[josh silver]

i'm thinking about buying some used hd650's but i dont yet have an amp... is this a worthwile purchase? mostly i use my ipod or ipod mini, at 256 kb/s aac, and with the eupod volumeboost program. i may buy a xin micromini or a similarly small amp but would like to know if the 650's will be listenable until then.

 

[trevorlane]

i've used a HD600 on my ipod unamped, and well, i wouldn't recommend it at all. it'll sound like, hmmm, there are earmuffs under the headphones.

 

[catscratch]

Depends on what you mean by "listenable." They will definitely not sound good, and on that note, I'm not sure that a micromini will drive them anywhere near their full potential. Also, if you're planning to use them portably, then that's probably not a good idea either, since they're bulky and leak sound everywhere. The HD650 should be treated as a $2000 headphone when deciding which components to match up with them.

For a portable, the HD25 is a better idea.

 

[Kirosia]

honestly, it'll probably sound good if you're used to lower-end or crap phones. But it's insanely overkill. Get something else.

 

[Geise]

I agree. Like shooting a wounded earthworm with a double barrel coach gun...10 times....

 

[Nak Man]

Quote:

Originally Posted by josh silver i'm thinking about buying some used hd650's but i dont yet have an amp... is this a worthwile purchase? mostly i use my ipod or ipod mini, at 256 kb/s aac, and with the eupod volumeboost program. i may buy a xin micromini or a similarly small amp but would like to know if the 650's will be listenable until then.

Maybe they won't be as much listenable. However, since you plan to use an amp anyway, get the 650 - as they are that good. Sure beats getting stuck with other phones + ipod with no amp for a long time. Even a cheapie cmoy will provide enough enjoyment while you're waiting for xin. I agree they're not practical for portable use, but if you see yourself using only one pair of phones for a long time, treat or overkill yourself with 650.

 

[Natsuiro]

I would think it's a waste of money to buy the 650s without an amp. I haven't heard any of xin's stuff but the 650s need alot of power.

 

[Kirosia]

The limitation lies both in the source and amp. There is a big difference between decent/good and friggin' awesome.

 

[josh silver]

btw - i currently use e3's for portables. the 650's would be mainly for home use. if the sound out of the headphone port is that poor unamped, i do have an older technics receiver, or the headphone out of my sony mini-system. i can hook my ipod dock's line out to either of those for a more powerful sound, i believe?

 

[Kirosia]

It's not just power, but quality. The HD650 is meant to be used with mid/high end rigs. (okay probably just high, but some of us don't mind a little overkill) If you're dead set on the phones, I doubt any of us could talk you ot of it. Do what you want, it's your money.

 

[Nak Man]

Quote:

Originally Posted by josh silver btw - i currently use e3's for portables. the 650's would be mainly for home use. if the sound out of the headphone port is that poor unamped, i do have an older technics receiver, or the headphone out of my sony mini-system. i can hook my ipod dock's line out to either of those for a more powerful sound, i believe?

Yes I believe that will do the job fine ... but that erased the pointlessness in thread's title. Keep em nice and safe at home.

 

[josh silver]

Quote:

I doubt any of us could talk you ot of it. Do what you want, it's your money

Quote:

that erased the pointlessness in thread's title

haha, true, i think i just want the phones because i've read so much about them, even if my current equipment can't justify having them. doubtless having a pair of 650's would result in uncountable dollars spent on amps and sources, cables and mods...i'll have to mull over whether i can really afford taking the first step down this expensive one way street called hifi.

 

[Blizzard]

Quote:

Originally Posted by josh silver i'm thinking about buying some used hd650's but i dont yet have an amp... is this a worthwile purchase? mostly i use my ipod or ipod mini, at 256 kb/s aac, and with the eupod volumeboost program. i may buy a xin micromini or a similarly small amp but would like to know if the 650's will be listenable until then.

There are people who say that the chain is as strong as the weakest link, applies too HiFi-systems. I disagree. If one component is much better than the rest, it won't come to it's full potential, but it will still generally sound better than when all components are crap. Every link in the chain adds it's own error to the sound, more bad components, larger sum of errors, meaning worse sound.

I have tried HD650 with a bad source and amp. It still sounds better than using bad phones, but not nearly as good as with a good source and decent amp. Still need to find that really good amp to complete the package.

If you are planning to use your system for a long time without upgrades, I would recommend splitting the budget to phones and amp. But If you plan to buy an amp later, then HD650 could be a good choice. This is for home use. For portable use, HD650 is not good. They leak a lot of sound, in and out. They are large and bulky. For portable use, I would choose something else.

 

[ipodstudio]

Quote:

Originally Posted by josh silver i'm thinking about buying some used hd650's but i dont yet have an amp... is this a worthwile purchase? mostly i use my ipod or ipod mini, at 256 kb/s aac, and with the eupod volumeboost program. i may buy a xin micromini or a similarly small amp but would like to know if the 650's will be listenable until then.

The ipods will not power the HD 650s sufficiently to be enjoyable without an headphone amp. I've been playing with an ipod mini and 650s over Christmas and that's my firm conclusion. Together with an amp and lineout from the dock it's pretty decent. My Denon DCP-150, however, trounced the ipod in every respect.

 

[catscratch]

Quote:

Originally Posted by josh silver haha, true, i think i just want the phones because i've read so much about them, even if my current equipment can't justify having them. doubtless having a pair of 650's would result in uncountable dollars spent on amps and sources, cables and mods...i'll have to mull over whether i can really afford taking the first step down this expensive one way street called hifi.

I just hope that you know what you're getting into. We don't say "Welcome to head-fi, sorry about your wallet" for nothing! The 650 will show you audible improvements with each and every improvement that you make along the signal path, and pretty soon you'll start thinking "hmmm, if I change component X for a (more expensive) component Y, how would that sound?" And before you know it, you'll find your wallet running away from you.

But, if you want a headphone that will grow and mature as your whole system grows and matures, the 650 is a good way to go. It's something of a hungry troll: with every upgrade it'll say "More, more!!" and you'll have to oblige or it'll smack you with it's giant club called "upgraditis..."