Hornet and HD650 for home use?

[Mikenet]

I've kind of fallen in love with the HD650, but unfortunately I've only heard it out of fairly beefy amps(top end Headroom and Gilmore designs). Would I be disappointed with the Hornet?

I'm a student in a dorm room, and all other things equal, a portable amp would be best. But I'd be willing to go to a home amp if it would make a difference(I don't plan to actually use a portable amp portably, but space is an issue for me). I'd prefer not to climb too far up the amp latter...cheaper is better.

 

[micaela]

I used my 650 with a Hornet at times & it worked well. I also used it with a Morgan Jones tube amp. The MJ's drove it well also - but I wouldn't say it was heads above the Hornet. But I think the Hornet was not way far behind either the Morgan Jones or the PPA. If I were limited to only one amp & I needed the portable for its size or for other uses - I'd say the Hornet will do the job just fine. Yes, there could be better - but if you will be using it for portable use as well - it will not be something that will be less than very good with the 650's.

 

[tyrion]

The Hornet drives the 650 beautifully considering the size. Considering your location you may get lucky and a local headfier will give you a chance to audition a Hornet with your 650's. You could also buy one from Ray and return it if it doesn't workout for you.

 

[Saint_1]

I don't know anything about the hornet, but what about the x-can?
Small footprint, good sound, great synergy with 650s, play it now and upgrade it later (lots of mod threads...)

-Saint

 

[Davesrose]

IMHO, Sennheisers do best with SS high output equipment (like HeadRoom, Gilmore, Hornet, etc). All you need mainly is an uncolored amp. A well designed one just adds more detail. Even though I haven't heard the Hornet, from what I've heard, it should be pretty sweet.

 

[sacd lover]

Portable amps just dont compare with good home amps .... IMO. Plus, there are several small footprint home amps that cost virtually the same price as the Hornet or less. The Headamp Gilmore Lite and Musical Fidelity X-can V3 are definitely much better to my ears; especially with the senn 650's. Some other good home amp choices are the Eddie Current solid state and the Heed Canamp. The home amps are more powerful and most importantly .... noticeably better sounding.

 

[tyrion]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sacd lover Portable amps just dont compare with good home amps .... IMO. Plus, there are several small footprint home amps that cost virtually the same price as the Hornet or less. The Headamp Gilmore Lite and Musical Fidelity X-can V3 are definitely much better to my ears; especially with the senn 650's. Some other good home amp choices are the Eddie Current solid state and the Heed Canamp. The home amps are more powerful and most importantly .... noticeably better sounding.

No doubt a home amp is the way to go, if that is an option. However, if you want the flexibility that a portable amp gives you, the Hornet is a great choice. If you are not planning on using it for portable choice, I would look at the Eddie Current EC-SS or the Heed Canamp which are in the same price range.

 

[Mikenet]

Thanks for all the suggestions. The portable amps(the Hornet in particular) have been getting a lot of love lately, so I wasn't sure what was up in the world of cheap home amps. I will definitely check out all your suggestions.

It looks like a home amp is the way to go, since I won't be using it portably. I just priced out a MisterX M^3, and the base model was a lot less than I thought it would be(I would prefer to build one, but alas my garage "lab" is an 8 hour drive away...and I don't have a car).

FYI, I have a Dac-AH that I plan on using as a source(it came from my speaker setup...which is also at home). I think that should pair with things nicely.

 

[sacd lover]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mikenet Thanks for all the suggestions. The portable amps(the Hornet in particular) have been getting a lot of love lately, so I wasn't sure what was up in the world of cheap home amps. I will definitely check out all your suggestions. It looks like a home amp is the way to go, since I won't be using it portably. I just priced out a MisterX M^3, and the base model was a lot less than I thought it would be(I would prefer to build one, but alas my garage "lab" is an 8 hour drive away...and I don't have a car). FYI, I have a Dac-AH that I plan on using as a source(it came from my speaker setup...which is also at home). I think that should pair with things nicely.

MisterX makes excellent amps .... and the M^3 is a very good sounding design period.

 

[mrarroyo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tyrion No doubt a home amp is the way to go, if that is an option. However, if you want the flexibility that a portable amp gives you, the Hornet is a great choice. If you are not planning on using it for portable choice, I would look at the Eddie Current EC-SS or the Heed Canamp which are in the same price range.

All of the three amps referenced by tyrion are excellent and you would be happy with any of them. Someone else mentioned the Musical Fidelity X-Can V3 which use can be bought for $325 including S&H. The V3 is also an excellent alternative although IMO the Heed sounds more open and with a larger soundstage.

I will add another amp, the Musical Fidelity X-Can V2 which can be bought used for $160 to $175 including S&H. However I will also say that you should go to a meet and listen to the amps so you can make a better decission. Good luck.

 

[Dept_of_Alchemy]

What about the HR micro or desktop? Add the DAC option and you get a proper system with very small footprint.

 

[Andrea]

Take a look at this, http://www4.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=207160

 

[Mikenet]

I think I'm pretty decided on solid state for my first amplifier. I want to hear the sound of the headphone, and not confuse it with tube distortion. Maybe for my second amplifier

.

A few have said that the EC-SS doesn't match well with the HD-650, so I think I'll scratch that off this list.

The Heed Canamp looks interesting, but not too many have heard it. I have no doubts that it's a good amplifier, but I'm not sure if it's worth the $100 over a M^3. Any opinions? The Szekeres with gain type design of the Heed does intrigue me.

I've heard enough good things about the M^3 and HD-650. I sort of ignored it as I only saw the prices for extremely upgraded models. The basic model seems very reasonable though.

Since I seem to be looking at the "straight wire with gain" family of amps, I wonder if I'd really hear a difference between the Heed Canamp and the M^3.

Oh, another thing. I tend to listen at the lower end of the volume scale, so I prefer amps with either lower gain(or modifiable for lower gain), or with pots that track well at the lower end.

Edit: As for the Gilmore Lite, I've heard a few say that the M^3 did everything better for their HD-650s. Since the price is about the same, I think I'll take the M^3 over the Gilmore.

Edit: Can't spell my way out of a paper bag.

 

[mrarroyo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mikenet ...The Head Canamp looks interesting, but not too many have heard it. I have no doubts that it's a good amplifier, but I'm not sure if it's worth the $100 over a M^3. Any opinions? The Szekeres with gain type design of the Head does intrigue me...

A few have heard it, some are:

jp11801
boomana
Vorlon1
PinkFloyd
mrarroyo
Two European head-fiers whose name I can not recall

So far people have been impressed.

 

[Mikenet]

Mrarroyo, do you recall how the volume pot was on the Canamp? If I get a relatively unmodifiable amp(I would probably lower the gain on many offerings...), I would want to make sure that the volume pot worked well at the low end of the scale.