[rahuldagli]

I am planning to buy sennheiser hd598. I am not an audiophile. But I like to hear music with decent audio quality? Is is worth to spend whole month hard earned money for a piece of headphone? My Max budget is $200. I have got asus xonar dg sound card installed on my pc. I listen to music 80% of the time and 20% movies at home. And I listen all genres of music. I prefer bassy and analytical sound signature.Since, Xonar dg already comes with a built-in amp supporting upto 250ohms. Do I need to get an additional amp?

 

[SONIC BOOM]

Well if you like hearing the best out of music, movies, and gaming then its good too buy but you need a dac/amp too really get the full potential out of the hd598, if you cant afford that, there are cheaper alternatives that still sound great. what kind of music do you listen too, what are they going too be played out of, do you need them for anything else besides music like gaming, and what is you max budget?

 

[wdahm519]

When you spend $2000 on a great DAC, Amp, and Headphones it becomes worth it (I'm not saying price = performance, because it doesn't).  If you're going to use a pair of HD598's without an amp in a portable set up out of your phone playing Pandora, you're wasting your money.  I'm not saying you're going to do that, but if you embrace the hobby and really put your life into it, it becomes a visceral experience.

 

[rahuldagli]

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[wdahm519]

Skip the sound cards.  An external DAC is the way to go. 
 
The best sounding set up at the cheapest price would definitely be an ODAC + O2 amp.  The ODAC is on pre-order and shipping late May (The only place in the US selling it is JDSLabs -- PCB only).  Its a ~$200 combo but would hold its only against much higher dollar value setups.  That with whatever pair of headphones you want to use them with would be great.
 
I don't know about many "cheaper" amps that you could use at home and on the go at the same time.  They definitely wouldn't provide the same sound quality.
 
I'm sure someone can come up with something that fits your exact budget.

 

[Firstandrepair]

I was in your same shoes a few months ago.  I initially pulled the trigger on the 598's and the fiio e10.  I personally thought it sounded great, the 598's are great headphones and don't require too much in regards of amping. With that being said, it won't sound fantastic out of just an mp3 player, but an asus xonar dg should be fine in my opinion.  I say go for it

 

[Firstandrepair]

 
Quote:

If you're going to use a pair of HD598's without an amp in a portable set up out of your phone playing Pandora, you're wasting your money. 

 
I have to respectfully disagree here.  The 598's were my first jump into this hobby, and it was miles before anything I had heard before.  Granted out of a portable device isn't ideal, but its still a starting place.  

 

[wdahm519]

 
Quote:

 
 
I have to respectfully disagree here.  The 598's were my first jump into this hobby, and it was miles before anything I had heard before.  Granted out of a portable device isn't ideal, but its still a starting place.  

 

Most portable players (iPod has been proven mathematically) can only drive up to 32ohms impedance.  The HD598's are 50ohms.  Therefore, they need an amp.
 
Next would be Pandora.  Their audio quality sucks and the HD598's are far too revealing of that crappy audio quality.  Crap in, crap out.
 
If you're going to want something unamped, get some super-sensitive IEM's.  Its easy to take care of source files.  Load up some lossless stuff or at the very, very least 320kbps MP3 files on a portable player.  If you're at your computer, listen to lossless files or (again at the very least) 320kbps files. 

 

[SanjiWatsuki]

 
Quote:

 
 

Most portable players (iPod has been proven mathematically) can only drive up to 32ohms impedance.  The HD598's are 50ohms.  Therefore, they need an amp.
 
I'm not sure where you're getting this from. Impedance really has -nothing- to do with the difficulty of driving a pair of headphones. Thinking from an electrical position, the LOW impedance headphones are more difficult to drive because they require more current. The difference is just that higher impedance headphones are, for the most part, less power EFFICIENT, but not more difficult to drive -- this is why IEMs tend to have lower impedances and also many other portable headphones. Portable players with batteries are generally more limited on their voltage output, generally to a point like 0.6V. Whether or not that is sufficient to drive the headphones has NOTHING to do with impedance. The whole impedance == difficulty to drive thing is false. You cannot use this simple "It has an impedance of X? That means they need an amp." logic.
 
