[olblueyez]

So I recently bought a pair of HD 650's as it seemed like a pair of good headphones, what I missed was that they sound a lot better with an amp driving them. I didn't even know you could attach an amp for a headphone til I started reading this forum so I'm a big newbie when it comes to these things. Anyways, so I have the HD 650 and I mostly use them for music on my PC. I have the Xonar D2X sound card that I use with the Logitech Z-5500s. I have stock cables obv oh and my budget is something around $600 but I am willing to stretch it to 1000 or so if the difference is noticeable/better investment in the long run/future usages (basically worth the price). Oh and I live in Canada if that changes anything with the ordering/shipping and power outlets.

Thank you again, I really appreciate your help.

 

[Golden Monkey]

Wait...what? Is that word-for-word your friend's email to you or something? I thought you were all about Woos and stuff, and already knew all about amps for the HD650? *confoozled*...

 

[scootermafia]

Welcome to Audiophilechina

This is a nice one.

 

[olblueyez]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Golden Monkey /img/forum/go_quote.gif Wait...what? Is that word-for-word your friend's email to you or something? I thought you were all about Woos and stuff, and already knew all about amps for the HD650? *confoozled*...

I recommended Woo and Mapletree to him in a Private message but I thought I would start a thread so he could have more input from more than just one person.

 

[atbglenn]

I wasn't sure what was going on here. I was confoozled as well LOL

 

[kevinvisionm]

WOO 6 is doing a great job with my h650 now....

 

[feifan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by olblueyez /img/forum/go_quote.gif So I recently bought a pair of HD 650's as it seemed like a pair of good headphones . . . . I mostly use them for music on my PC. . . . my budget is something around $600 but I am willing to stretch it to 1000 or so if the difference is noticeable/better investment in the long run/future usages (basically worth the price).

First, I should say that the HD650 is a great choice. It's arguably the reference cans in headfidom. They're my favorite. My first choice, too, is computer as source -- but via USB. I'd suggest looking into the KECES DA-152 USB DAC with "a high performance headphone amp built-in." (I don't own one and haven't heard it, and I'm in no way associated with KECES.) But I've been reading some halfway decent comments on other KECES DACs (DA-151, DA-131.1). Ebay's going price seems to be $475+$45 to US. (Not sure about Canada.) It has USB input only with an analog output.

The Yulong DAH1 DAC/Amp also looks good, with a full range of input options: optical, coaxial, USB, analog. (I don't own one and haven't heard it, and I'm in no way associated with Yulong.) Again, I've read some decent comments about this unit. Ebay price generally $280 + $45 to US.

I do have the Shanling PH100 and PCD300A and am impressed with the quality and workmanship. And from what I've read, Yulong and KECES are on par with Shanling re reputation.

I'm also not sure about the power of the built-in amps for the Yulong and KECES. If you need a separate amp, the PH100 is decent at eBay $218 + $50 to US. (I'm in no way associated with Shanling.)

There are many other options in the $600-$1K range so take a good look around at all the possibilities -- not just the ones I and other posters have mentioned. HeadRoom has a wide range of quality DAC/Amp options at different price ranges.

In this hobby, beginning with a good set of cans is the first step, and you've made an excellent choice. If you up the ante for DAC/amp to $1500-2K, your options for quality go up. There are different schools of thought here, but the one that I adhere to says go for the best quality that's within your upper-most range.

 

[olblueyez]

Got a PM from this fellow and he is lookin to pull the trigger on the Keces DA-131.1 and a Woo 6 to go with his 650's. If only everyone got to start out like that.

 

[freakmax]

I really love hd650+Earmax Silver Edition.
IMO ,one of the best synegy I have heard.
I could listen to this combo for 5 hrs or more without fatigue at all.
Now I just got the MAD Ear +HD and I will pair them with hd650 tonight.
I will let you know my impression soon.

 

[olblueyez]

Quote:

Originally Posted by freakmax /img/forum/go_quote.gif I really love hd650+Earmax Silver Edition. IMO ,one of the best synegy I have heard. I could listen to this combo for 5 hrs or more without fatigue at all. Now I just got the MAD Ear +HD and I will pair them with hd650 tonight. I will let you know my impression soon.

I would be extremely interested to hear your impressions of the EAR+ HD with the 650's.

 

[scootermafia]

I'm tellin ya, look into the Moodlab Dice DAC. It has the optical/coax AND USB all in one, it's the same price as the Keces, and it is fully passive so it doesn't have a bunch of op amps or transistors crapping up the sound, nor does it upsample, wasting a bunch of hardware and also crapping up the sound.

 

[KidChess]

Hi guys,

I'm the one whom PM'd olblueyez and asked him for recommendations + start this thread. I had to activate my account on this forum before I could start a thread and the activation email went to my junk mail and I didnt see it til recently.

So, the budget that I had set myself was for amp alone which was 600-1k but now that it seems like DAC has such a huge impact I can expand that by a bit so there's more room to work with.

I didn't know what I was getting myself into with purchasing the Sennheiser HD650's lol but it sure seems like I opened Pandora's box. Now that it's open I'm just curious to see what'll come out of it and see what this entire forum is about lol and hopefully I won't be disappointed.

I just wanted to say that I appreciate all the help I'm getting here to make the right decisions for my "setup" as I am pretty clueless. I was kinda hoping that there weren't so many options to choose from for each piece, from the cables to the amp, because it is a lot of information to go through esp. for a newbie like me. But I guess it's what makes it fun for you guys.

SO FAR, as olblueyez mentioned, I've set Woo 6 as my amp, cuz it seems like a lot of people are happy w/ it, and Keces DA-131.1 as my DAC to buy.

 

[Golden Monkey]

Both excellent choices. The Keces is a fine DAC, and will pair nicely. Sure, you can sink a lot more money into different ones, but value vs. performance-wise, it will make you plenty happy...