[zloxious]

I don't have a big budget.. so do you know any decent portable amp for about 200 euro.. or a bit more may be max 300 euro ? That could drive properly 300 Ohm headphones ? I use HD600 .. and my dap is cowon plenue D which is not powerful enough to drive them well. I will be really happy if someone could help me.

 

[Me x3]

Check the FiiO A5.
It can drive my HD650 with tons of extra room.

 

[PurpleAngel]

I don't have a big budget.. so do you know any decent portable amp for about 200 euro.. or a bit more may be max 300 euro ? That could drive properly 300 Ohm headphones ? I use HD600 .. and my dap is cowon plenue D which is not powerful enough to drive them well. I will be really happy if someone could help me.

For that kind of cash, you can get good headphones that are easier to drive.
https://www.massdrop.com/buy/massdrop-x-sennheiser-hd-58x-jubilee-headphones

 

[zloxious]

Yea.. for these money I could buy other headphones.. but I alredy own HD600... and somehow dont want to sell them ..

 

[kkl10]

The HD600 actually sounds reasonable by audiophile standards and presumably scales well with better upstream gear so it makes sense to stick to it. Otherwise, you could consider the Philips X2 instead, which doesn't sound too dissimilar (many prefer it) and is very easy to drive. Perfectly within your budget in Europe. Weight could be an issue, though...

Maybe a dap upgrade would be a better idea to prevent clutter. The Hifiman Supermini is, presumably, an exceptionally powerful dap (not the best option if you want something more universal since it's not very adequate for sensitive HPs/IEMs). There are other daps more powerful than the Plenue D.

If you really want a portable amp, there's the already mentioned Fiio A5, the Aune B1 class A portable amp (probably the most powerful option among these), the Cayin C5. There are others, but the Aune B1 might be the least compromised option you have.

 

[zloxious]

For a DAP I was looking at Cowon V which have an intergrated amp.. but no one confirmed yet that it could drive HD600 ... (actually the cowon support said it can..but wanted an user confirmation..) .. Aune B1 looks nice too Have to read some more about it.

 

[kkl10]

Every dap (any device with a HP output) has an integrated HP amplifier. Look at the specs of both devices:

Plenue V outputs 1.73Vrms.
Plenue D outputs 1Vrms.

So the V is a little more powerful than the D (at least you'll get more volume), but probably still far from ideal for a 300ohms headphone. Any of the portable amps mentioned above will output much more power than that.

 

[kukkurovaca]

the Aune B1 class A portable amp (probably the most powerful option among these)

The B1S (I don't the original B1 was more powerful) has half the output of the Fiio A5 at 300ohm. It should still be fine for the HD600, although at least one review complained they couldn't drive the HD600 to "unlistenable" levels.

 

[7keys]

I went with the Cayin C5 which is a power house of amp for a great price, I bought mine on massdrop for around $100. Has an amazing ability to create a 3d like soundstage.

 

[PurpleAngel]

Yea.. for these money I could buy other headphones.. but I already own HD600... and somehow don't want to sell them ..

Sorry did not make myself clear, It was not my intention for you to sell the HD600.
As the HD58X are only 150-Ohms, so would could be used as with portable audio players, without the need for an extra headphone amplifier.

 

[kkl10]

The B1S (I don't the original B1 was more powerful) has half the output of the Fiio A5 at 300ohm. It should still be fine for the HD600, although at least one review complained they couldn't drive the HD600 to "unlistenable" levels.

TBH I haven't seen the B1's exact specs (I'm assuming you mean in comparison to the A5), but what I've read suggests that it should have no problem driving high-Ω cans.

I assumed that being a class A it would be the most powerful, but maybe that was a silly assumption to make... I won't claim to know the truth so take everything you read here with a grain of salt and try to understand how things actually work.

 

[kukkurovaca]

TBH I haven't seen the B1's exact specs (I'm assuming you mean in comparison to the A5), but what I've read suggests that it should have no problem driving high-Ω cans.

At 300ohm it's 84mw for the B1s vs 150 for the A5. I agree that either of them (or the Cayin C5, which is similar to the Fiio A5 in output) should be fine for the HD600 based on specs, assuming you aren't listening at deafening volumes.

 

[zloxious]

Ok.. really I don't get it... if my source is cowon plenue D .. then what do I need .. dac or amp ?? to use my HD600 (sorry for the lame question.. ) because I saw in amazon two corda quicksteps .. which one of them is good for me .. https://www.amazon.co.uk/PCSTEP-USB...?srs=5963678031&ie=UTF8&qid=1538215709&sr=8-1 or this one ?!?!?! https://www.amazon.co.uk/QUICKSTEP-...?srs=5963678031&ie=UTF8&qid=1538215709&sr=8-4 which one of these is the thing I need ?!

 

[ProtegeManiac]

I don't have a big budget.. so do you know any decent portable amp for about 200 euro.. or a bit more may be max 300 euro ? That could drive properly 300 Ohm headphones ? I use HD600 .. and my dap is cowon plenue D which is not powerful enough to drive them well. I will be really happy if someone could help me.

Ar you actually using the HD600, an open backed headphone, on the go? If you're just using it at home even with a portable player (ie like I do - smartphone wiht IEMs on the go, smartphone as music server on my home system) you might as well buy a desktop, wall-powered headphone amp.

Ok.. really I don't get it... if my source is cowon plenue D .. then what do I need .. dac or amp ?? to use my HD600 (sorry for the lame question.. ) because I saw in amazon two corda quicksteps .. which one of them is good for me .. https://www.amazon.co.uk/PCSTEP-USB...?srs=5963678031&ie=UTF8&qid=1538215709&sr=8-1 or this one ?!?!?! https://www.amazon.co.uk/QUICKSTEP-...?srs=5963678031&ie=UTF8&qid=1538215709&sr=8-4 which one of these is the thing I need ?!

DAC means Digital to Analogue Converter. It just takes 1's and 0's and interprets that into electrical pulses that can then be passed on to get amplified by an amplifier so the signal will be strong enough to move headphones or speakers.

Some devices but more commonly portable units have both a DAC and a headphone amp circuit, though in some cases the only input is digital into and through the DAC and no direct analogue input to the amp circuit.

So really it depends on a lot what you need. Do you want separate devices? What inputs do you need to work with what outputs you have?

If your Cowon has a line out you can just use an amp and you'll get a clean signal to it that way. Otherwise maybe check if it has USB digital audio output.

 

[zloxious]

I work on a really quiet place.. mostly alone. So having open back headphones is not a problem.. the problem is that I have to move a lot.. and for that.. I need a portable amp. I bought them because I thought my player could drive them properly but I was wrong.. Yea I know I probably did mistake ..but its late already.. I have HD600.. and kinda prefer to keep them if possible.. As I mentioned above my source is cowon plenue D, it just have a hole for 3.5mm male connector and an USB at the botom.. for charging and loading songs.. really basic ..but nice player. So please.. from these two links above.. which one the amp or amp/dac will do the job for me ?? I saw on the forums that corda quickstep is a proper option for HD600 .. but I was surprised to see that there is an AMP .. and DAC/AMP .. so I am confused what to buy now..