[gimmeheadroom]

thanks will take a look

cheers

He's a member here and has many fans. You can find some of the discussion with the search, hopefully.

 

[Flex2d]

I'm sorry, but this is simply wrong.
More voltage (or power) will NOT make things sound better, it ONLY makes things louder. There might be reasons that one amplifier sounds better than another, but those reasons are not due to power or voltage. Quality of power is much more important than quantity of power.
The HD 6XX/650 will go beyond 120dB with 8V. 120dB is loud enough damage your hearing within seconds. Listening at a lower volume means less voltage is used and anything beyond that is essentially wasted. 15V would destroy your ears and then it would probably destroy your headphones.
300mW will also push the HD 6XX/650 beyond 120dB.
Are there better amplifiers than the Little Dot? Perhaps. Probably. I've never heard the Little Dot, so I can't say. But I do know that you don't need more power than it can provide.

I don't generally point this stuff out because I don't want to get drawn into big, drawn-out discussions or, worse, an argument. Also, I don't want to pose as an authority where I'm not. Undoubtedly there are also people that are more knowledgeable about it than I am— hopefully some of them will drop in to help clarify.

Anyway, to @Flex2d: I have the HD 650 and the DT 1990 and I find the DT 1990 to be noticeably better in almost all regards, except perhaps soundstage, which sounds about the same to me. It also doesn't have the beautiful mids-forward presentation of the HD 650, but the mids are still very pleasant and present. A final caveat for the DT 1990 is that the treble is a bit hot, which you may not like if you're treble averse. I think most in the 1990 thread would agree that the treble is bright but generally not piercing or bothersome. It's a really great headphone.

Oh yeah. Almost forgot to mention: my experience is that tubes help widen the DT 1990's soundstage, bring the mids somewhat forward, and temper the treble slightly. Win-win-win. Perfect.

thanks for your feedback on the DT1990pro's, they sound like an interesting proposition then!

cheers

 

[gooeyrich]

What about the Amiron?

 

[kman1211]

It really depends on what you find musical. I for instance find the DT 1990 Pro and HD 660 S much more musically engaging than the HD 600 and HD 650, I always struggled to be musically engaged with the HD 600/650 whereas others have trouble getting as engaged with the HD 660 S, DT 1990, etc. The Amiron Home and the new T1.3 may work too. The T1.3 is the darkest and fullest sounding of the high-end Beyers imho and has excellent dynamics, imaging, and resolving capabilities. I find the T1.3 the most musical headphone I own across the widest variety of genres.

 

[gooeyrich]

What about the DT880/DT990?

 

[MrMarc]

What about the DT880/DT990?

I recently upgraded my modded HE-4XX (which are for sale) to the Anandas, which by comparison are entry level reference headphones. I'm seriously contemplating the Kennerton Vali as my new second pair.
Just sayin'.

MrMarc

 

[goldark]

I used to own the HD650 and can recommend the HiFiman Anandas as a nice step up. Just as engaging with better technicalities.

 

[megabigeye]

The 300 ohm Sennheisers can get earsplittingly loud without sounding good. I have heard this effect many times and if you look around you'll find I'm not the only one who noticed it. They seem to need an amp that can swing at least 15V to get into the sweet spot. Same thing for 250 ohm Beyers, the effect is very noticeable.

Yes, I've also experienced that. I've also heard the HD 650 and DT 1990 sound great out of low powered amps. The Dragonfly Red and BTR5 (at least single-ended) both sound pretty bad driving either headphone, despite both getting loud enough. My MacBook Air and FiiO E12A, on the other hand, both sound great.

Again, I'm not saying that you don't (or shouldn't) prefer one amp to another. There are many, many, many reasons that one amplifier may sound preferable to another, but voltage is NOT one of those reasons.

Anyway, I really don't want to derail this thread. I may not convince you of what I'm saying, but hopefully I'll at least give others a little food for thought whenever they read moar powarrrr!

 

[gooeyrich]

Yes, I've also experienced that. I've also heard the HD 650 and DT 1990 sound great out of low powered amps. The Dragonfly Red and BTR5 (at least single-ended) both sound pretty bad driving either headphone, despite both getting loud enough. My MacBook Air and FiiO E12A, on the other hand, both sound great.

Again, I'm not saying that you don't (or shouldn't) prefer one amp to another. There are many, many, many reasons that one amplifier may sound preferable to another, but voltage is NOT one of those reasons.

Anyway, I really don't want to derail this thread. I may not convince you of what I'm saying, but hopefully I'll at least give others a little food for thought whenever they read moar powarrrr!

Every “authority” I’ve read on the subject says voltage is what matters regarding powering high impedance cans.

 

[RSC08]

Check out the Quad Era 1, a lot of people describe them precisely like that: musical.

 

[Flex2d]

It really depends on what you find musical. I for instance find the DT 1990 Pro and HD 660 S much more musically engaging than the HD 600 and HD 650, I always struggled to be musically engaged with the HD 600/650 whereas others have trouble getting as engaged with the HD 660 S, DT 1990, etc. The Amiron Home and the new T1.3 may work too. The T1.3 is the darkest and fullest sounding of the high-end Beyers imho and has excellent dynamics, imaging, and resolving capabilities. I find the T1.3 the most musical headphone I own across the widest variety of genres.

Thanks for your feedback on the 1990pros and hd660s. The T1.3 they sound very nice indeed but potentially lacking in the high's from the reviews i have read. They also cost a few pennies!

I recently upgraded my modded HE-4XX (which are for sale) to the Anandas, which by comparison are entry level reference headphones. I'm seriously contemplating the Kennerton Vali as my new second pair.
Just sayin'.

MrMarc

Thanks Marc, I hadn't considered these can's. will definitely check them out!

Check out the Quad Era 1, a lot of people describe them precisely like that: musical.

Yeah these look interesting, never heard of these before. thanks for bring them to my attention!

 

[Malevolent]

It depends on what you find "musical", to be honest - I think that this is an extremely subjective term. For example, someone might find a treble-heavy headphone musical, whilst others will shy away from them at each and every opportunity.

For myself, headphones with a stronger bass presence, or a "u/v-shaped" sound are especially pleasing to my ears. These signatures are what I'd term "musical".

 

[Sefelt103]

I could not find an authoritative source of specs but it looks like the Little Dot you have is rated at 300mw into 300 ohms and 10V max. That is not enough.

How is 300mW into a headphone with max. power rating of 0.2W not enough. I had my Objective O2+ODAC modified because there was too much gain at 6.5X on the high gain setting and it didn't have 300mW into 300Ω. As for 'musical' headphones it's just a matter of avoiding a few specific ones. All the rest will have varying degrees of what you're after.

 

[Flex2d]

How is 300mW into a headphone with max. power rating of 0.2W not enough. I had my Objective O2+ODAC modified because there was too much gain at 6.5X on the high gain setting and it didn't have 300mW into 300Ω. As for 'musical' headphones it's just a matter of avoiding a few specific ones. All the rest will have varying degrees of what you're after.

What you consider the 'specific one's' out of curiosity, would be good to makes sure i don't consider them

 

[Flex2d]

So i am kind of thinking its between DT 1990Pros or the HIFIMAN Sundara and potentially the LCD2 Classics - i'm assuming the 660s are going to be close to the HD650's. If the T1.3 were cheaper i would consider these.
Would i see a big difference between the LCD2 classics and the Sundara?

thanks