[ohaider]

Felt it was time to upgrade from my 555s, so I picked up a pair of HD600s the other day.
 
HD600 sounds great already just hooked up to the Essence ST, but I think it can do better with an external amp. Preferably $200 or less.
 
I'm also curious about how good the DAC in the soundcard is.
 
 
 
 

 

[Head Injury]

The Essence ST has a good amp already for high impedance headphones.. You won't find much better under $200, if anything.
 
The DAC is very high quality.

 

[mikeaj]

Remove the "-> ?" and you should be good to go.  Costs $0 too, and it works better than most amps under $200 for such a load (worse into low impedance headphones maybe).

 

[ohaider]

okay guys.

 

[flopper]

using stx with hd600, superb

 

[Tycn]

I'm considering this upgrade path as well (Essence followed by an external amp when I can find the budget).
 
Has anyone listened to the HD600 from both the STX amp and a decent budget amp (say, the M-Stage)? I have a feeling I'm going to be going down that route regardless but I was wondering how competent the Essence would be as an interim upgrade. I've searched for a relevant thread but have not found anything more than hearsay.

 

[PurpleAngel]

Why not just upgrade the 3 op-amps (operational amplifiers) on the Essence ST.
The two matching I/V 2114 op-amps and the single buffer LM4652 op-amp are easy to replace.
You can get 3 LME49860NAs for $13-$15 off eBay.
The LME49860NA is the cherry pick of the LME49720NA.
The LME49720NA is the LM4652, just with a newer model number.
 
The AD797 op-amps have really good reviews, but are around $10-$12 per op-amp.