Need amp recommendation

[daemon]

Is the CMoy amp good enough for the hd580's? Also, I am a total newb to this stuff, so I don't even know how they work if there is no "line out" on the source. Do you just plug it into a standard audio out, and put the source on low volume?

I also have a Nakamichi RE-10 receiver with a headphone out. It retails for over $500, is that a quality headphone "amp" to drive the 580s? Please let me know I am totally lost in this stuff!

 

[tomb]

It's possible your Nakamichi is a good match for the HD580's. Receivers and other typical stereo components vary widely when it comes to headphones, so you will have to be your own tester in that regard.

Sennheiser's HD580/600/650 are 300ohm impedance headphones. As such, they need a lot more voltage and voltage swing, as opposed to the current drawn from low-impedance phones such as Grado's. The CMoy is probably the cheapest way to ensuring good sound from a high-impedance Sennheiser, and is actually the reason Chu Moy designed and built it.

That said, there are so many variations these days that you need to be aware of the options. Look for gains of 11 for an HD580, and preferrably 2-9V batteries. That will give the CMoy a voltage capability of 18V. This can also vary somewhat depending on the opamp. Some opamps require less voltage, and so can deliver more voltage to the headphones. So, 18V is not an absolute requirement.

The usual method with input devices without a Line Out is to put it at about 1/2 - 3/4 volume. Higher volumes will risk clipping output from the source, lower volumes will result in the headphone amp boosting more noise than signal. Personally, I tend to use the headphone out even when a Line Out is present - that lets me use a bass boost or other equalizer that's not often found in the headphone amp.

 

[BennyBoy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dæmon Is the CMoy amp good enough for the hd580's? Also, I am a total newb to this stuff, so I don't even know how they work if there is no "line out" on the source. Do you just plug it into a standard audio out, and put the source on low volume? I also have a Nakamichi RE-10 receiver with a headphone out. It retails for over $500, is that a quality headphone "amp" to drive the 580s? Please let me know I am totally lost in this stuff!

I'd bet that your Nak has a better headphone out than most sub $100. amps.

The Naks I've had over the years were good.

 

[daemon]

When plugging in my old HD500's or my recently returned HD515's to the computer they sounded clearer than when plugged into the Nak using the computer as the source on AUX...could this be because of a cheap cable going from the soundcard to the reciever?