound more tame to you? I have the 600 and I'm starting to think maybe I should have gone for the 650 for the added bass impact. But I'm very happy with the 600s in every other way and I can't imagine parting with them... wish I could try out a 650 to find out for sure.

 
I've bought them both and compared them side by side on two separate occasions. The HD600 has more prominent midrange and treble than the HD650, giving it more of a lively sound. The HD650 sounds slower and more relaxed in comparison.

 

[devhen]

Quote:

 
I've bought them both and compared them side by side on two separate occasions. The HD600 has more prominent midrange and treble than the HD650, giving it more of a lively sound. The HD650 sounds slower and more relaxed in comparison.

 
Innnnteresting. Thanks for the info. I'll have to try out the 650s sometime. Until then hopefully I can avoid just buying them... yeah, there are other things I need more haha

 

[Keithpgdrb]

Why do you think the 650 would sound more tame to you? I have the 600 and I'm starting to think maybe I should have gone for the 650 for the added bass impact. But I'm very happy with the 600s in every other way and I can't imagine parting with them... wish I could try out a 650 to find out for sure.

I found the 650 to have less bass impact, not more. By the numbers, the 650 is supposed to lower. I don't find the 650 as much of an upgrade. It's more of a sidestep.

 

[obobskivich]

Magick:

Some add-ons to your ESP/950 review: you can get a premade adapter from APS, around $100 (the STAX end is the hard one to find IME). And the 950s can run on the WEE (which is around $500 but you need a speaker amp); I don't know if it's any improvement. Gilmore measured the E/90 as being ahead of everything commercial in terms of voltage p-p, but it doesn't deliver as much current as many other designs. I haven't seen the slew rate measurements go up yet. My understanding is that it's competently designed and spec'd, but not the be-all end-all of amplifier designs for electrostatic headphones. They (and the E/90) feel relatively solid in hand. The best mod I did was going down to ratshack and getting some adheesive feet for the E/90 to keep it from sliding around on my desk. Feels about 10 times better now (and cost around $4). I agree that the HD 600 feel more robust, but they also feel more rigid/clampy - it's a double edged sword. While the 950s feel a bit "loose" I wouldn't regard them as suspect as say, the ESW9 (a headphone that more or less started falling apart out of the box IME). But they certainly aren't up to my MDR-F1s either (which are all metal).

Good review. I feel about the same about the other Denons (I haven't heard 7000) against the 950s; and appreciate the impressions on the HE-6 (as I'm sure others do as well). This isn't to say the Denon are a bad headphone, but they lack a certain something imho. A lot of people probably disagree and hear them as fantastic, and that's fantastic.

 

[goldoon]

Thank you Magick Man, Katun, devhen, Keithpgdrb & obobskivich.
 
@Magick Man
 
Dear friend, your comparison was really great and precise. Thanks again for your time.
 
If ESP 950 is that good, so it seems that there is no reason to buy anything else. At first I even thought about Audeze lcd-2, but it needs a good amp too and it is much more than my budget. But now I can buy ESP 950 with confidence. I was a little bit worried about build quality and its energizer (and also its sub-bass response), mostly because I live in Iraq and returning such a thing is really complicated (and maybe impossible). But it seems that If I (my brother) take care of it well, there is no reason to worry.
 
 
@HD600 owners
 
Asgard sounds great with HD600, but it adds a little bit of warmness to the sound. I like my headphone to sound as natural as possible (without warmness). Is there any other good amp in the Asgard price range that sounds as good as Asgard ?

 

[TheMiddleSky]

Quote:

@HD600 owners
 
Asgard sounds great with HD600, but it adds a little bit of warmness to the sound. I like my headphone to sound as natural as possible (without warmness). Is there any other good amp in the Asgard price range that sounds as good as Asgard ?

Actually the "warmness" is already the basic nature of HD600, so whatever your amp using, the warmness will never go away from your HD600's set-up.
 
Anyway, neutral amp around that price range that I can think right now is only gilmore lite.