[SekRF]

Hi peoples!
With no good headphones and having never used an amp, I'm not much of an audiophile. But with a love for music and a sharp ear, I plan to change that soon with a medium-to-high quality headphone-amp combo.

After working out a budget and lurking on these forums, I came to the conclusion that the HD-595s with the 'M' Hornet would be my best option.

But low and behold, on eBay i find the HD-650s with the Whirlwind PA-1 (which I cant find any info on) for roughly the same price.

So I'd like to ask people that actually have some experience in the field; What's the better option?

I should probably mention that I listen to mostly trip-hop music (i.e Massive Attack & Portishead) as well as classical and rock.

 

[JLai]

I'd take the HD650 package over the HD595 package any day of the week. I've owned/own the HD650s, HD595s, and Hornet M. To me, the Hornet made a difference w/ the 595s, but it was subtle. Personally, I think they sound great even unamped. But if the Whirlwind can provide any type or proper amplification, the HD650 is a totally different animal. To my ears, the 650s beat the 595s in almost every category and it really isn't even a debate.

This is also on top of the fact that the 650s will scale with your equipment alot better than the 595s can.

 

[feh1325]

source? portability? sound isolation?

if you have a digital source, make sure your files are at a high bitrate.

and welcome to headfi! sorry about your wallet

 

[SekRF]

Source: iPod - 5th gen, 30gig
Portability: None really needed, but the more the merrier

I'd take it around with me accordingly.
Sound Isolation: What exactly do you mean by this; my proximity to others? The room I'm listening in?

I realize that I'll have to get a line-in for my iPod. And yes, I will get some high quality music files... eventually.

I'm leaning more to the HD-595 + Hornet at the moment, although JLai's post puts things into perspective.

 

[DevilDog]

I have both the HD-595 and the HD-650. They're both great. I sometimes listen to the HD-595, it's just more lively and more fun and better at some things like games and movies. The HD-650 is just a better headphone, though. It will scale as far as you can afford. The better the components you throw at it the better it gets.
But, it sounds like your library is not made up of high bit rate songs, so it would be hard to recommend the HD-650. It would also be hard to recommend that much money be spent on the HD-595. With lower bit rate stuff I can't tell a difference between porta-pros and my RS-1s. The money would be wasted.
Okay, so it's just a matter of taste. If you're really going to get high bit rate music (>192) you might want to invest in the 650s. But they would absolutely require at least the Hornet. I don't know anything about the amp you mentioned. It would be a crap shoot.