Thanks, that's reassuring. As a newbie to audiophile sound I hope the HD 600 and DFR will keep me happy for a couple of years, and then after a while I will see if I wanna go further down this expensive rabbit hole of a hobby haha
Honestly, if you don't have the cash for now, I'd even say to just skip the amp for now and save up a bit if you really wanna go big on DAC/amp components later. The HD600 is frankly just a ridiculous headphone; I can plug that thing into my iPod and it sounds good. As good as it could? No. But acceptably good? No doubt. And I'd advise that if money is a factor to you, early on in your audio journey is where you should figure out how far you're willing to go for the diminishing returns. I've listened to some setups with other headphones, but also with my trusty HD600, that are incredibly good, but what I've chosen for my own desktop setup and recommended for my buddy is something that really doesn't break the bank, but gives 90% of the enjoyment. Some spend thousands on their source components and they're welcome to do it, but you'll never see me do it because I'm just not as discerning as they are about my audio.
One device for both laptop and phone is quite the limitation on your choices though. Tough market for that. If you ever decide to have different devices in the future (perhaps a regular desktop setup?), I'd have full confidence recommending the TEAC AI101-DA or AI301-DA as a DAC/amp unit. I have an AI301-DA and I had recommended my friend the AI101-DA (mine has 6.3mm, his has 3.5mm) and they're fantastic. They look good and they provide enough power for the headphones I use and the speakers I use as they also have speaker terminals. For an all-in-one package that has a pretty small footprint, it's quite the nice piece of equipment for how little it relatively costs. It's been my desktop DAC/amp for several years now and I don't intend on changing it anytime soon.
Best of luck with finding something that fits your needs.
I have had HD600 a couple of years, and plenty of other cans. HD600 is my favorite, both comfort but also for the natural, non sterile, non fatiquing sound.
I never invested in a dedicated headphone amp, as i have a lot of headphone outs in mixers, interfaces, sound cards. motherboards, stereo equipment etc etc
In hindsight I regret it as probably the single biggest upgrade for my headphone SQ was the very simple and cheap Presonus HP4 four way headphone amp. It drives the HD600 argually a lot better than most "normal" headphone outs. Biggest difference is the authority and low distorsion of bass notes using HD600. The HD600 suddenly has real impressive bass performance with the HP4. Contrary to slightly muddy and rather slow with all my other outs. Midrange and treble was always good in most cases. HP4 is fully balanced(if you use balanced cables), which is nice when working with interfaces and PC:s to remove all remnants of RF noise from the PC:s. As far as I can tell the HP4 is transparent, meaning it doesn't add any sound signature of it's own, just playing louder and driving cleaner. Much recommended, as it is a cheap and powerful option and can also be used to compare cans or for collective listening with it's four outputs.
edit. I seem to have a new revised version though, as I have 16V input and a 16V laptop style power brick. All product images are showing 12V input so there may be some undocumented differences between revisions.
Honestly, if you don't have the cash for now, I'd even say to just skip the amp for now and save up a bit if you really wanna go big on DAC/amp components later. The HD600 is frankly just a ridiculous headphone; I can plug that thing into my iPod and it sounds good. As good as it could? No. But acceptably good? No doubt. And I'd advise that if money is a factor to you, early on in your audio journey is where you should figure out how far you're willing to go for the diminishing returns. I've listened to some setups with other headphones, but also with my trusty HD600, that are incredibly good, but what I've chosen for my own desktop setup and recommended for my buddy is something that really doesn't break the bank, but gives 90% of the enjoyment. Some spend thousands on their source components and they're welcome to do it, but you'll never see me do it because I'm just not as discerning as they are about my audio.
One device for both laptop and phone is quite the limitation on your choices though. Tough market for that. If you ever decide to have different devices in the future (perhaps a regular desktop setup?), I'd have full confidence recommending the TEAC AI101-DA or AI301-DA as a DAC/amp unit. I have an AI301-DA and I had recommended my friend the AI101-DA (mine has 6.3mm, his has 3.5mm) and they're fantastic. They look good and they provide enough power for the headphones I use and the speakers I use as they also have speaker terminals. For an all-in-one package that has a pretty small footprint, it's quite the nice piece of equipment for how little it relatively costs. It's been my desktop DAC/amp for several years now and I don't intend on changing it anytime soon.
