[joonas]

I currently have Sennheiser HD-600, ER-4P and Shure SE530 headphones that I drive with HeadRoom Total BitHead.

After buying Shure SE530's I feel like I have found the limits of my amp. So I'm considering buying new DAC+amp. I travel a lot and mostly listen to my music from my MacBook Pro with BitHead as DAC+amp. So I do require DAC+amp to be somewhat portable as in able to carry with me from country to another.

From countless of hours of reading this wonderful forum I think my next DAC+amp will be either HeadAmp Pico or RSA Predator. I sent email to HeadAmp but never got reply so I don't know if they want my business. I'm willing to consider used one for a fair price. All of my music is FLACs on my hard disk and I have no other DAC that BitHead so I do require DAC+amp and both of those seem to fit my criteria. I don't know how iBasso D2 would satisfy me but money is not the most important criteria so I'm not willing to sacrifice sound quality for money.

I listen to all kinds of music but mostly (as in about 50%) metal. With HD-600 + BitHead I do like the sound but I can't get the volume enough without distortion. With SE530 I think mostly all metal sounds muddy, I have no idea why.

So I'm thinking about buying new DAC+amp combo and new full-sized headphones. I love the bass of the HD-600's and understood that HD-650's would have more bass so that's the one I'm currently thinking about.

So I'm considering buying HeadAmp Pico or RSA Predator + HD-650's. If you have any comments please tell what do you think.

And tell me if you know where to buy used Pico or Predator as I'd rather not wait months to get one.

Thanks!

 

[monolith]

If you're looking to buy a used amp, watch the amp sales subforum in the "For Sale / Trade Forums".

There are numerous threads to be found in this subforum comparing the merits of the Pico and Predator, so I'd suggest doing a search for them.

I haven't heard either, but if I was going to get one it'd definitely be the Pico. Everything I've read seems to indicate it has a more refined sound and a more advanced DAC, not to mention it looks better.

There's also the school of thought that says no portable amp will be able to drive headphones like the HD600 o HD650 properly, but I'll defer to people who've tried that combination. I'm sure there are also already some threads on the subject.

Your Shures don't need amping, but the benefit of using the outboard DAC over Macbook's stock soundcard should be worth it.

You might also want to consider the iBasso D2 or Go Vibe Petite.

 

[insyte]

I can relate to your problem. I currently own a HD650 and the bithead, and also use my laptop and ipod with FLAC files as sources. I'm also dependent on the bithead's DAC when I use it on my laptop. I'm also looking at possible replacements for the bithead. And Im probably going to go for a full headphone amp to drive the HD650. I also plan to get an IEM which doesn't need to be amped.

I've also looked at the reviews and the Pico and Predator. And as most will say you can't go wrong with either. Since I think the DAC is a priority for you, I'd go for the Pico as its DAC is probably better than the predator's. Unfortunately looking at the order list of the pico, I guess the wait time is still a couple of months.

 

[noremedy]

I use my pico to drive my 530's and it sounds truely amazing. However I can't help but feel my Sennheisser 595's arn't reaching their full potential, although it certainly drives them, it maybe doesn't allow them to reach their max.

 

[robojack]

Pico if you want a SLIGHTLY better DAC, Predator if you want a better amp and much better battery life.

 

[dazzer1975]

how are you defining better?

It would seem that the dac in the pico is about as good as is technically possible so I suppose that could be argued to be objectively better, even given that the chip in the predator isn't known.

Amp wise, as has been said in this thread, the amp of the pico is neutral and transparent.

From reading people's impressions of the predator the amp in that is coloured, so subjectively the pred or the pico would be better suited to those who like neutrality or colouration.

Battery life, if one provides a longer run time then the battery life is better unequivocally, however, how does that impact on the ability of the amp to drive more demanding phones? Perhaps thats another consideration for the op too?

 

[hatethatgiraffe]

predator does indeed colour the sound moreso than anything else I have used but it is a very competent little amp!
Still waiting on my pico to arrive but hopefully should be in next month or so!
In the mean time I have to say that my predator is more than decent enough and won't disappoint especially if you don't have the patience to wait mnths for the pico!

 

[tjumper78]

i had both pico and predator(about 700 burnt-in) for 2 weeks.
it's a known fact that pico's dac is better than predator's.
amp(sound)-wise, i preferred amazingly neutral sound of pico over predator's.
i got rid of 2 desktop amps (gilmore lite and littledot mk4se) and a desktop dac (keces da-151) after i purchased pico. it's driving my hd600 beautifully. no distortion whatsoever. just beautiful sound no matter what kinda music i throw at it.

 

[justin w.]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dazzer1975 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Battery life, if one provides a longer run time then the battery life is better unequivocally, however, how does that impact on the ability of the amp to drive more demanding phones? Perhaps thats another consideration for the op too?

The battery in the Pico is 2-cells, put in series to provide more voltage for full-size headphones. If they were paralleled the battery life would double, but half the voltage. It is not hard to reach clipping with loud peaks or heavy bass lines at 1-cell voltage. I tried it both ways

 

[dazzer1975]

Quote:

Originally Posted by justin w. /img/forum/go_quote.gif The battery in the Pico is 2-cells, put in series to provide more voltage for full-size headphones. If they were paralleled the battery life would double, but half the voltage. It is not hard to reach clipping with loud peaks or heavy bass lines at 1-cell voltage. I tried it both ways

That's exactly what I suspected, however wasn't sure so only hinted that the pico would be better able to drive more demanding phones.

Thanks for the confirmation.

 

[LFC_SL]

wrong thread

 

[joonas]

Thanks for your replies, now I'm sure I will buy the Pico. If I ever feel the need to get a better amp I could still use Pico as a DAC. But I just won't wait for 8 weeks to buy new. I wouldn't wait for a car that long not to talk about a piece of consumer electronics

I can't post on the FS forum so someone please PM about selling a used one for me.