[elucidate]

I've been searching for a while now and I'm still torn on what to purchase. You have people saying they swear by tubes with the hd650's. Then you have others that say differently. My experience with headphone gear in general is very little. My last setup was a pair of q701's (amazing soundstage btw) with a fiio e9 amp. I'm looking for something that's a clear upgrade overall.
 
Budget is around $500 Canadian. Weak dollar ftl 

 
Music genres I frequently listen to include,
 
Trance with lots of female vocals. (Armin Van Buuren stuff)
Film scores from Hans Zimmer (i guess this would qualify as classical?)
Some 70's/80's Rock - Pink Floyd, Aerosmith and ACDC etc.
 
What amp would you recommend? Are the HD 650's even a good choice for the genres above? If not, what would you recommend? Budget for headphones is roughly $800.
 
Thanks for your help.

 

[Nautrachkfriend]

If you are torn between having a tube amp or solid state amp you could just go with the Schiit Lyr 2, which is a hybrid amp that does both solid state (with LISST), and tubes. If you do decide to go with HD 650's the Lyr 2 should pair pretty nicely.

 

[ryanellison009]

It really is all subjective. You'll have people who swear by tubes and people who swear by solid state. What I can suggest from my limited experience is that solid states provide a more lifelike representation of the music. In a way, its more natural or "neutral". On the other hand, tubes provide a more classic, "lush" sound that is sometimes described as more "full". 
 
Along with this, people often recommend tubes with the hd650 due to the fact that they pair extremely well. The lushness of the tubes combine with the amazing mids on the 650s providing a really emotional experience. Along with this, a lot of people pair the hd650s with the Bottlehead crack due to its amazing matching(300ohm with 120 on the crack) and its relatively cheaper price ($300usd). However, this amp in specific must be hand made from the supplied kit.