[bryantphoto]

Looking to get myself a pair of nice headphones. I am inbetween the Senn HD650 and the Grado RS2's. I'm heavily leaning towards the Grados. I mainly listen on my computer, 2011 Mac Pro 8 core. Wondering if the grado's will perform spectacularly on my computer without any sound card/amp? Do they make amps for mac's, and would it be worth getting one/which to get for a reasonable price. 
 
Really new to this market and am at a large loss in knowledge.
 
Thanks.

 

[MalVeauX]

Quote:

Looking to get myself a pair of nice headphones. I am inbetween the Senn HD650 and the Grado RS2's. I'm heavily leaning towards the Grados. I mainly listen on my computer, 2011 Mac Pro 8 core. Wondering if the grado's will perform spectacularly on my computer without any sound card/amp? Do they make amps for mac's, and would it be worth getting one/which to get for a reasonable price. 
 
Really new to this market and am at a large loss in knowledge.
 
Thanks.

Heya,
 
Numbers of cores on your computer's CPU does not indicate it's musical prowess. I'm just zinging, because I can there. So, *giggle*.
 
On a more serious note, the Grados will work out of the box. The HD650 will not. You need good amplification.
 
There's no amp for a mac. You don't need proprietary amplification. You get a good old amplifier and anything that plugs into it will work. In the world of audio, you enter universal adaptation. No proprietary connections. Apple tried and forced others into that, with the frigg'n Line-Out-Dock stuff. So no thanks to that kind of approach with amps. No sir.
 
That said, just add $100 to your budget for a FiiO E9, and you're covered. Or don't get it, because you won't need it, for the Grado.
 
Very best,
 

 

[purrin]

Quote:

Looking to get myself a pair of nice headphones. I am inbetween the Senn HD650 and the Grado RS2's. I'm heavily leaning towards the Grados. I mainly listen on my computer, 2011 Mac Pro 8 core. Wondering if the grado's will perform spectacularly on my computer without any sound card/amp? 

HD650 and RS2s sound completely different. The RS2 will have an more punchy, lively, forward, and aggressive sound. The HD650s are slightly bassy and laid-back. The RS2 will perform very well directly out of your computer output. I haven't heard the headphone output from the 2011 Mac Pro, but most computer outputs are on the warm side, which make them match well with the RS2's characteristics.
 
As MalveauX mentioned above, it's commonly agreed upon here that the HD650s need an amp to sound near their optimum.