[musedesign]

 
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Skylab,
  Thank you, thank you!  I keep coming back to your thread over and over! 
 
  I have taken the plunge and ordered a pair of Sennhesier HD650.  I know they are better with a home amp, but since I travel, I would like to also have a small inexpensive amp (less than $200).  It seems that people like the Hornet paired with the HD650 but that is out of my price range.  What are your suggestions?
 
Thanks!

I find the HD650 more difficult to drive than the HD600.  I own the HD600 but sold my HD650.  They like an amp with higher voltage than 5v most of the time. Someone mentioned the Headsix - but I don't think the Headsix is enough for HD600, after I've heard other portables.  I'd venture to say the Meier Headsix/XXS running on 9v power is slightly less powerful than the D4 with 9v, but I'd need to compare them again. 
 
The $220 D4 in 9v mode is just enough for the HD600, but my Meier 3MOVE has more power and control for the HD600 than D4 even though it's using 9v like the D4.  The 3MOVE on 9v is noticeably better at driving the HD600 than the D4.  If you need portable to drive an HD650 the MOVE, 2MOVE or 3MOVE should do the job, although I've heard the 3MOVE was discontinued.  A used one might go for $200 if you look hard enough.  The amp on the 2MOVE is the same, and only the case is different.  Battery life is actually pretty good (over 50 hours).
 
I have tried the new Meier Stepdance which also has great power for the HD650, but battery life with the D4 or Stepdance is poor and in the neighborhood of 8-10 hours.  Stepdance does have noticeably more power than the D4, but no DAC.  However it can run on as high as 15v wallwart (regulated) and offers even more power.  On the other hand, the D4 can run in 5v mode via USB power if you run out of battery (which will happen).  If you don't need a DAC, and the 8-10 hour battery life is okay, then the Stepdance would be a better choice for the HD650.  The price is like $255 + shipping.
 
The Vividaudiotech.com V1 is a $99 amp that has some upper mids coloration that works well with my HD600 and Denon (but not Grado), and somehow it has gobs of power despite charging via 5v USB power.  The AD8397 opamp has good output and is used in the much more expensive Pico - this amp seemed to drive HD600 better than Pico, but the Pico sounded better which not playing as loud.  The optional rapid charger might operate at 9v, I don't recall.  It has more power than the D4 in 9v mode when driving the HD600, and I know it runs over 10 hours on a charge (I forget the exact amount).  
 
The V1, 3MOVE and Stepdance can make your face and ears vibrate and rattle with the HD600.  They don't feel like portable amps with these phones.  For me the best compromise is the 3MOVE, in terms of sound, power and battery life.  Plus like the D4 the 3MOVE can run off 5v USB with no battery, although you must use the DAC as source for that.  The Stepdance would give slightly better and more open sound, but the V1 sounds pretty good with HD600 if you are on an extreme budget.

Thank you !  Thank you!  You are the best, wow, you may have convinced me to return the unopened HD650, get the HD600 and use the money for a better amp.  Thank you!
 
-Mark

 

[sfmatt]

HeadphoneAddict's indeed the best (thank you for making me buy the D2 Viper, the beginning of a life of addiction...) but I have also both HD600 and HD650 and even if I agree that HD650 is harder to drive, I find my new iBasso D6 drives the HD650 really well out of the box with almost 20 hours of battery life. It's too bright to my ears for HD600 but that's a matter of taste and you can always swap opamps.
 
It's an eternal debate between the HD6x0s. I'm in the 75% HD650 - 25% HD600 camp, hard to know until you try for yourself. Both are great headphones.
 

Thank you !  Thank you!  You are the best, wow, you may have convinced me to return the unopened HD650, get the HD600 and use the money for a better amp.  Thank you!
 
-Mark

 

[cooperpwc]

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Thank you !  Thank you!  You are the best, wow, you may have convinced me to return the unopened HD650, get the HD600 and use the money for a better amp.  Thank you!
 
-Mark

...which, all amping considerations aside, is simply an excellent choice. HD600 is wonderful, like HD650 with a dark cloud lifted. All IMHO and yes, there there are entire threads devoted to arguing this point. 
 

 

[dalethorn]

Can any of the portable headphone amps get USB or pre-DAC output from an iPod Touch and convert the sound using the headphone amp's DAC?

 

[estreeter]

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Can any of the portable headphone amps get USB or pre-DAC output from an iPod Touch and convert the sound using the headphone amp's DAC?

No. The only 100% portable transport/DAC to access the iDevice directly is the Solo, and that requires connection to an amp. And deep pockets. Various people mention the $99 Pure i20 as the 'solution' - picture yourself using that on a plane.

 

[anm]

hrt istreamer - it is portable but costs $199. 

 

[Jalo]

And how does one uses the istreamer on an airplane, bus, or train?

 

[Skylab]

One doesn't. I like the iStreamer a lot, but it is not portable. It requires power. I travel with it, though, to give me better sound in my hotel.

And thinking about it, one absolutely could use it on Amtrak, since they have AC power

 

[Jalo]

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One doesn't. I like the iStreamer a lot, but it is not portable. It requires power. I travel with it, though, to give me better sound in my hotel.

And thinking about it, one absolutely could use it on Amtrak, since they have AC power

That was my point in response the Anm that the istreamer is not portable.  That is why I ordered the Solo--it is still the only battery powered device to get the digit out of ipod.  Sky, do you think you could compare and notice the difference in the different devices in this group like the istreamer, Solo, Pure i20, Wadia i7 etc?

 

[Skylab]

The iStreamer is different from the others, in that it takes the digital signal out of the iPod or iPad, but it runs it through it's own DAC. There is no digital out like the Pure or the Wadia. So really the question is, does it sound better than the built in DAC of the iPod or iPad, and IMO, it sounds much better.

 

[Jalo]

Well, with the Solo, you have both the digital out (coax) and the line out from the build in wolfson DAC, so you can choose.  Glad that you enjoy your istreamer.

 

[Skylab]

Yeah, the Solo is the better product, very likely. But it's also more than 2x the price of the iStreamer.

 

[Mr.Sh0eWax]

The Solo seems interesting. But I'm a little put off by the price they ask for those interconnecting cables. Am I way off base here? They include the rubber bands because its obvious people are gonna wanna stack this but including the short cables was way beyond the call of duty. Ahh, that's life tho - they do have an A++ reputation for cables. Anyone think they're worth it?

 

[Jalo]

Sky, you are worry about a $300.00 difference between the two devices, when you would spent an extra $600.00 on the ED8 Le for a little piece of wood decal.  Hehehe, coming from you it's very funny to me .

 

[Mr.Sh0eWax]

Double.