[Quake120]

I have an Onkyo SX-TR606 that I am using as a headphone amplifier. It has made my Sennheiser HD595s sound better, but I am not sure if that is because they are now properly amped, or if it is because I am using SPDIF out from my computer to the receiver, bypassing the headphone jack. Any thoughts? Does this amp drive headphones well?

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

I have an Onkyo SX-TR606 that I am using as a headphone amplifier. It has made my Sennheiser HD595s sound better, but I am not sure if that is because they are now properly amped, or if it is because I am using SPDIF out from my computer to the receiver, bypassing the headphone jack. Any thoughts? Does this amp drive headphones well?

Normally when you plug headphones into a receiver, the receiver's speaker amplifier(s) switch from driving the speakers to driving the headphone, so more then enough juice to drive the 50-Ohm HD595.
The Onkyo TX-SR606 should easily be able to drive 300-Ohm headphones, maybe even 600-Ohm headphones
You could try adding a Asus Xonar DX or D1 sound card (used $50-$60) to the computer, then run an analog audio cable from the Xonar's 3.5mm line-out/headphone jack to the RCA inputs on the Onkyo receiver, might help audio quality.
Or upgrade from the HD595s.

 

[Quake120]

This is just a temporary solution, really... Sooner or later I'll pull the trigger on the 600-ohm DT880s + Little Dot MKIV SE. This is just a way to milk a little bit more listening enjoyment from my HD595s. They have well over 5000 hours of burn-in, if you believe in that sorta thing, and have served me really well...But I'm getting upgrade-itis