Headphones like the AKG K701 are relatively low impedance but notoriously hard to drive.
That said, would the HD598 improve from an amp? Most likely -- the iPod can only output around 0.6V and the HD598 needs 0.9V to reach 110dB SPL. A small portable amp should be sufficient, like the Fiio E6. 
 
Next would be Pandora.  Their audio quality sucks and the HD598's are far too revealing of that crappy audio quality.  Crap in, crap out.
 
Agreed.
 
If you're going to want something unamped, get some super-sensitive IEM's.  Its easy to take care of source files.  Load up some lossless stuff or at the very, very least 320kbps MP3 files on a portable player.  If you're at your computer, listen to lossless files or (again at the very least) 320kbps files. 

 
I hate the whole impedance and drivability myths. I never understood how they got so perpetuated. 
 

 

[mac336]

You would probably be happy with something like a pair of Denon AH-D2000.  Theres a decent amount of headphones around $200, which can be driven fine straight from the soundcard.  I personally had the Denon AHD2000 and I found that the difference between listening to those headphones straight from the computer/ipod compared to an amp/DAC was not worth it (for this particular headphone).  Just my personal experience though.

 

[wdahm519]

 
Quote:

 
 
I hate the whole impedance and drivability myths. I never understood how they got so perpetuated. 
 

 
I understand that impedance is not directly related to needing an amp, however its easiest to state it that way without having to go into a mathematical proof.  Sometimes its just easier to say less things because in the ends its true that an amp is required. 
 
Nevertheless, I have to try and please both knowledgeable and regular folk, and its a losing battle.

 

[rahuldagli]

 
Quote:

 
 
I understand that impedance is not directly related to needing an amp, however its easiest to state it that way without having to go into a mathematical proof.  Sometimes its just easier to say less things because in the ends its true that an amp is required. 
 
Nevertheless, I have to try and please both knowledgeable and regular folk, and its a losing battle.

 
Since, Xonar dg already comes with a built-in amp supporting upto 250ohms. Do I need to get an additional amp?

 

[mac336]

depends on what kind of headphone your getting.  Most probably not because your buying in the $200 range. 

 

[SolomonPierce]

If you're planning on not getting too "into" the whole audiophile business... I would recommend asking for something easy to drive for whatever kind of music you listen to... i.e. how you plan to listen / what you plan to listen to.  Portable / Semi-portable / home only.  598s would be home only, preferably with some kind of small amp / decent sound card.  598s are good for classical / female vocals... the sound is very spacious and airy, not very up front / "in your face".  If you like rock check out lower end Grados, they're easy to drive with a forward sound, they are open but decently portable if you're not going anywhere too noisy with them that it'd bother you.  I also like the AKG k540 (more comfortable Grado imo) which is easy to drive, semi open, fairly portable though delicate.  The 540 is rare but it's nice and forward presentation, also great for rock and has a little more bass than Grados I've heard.  They are probably around $100 (I paid $150 in Krakow for them, though I don't regret it, only complaint is the build quality).  I think it has a pretty natural sounding low end and again, it's perfectly fine right out of an ipod (32ohms / high sensitivity), though definitely better with a small amp / lossless music.  It might not be for everyone, but I couldn't recommend it more for a ~$100 pair, plus you don't have to worry about having a whole headphone rig.  Perfect starter can imo, maybe all you'll need for a while (unless you get sucked into the hobby like me).  I just picked them up on a whim when I was on a trip and my old iems broke.  Now I'm a headphone man through and through.

 

[wdahm519]

 
Quote:

 
 
Since, Xonar dg already comes with a built-in amp supporting upto 250ohms. Do I need to get an additional amp?

 
Since you're working on a budget, you'd be okay with just your built in Xonar for now.  You can decide if you're wallet will permit you to upgrade to another amp later down the road.  Their 102dB sensitivity is fairly efficient, so they don't need a lot of power to drive them to their full potential.
 
I'd say just go for it.  If you don't like the way it sounds, sell them here and pick up something else.