[artcore]

 
Hello Head-fi`ers and greetings from Germany. :=)
 
I personally own an IMac and a Sennheiser HD 600 Headphone.
Since the quality of the internal soundcard is not very good, ive decided to get a headphone amp for my HD 600.

Ive spent quite some time with researching at the the head-fi forum but since i am not a pro on that area, i would love to get some suggestions from you.
 
Ive stumbled over the Maverick Audio Tubemagic D1 and read some pretty good and some pretty bad user reviews.
 
I want to attach the amp/dac via USB or Firewire too my IMac.
 
My budget is between 300 and 500 Dollars.
 
The Tubemagic D1 sounds pretty good but for me it seems a bit to cheap to be a reasonable dac/amp.
 
i appreciate every comments and feedback.
 
so long
 
Nicola

 

[Acix]

Try the Apogee Duet, you can get it used for around 320-to-$350.

 

[Xocnuc]

+1 for Duet.

 

[dyl1dyl]

Cambridge Dac Magig and Schiit Bifrost are two options that you may want to consider too.

 

[CJG888]

One suggestion which works very well (for me) with the HD600 is the combination of Little Dot DAC_1 and LD MK III (especially when the driver tubes are substituted for CV4010s). This setup should lie within your budget, allowing for a decent RCA interconnect (Funk-Tonstudiotechnik are generally good value in Germany).

 

[barleyguy]

BTW, your iMac also has an optical (TOSLINK) output.  If you plug a 3 mm optical plug into the line out, it will send optical.  The advantage of that is that you'll be bypassing the internal DAC without using a different software interface.
 
So if I was doing this, I would look for a DAC with an optical input and use that interface instead of USB or Firewire.  USB is good too, and shouldn't be a deal breaker.  But optical removes any chance of electrical noise, and any chance of software incompatibilities to the USB interface.
 

 

[derbigpr]

Definitely take a look at  Nuforce HDP.  Its an amp / DAC combo with components that you will find in 4 figure priced equipment.
 
I heard it in store with Beyedynamic DT880's and HD650's....it sounds ridiculously good for that price. 
 
Also, its styling will fit you, because if you like Mac's, you like simplicity.
 
http://www.nuforce.com/hp/products/iconhdp/index.php

 

[artcore]

Hello.
 
Thanks for your suggestions.
 
Currently i am pending between the Little Dot DAC_1 / LD MK III and the Nuforce HDP.
 
They both seem pretty good and got some nice scores by the reviewers.
 
Thanks for the tip with the optical (toslink).
 
I am goin to use the optical output instead of the usb.
 
Any suggestions regarding these both amps/dacs?
 
Design doesnt matter btw.
 
I just wanna have the best audio performance for my budget.
 
 
Is the original cable of the HD 600 good enough, or do i need a special cable like the "Blue Dragon" headphone cable to get the best performance?
 
 

 

[kevistador]

Quote:

Definitely take a look at  Nuforce HDP.  Its an amp / DAC combo with components that you will find in 4 figure priced equipment.
 
I heard it in store with Beyedynamic DT880's and HD650's....it sounds ridiculously good for that price. 
 
Also, its styling will fit you, because if you like Mac's, you like simplicity.
 
http://www.nuforce.com/hp/products/iconhdp/index.php

+1 for the Nuforce Icon HDP.  It sounds pretty darn good at that price, especially considering that it is also a DAC and preamp.