[Aizura]

Hi all,
 
I've been looking around for an amp to feed my HD 600 to finally unleash the beast within, I'm currently using it with an Essence STX sound card, i doubt this does any justice to the HD 600. (the difference between the Essence and my Fiio E5 is quite small, so this says something about the built-in amp i suppose)
 
An amp that caught my attention was the new iBasso PB1 Toucan, I like the idea of having a portable amp that can fully drive the HD 600 because then i could also use it to replace my Fiio E5 for portable duty (using HD-25 II's when on the move).
 
Do you think the Toucan will give the HD 600's a good boost compared to my other amps, or am I better off going for a full-size amp like the Schiit Asgard, or LD MK III, because they might deliver better sound for the same price?

 

[brendon]

Is you HD650 balanced ? i.e are you using the stock cable or have you got an aftermarket balanced cable with an XLR 4 pin plug ?
 
If yes then the Toucan should drive your HD600. If you have the stock cable then you need a full sized amp like the Schiit Asgard, Matrix M-Stage, Audio-GD Fun etc.

 

[grokit]

The cable on the HD600 is plug and play, and cheap to replace. You could re-terminate it for balanced into the Toucan, or even get an HD650 cable and do it, as they are considered an improvement over the HD600 cable. The Toucan can reportedly drive a K1000 to acceptable levels, it won't have any problem with the HD600.

 

[Aizura]

Yes i do consider going balanced. If i can recable the HD 600 relatively cheap, so i can make full use of the Toucan i'm all ears.
 
What cable do you recommend? Can i just use this one? 
http://www.headphone.com/accessories/sennheiserhr-balanced-stock-hd650-cable.php
 
I don't quite get how i should be connecting it to the amp though. The Toucan has only one XLR connector whilst the cable has two?
What's the easiest way to balance the HD 600's without breaking the bank? (i'm a poor student lol)

 

[debitsohn]

Cheapest way would be to buy a hirose connector when you buy your toucan and send the stock cable with the hirose to someone to reterminate it. That's the cheapest way.

 

[furyagain]

i wonder how good is the PB1 when compare to  full size like a Little Dot MKVII+ ????
forget the price different...
 
and only using in it's balanced form..
which one is better?

 

[grokit]

Quote:

Yes i do consider going balanced. If i can recable the HD 600 relatively cheap, so i can make full use of the Toucan i'm all ears.
 
What cable do you recommend? Can i just use this one? 
http://www.headphone.com/accessories/sennheiserhr-balanced-stock-hd650-cable.php
 
I don't quite get how i should be connecting it to the amp though. The Toucan has only one XLR connector whilst the cable has two?
What's the easiest way to balance the HD 600's without breaking the bank? (i'm a poor student lol)

 
It would seem that all you would need to do is locate the Toucan plug, and just get the cable from Sennheiser and re-terminate it. It's only $12.55:
 
http://www.sennheiserusa.com/serviceandsupport_part-finder
 
Based on the headroom offering, the stock cable is indeed 4-conductor all the way to the plug so no problems there. But I don't know about sourcing the Toucan plug. What is it a 5-pin mini XLR? Edit: Nope, see below. My first move would be to search it out if it is, maybe at Redco. It could be something else, then you could try to find out from iBasso.

 

[BebopMcJiggy]

It is a 6 pin hirose plug, they are 9 dollars each from iBasso (HR10A-7P-6P), you could pick one up from them when you buy the toucan if that is the route you choose to go.  It is a fair price, they are 13$ each or so from digikey.  Or you could get the HR10-7P-6P for like 15.64 from digikey.  It is slightly fancier if you prefer a metal back to the rubber sleeve thingy.
 
The pin layout is located on the HR10A-7P-6P page on iBasso's website.
 
There is no XLR connector on the PB1.

 

[Aizura]

I decided to go full-size since most of my listening will be at home. I think i'll go for the Asgard but I'm also tempted to try the tube sound with the LD MKIII. I'm just scared to get a tube roll addiction I can't afford

 

[GeorgeGoodman]

I was also wondering the exact same thing, so could anyone who has experience with entry level home amps and the Toucan please chime in? i would give up a small amount of performance for the convenience and portability, and it is also balanced. 

 

[Xan7hos]

the way i see it is if you're considering toucan, you should very much consider going balanced otherwise there really isn't a point. IMO, balanced is just superior over single ended. Lower noise level reveals greater details, pitch black background, perhaps the definitive imaging and soundstage (as intended by the recording), and just overall greater control.
 
In singleended, it still sounds amazing with my RE0 and grados. It only costs about 275 shipped to the states with a couple Hirose connectors, and you could easily build a quality HD600 cable with some Cardas connectors, mogami cable for less than $30, just need basic soldering skills.
 
As someone said earlier, it can drive the K1000, which require speaker amps most of the time. It drives  my HE-5 beautifully, so the Senns should be a cake walk.

 

[debitsohn]

Quote:

the way i see it is if you're considering toucan, you should very much consider going balanced otherwise there really isn't a point. IMO, balanced is just superior over single ended. Lower noise level reveals greater details, pitch black background, perhaps the definitive imaging and soundstage (as intended by the recording), and just overall greater control.
 
In singleended, it still sounds amazing with my RE0 and grados. It only costs about 275 shipped to the states with a couple Hirose connectors, and you could easily build a quality HD600 cable with some Cardas connectors, mogami cable for less than $30, just need basic soldering skills.
 
As someone said earlier, it can drive the K1000, which require speaker amps most of the time. It drives  my HE-5 beautifully, so the Senns should be a cake walk.

+1 on everything xanthos said.  i had it powering my balanced T1 and it sounded amazing. only reason i sold it was to buy a 400$ source and a 1100$ amp.

 

[mrarroyo]

Digi-Key sells the "hirose" plug. Also you could consider terminating the Sennheiser HD650 cable in a mini XLR 4-pin male, then build a transition cable from Hirose Male to mini XLR 4-pin female.

 

[debitsohn]

 
Quote:

Digi-Key sells the "hirose" plug. Also you could consider terminating the Sennheiser HD650 cable in a mini XLR 4-pin male, then build a transition cable from Hirose Male to mini XLR 4-pin female.

yea id never terminate a hd650 or any full sized for 1 specific amp. i change around too much.  this would be the best option.

 

[GeorgeGoodman]

Thanks for all the input. As soon I have the funds, I am going to buy the Ultrasone Pro 900s or the Toucan amp or something like the Schiit Valhalla. I just have to figure out how much performance i would be sacrificing by getting the portable Toucan, which does not sound like a lot because it is balanced.