[UteroiD]

Hello,

I was wondering if my Firewire 410 would be enough to power Sennheiser HD650 or headphones of that type. Also, do you think the DAC is good enough in FW410, or am i better off buying a separate DAC/AMP device? I really want to hear the true potential of these headphones... any help is appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[Ham Sandwich]

The headphone out on the FW410 can't power itself out of a wet paper bag. It is wimpy. Very wimpy. Can't drive any of my full size headphones adequately.

First limitation is the volume cannot get very loud. With my Grado SR60 I can put the volume at max and still want more. With my HD600 the max volume is completely inadequate unless you intend to listen to background elevator muzak. It might be OK with IEMs, but I've never bothered to try.

Soundwise, the headphone out is weak on bass, lacking any midrange love, and consequently a trebbly sound. Dynamic impact and snap is lacking.

As a DAC though it is perfectly fine. I use it as my DAC. I'm completely happy with it for that.

 

[UteroiD]

hey, thanks for your reply... Do you have any suggestion for an amp in 350-400 range? Solid stat/tube? I was looking at PRO-JECT HEAD BOX SE II and HiFiMan Ef-5. Also, i noticed you own Sennheiser HD 600 and Denon AH-D2000, do you have any preference? I'm torn between those two headphones. I mostly listen to rock/classic-rock/alternative/indie/jazz I've been looking for places to try them out, no luck yet.

 

[Ham Sandwich]

My personal preference is for solid state amps, especially in the lower price range. The lower cost tube amps tend to be, to me, tube sound for the sake of tube sound and it gets a little overdone. The solid state sound tends to be the more dynamic and accurate and balanced for me.

The more expensive tube amps are different. The tube sound can be more subltle.

I use an x-head amp. I like it even compared to SS amps that cost more. It does what I need. It can drive my D2000 (25 ohm), Grado (32 ohm), HD600 (300 ohm) and even 600 ohm beyers.

If it was me looking for amps in the under $400 range I'd be looking at things like x-head, Audio-GD C-2c or C-2, and similar.

The HD600 isn't an aggressive rocker. It's reserved. It doesn't deliver the punch and feel needed for rock. It's not the sharpest or quickest on transients. It does sound good though. It's my reference can for what timbre and tone should be. It's a headphone you can listen to for hours without ear fatigue. My HD600 has been delegated my classical music can and also some jazz. Otherwise I've been listening to my D2000 mostly.

D2000 has a fuller sound (it's the bass, but also the midrange gets a little resonance love due to the closed cups). Quicker on the transients than the HD600. Acoustic guitar sounds better. Can rock out better than the HD600 sometimes. But it's recessed in the midrange and that hampers its ability to rock it all the time. A parmetric or a 31 band EQ can fix that. Bump up the midrange where it's recessed and it rocks good.

Grado. Yummm. Blues guitar, rock guitar, jazz instruments, it gives them the love. A good rocker.

A D2000 and Grado combo would cover the rock genres and jazz. The Grado for when you want a more forward sound and the D2000 when you want a fuller sound (bass) and some soundstage.

I'm probably going to be getting a Grado SR325is soon. The Denon Grado combo is tempting as a complementary pair.