Best of luck with finding something that fits your needs.
I have had HD600 a couple of years, and plenty of other cans. HD600 is my favorite, both comfort but also for the natural, non sterile, non fatiquing sound.
I never invested in a dedicated headphone amp, as i have a lot of headphone outs in mixers, interfaces, sound cards. motherboards, stereo equipment etc etc
In hindsight I regret it as probably the single biggest upgrade for my headphone SQ was the very simple and cheap Presonus HP4 four way headphone amp. It drives the HD600 argually a lot better than most "normal" headphone outs. Biggest difference is the authority and low distorsion of bass notes using HD600. The HD600 suddenly has real impressive bass performance with the HP4. Contrary to slightly muddy and rather slow with all my other outs. Midrange and treble was always good in most cases. HP4 is fully balanced(if you use balanced cables), which is nice when working with interfaces and PC:s to remove all remnants of RF noise from the PC:s. As far as I can tell the HP4 is transparent, meaning it doesn't add any sound signature of it's own, just playing louder and driving cleaner. Much recommended, as it is a cheap and powerful option and can also be used to compare cans or for collective listening with it's four outputs.
edit. I seem to have a new revised version though, as I have 16V input and a 16V laptop style power brick. All product images are showing 12V input so there may be some undocumented differences between revisions.
Btw, I'm very glad to read that the HD 600s have such enduring popularity. I knew that my granddad (who gave me his original 90s pair) had good taste in high-end audio equipment, but it's great to hear that these headphones are still so good today, even compared to the current and fierce competition.
Just out of curiosity, since I think I've read this somewhere, would you serious headphone enthusiasts say that the HD 600 are in the top 10 ever of greatest headphones under a thousand euros / dollars?
Btw, I'm very glad to read that the HD 600s have such enduring popularity. I knew that my granddad (who gave me his original 90s pair) had good taste in high-end audio equipment, but it's great to hear that these headphones are still so good today, even compared to the current and fierce competition.
Just out of curiosity, since I think I've read this somewhere, would you serious headphone enthusiasts say that the HD 600 are in the top 10 ever of greatest headphones under a thousand euros / dollars?
Hey, Martijn. I'm glad your open to the idea of a desktop amp in lieu of USB DACs and other portable amps. In my experience (admittedly limited compared to many here), a full power dedicated headphone amp is the only way to get the most out of the notoriously hungry HD600.
For brevity sake I left one aspect out of my story above that ended in my current JDS/Schiit amp rig. Having read about needing an amp for the 600 when I first bought them, I stubbornly decided that I would go no bigger than portable amps, just because. After going though a few (FiiO, Cayin, etc.), I settled on the JDS C5 portable amp and used that for about 5 years, convinced that's the best the 600 could sound. But as I said above, I eventually learned how wrong I was.
There is however one possible exception that I'm aware of: the iFi Audio Micro iDSD Black Label portable DAC/amp. Though I haven't personally heard one yet, everything I've read says that this is one portable with enough balls to rival desktop amps. But it's pretty big (for a portable), and about $600 new.
(I guess there's also Chord stuff too, but that's getting into seriously pricey territory.)
Hey, Martijn. I'm glad your open to the idea of a desktop amp in lieu of USB DACs and other portable amps. In my experience (admittedly limited compared to many here), a full power dedicated headphone amp is the only way to get the most out of the notoriously hungry HD600.
For brevity sake I left one aspect out of my story above that ended in my current JDS/Schiit amp rig. Having read about needing an amp for the 600 when I first bought them, I stubbornly decided that I would go no bigger than portable amps, just because. After going though a few (FiiO, Cayin, etc.), I settled on the JDS C5 portable amp and used that for about 5 years, convinced that's the best the 600 could sound. But as I said above, I eventually learned how wrong I was.
There is however one possible exception that I'm aware of: the iFi Audio Micro iDSD Black Label portable DAC/amp. Though I haven't personally heard one yet, everything I've read says that this is one portable with enough balls to rival desktop amps. But it's pretty big (for a portable), and about $600 new.
(I guess there's also Chord stuff too, but that's getting into seriously pricey territory.)
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