[holden4th]

I recently purchased a used pair of the legendary HD580s and I really love what they are doing. They are replacing my Shure 840s as my main set of cans for listening at home. I no longer need closed back here and the more open presentation is very appealing. I have this trait where I try to do my homework before buying anything and chose the 580s over the 600s because the difference is apparently minimal and therefore I would get a better price. I think I did.
 
I do a lot of listening from my PC and much of that homework told me that I would need a really good DAC/amp to make these babies sing but I am starting to question that  so your advice would be appreciated. I already had the Nuforce uDAC-2 and was impressed with what it did to my Shure's. But all the literature I read said that this DAC/Amp wouldn't really be able to drive the 580s to their best performance yet I am sitting here listening to Jean-Michel Jarre and the volume control on this little device is at about 10:30am and loud enough for me. The music is involving and sounds so much better than my Shures. Turning it up to almost full I do hear distortion (clipping?) so is the uDAC doing the job or do I need a somewhat better amp to drive my cans?
 
I ran some music out of my MP3 player (Sansa View 16Gb) connected to my PA2V2 and it took a lot more juice to drive the 580s in this mode so the uDAC seems to be better at providing the power for the Senns.
 
That all said, I want these cans to sound really good so should I upgrade from the Nuforce? I am aware of the law of diminishing returns with audio equipment so I don't want to splash out on something that costs twice as much as these HPs cost me ($135). Research suggests that the eponymous Total Bithead, iBasso and the Fiio E7 are worth investigating. The E7 seems to have about the same power as my Nuforce so I don't really see that as a possibility but could be persuaded. Are there any others I should consider? My price limit is about $200. I'd prefer portability but that doesn't have to be a given.
 
Your thoughts please.

 

[blacknile]

Hi, my iBasso D2+ Boa can just about power my 600ohm DT880 to decent levels, at the maximum gain setting. I never use the ibasso with those though, they deserve much better. And I'm not sure if the D2 would be any more useful with 300ohm headphones. I suspect something more powerful like the iBasso D4 would really be the minimum you should be looking at.
 
On a different note, what are the main differences between 580 and Shure in your opinion?

 

[ZARIM]

Fiio E11, Mini 3 and Tomahawk.

 

[Croozer]

Just a thought but did you ever think about posting this in the Portable Headphone Amps section?

 

[charli3]

Quote:

Just a thought but did you ever think about posting this in the Portable Headphone Amps section?

Yes, you'll get more responses there. 
 
I have been learning towards the Fiio E11, it seems like it have enough juice to drive 300ohm headphones. 
 

 

[holden4th]

Thanks for the response  - I'll look at these.
 
The difference between the two sets for me are that the HD580s are so much more open and airy. Going back to the Shure's they sound almost compressed in comparison and yet that's unfair to an excellent set of cans.
 
The second is the detail - once again the Senns are better mainly because I think the sound stage is so much better, the instruments better separated and therefore giving more detail.
 
Finally, the bass. Maybe the Shure's are punchier but the Senns go oh so much deeper and that is what I prefer. Listening to Peter Gabriel's Sledgehammer you can hear the way that the 580s articulate the Tony Levin's bass lines. You can hear his finger work and the actual notes far more clearly. I can say, yes that is definitely a B flat, where it is a bit indistinct on the Shures and might be a B flat. The 840s do sound more solid here but as a classical musician articulation is one thing I really want to hear.
 
So we are talking different tonal signatures I suppose. Don't get me wrong, the Shures have got to be the best value for money headphones you can get if you want a neutral presentation. One similarity both have is their smooth presentation. Neither sound fatiguing yet the extra comfort of the Senn's also makes them a winner.

 

[holden4th]

Quote:

Just a thought but did you ever think about posting this in the Portable Headphone Amps section?

Thank you - I'll do that.