[yangian]

I have not yet gotten into the tube rolling aspect of the V2 but am very intrigued with the idea. The V2 sounds so good with the stock tubes I cannot imagine how much better it could sound with a good pair of vintage tubes. Only problem with that is it could run you close to the price of the V2 itself just in replacement tubes.

This is a very valuable resource for tube rolling of V2:
http://www.head-fi.org/t/563884/little-dot-tube-amps-vacuum-tube-rolling-guide

 

[Midgetguy]

  @Kodachrome2000, I would wait until you have your HD-600 first before thinking about an amp or DAC change.  If you like to let out your "bass-head" every once in a while I think the HD-650 would be a better fit but since you want more neutral/natural then the HD-600 is a better choice. 
 
I had the HD-598 for a while before giving them away and like @Midgetguy I was using a Topping VX1 DAC/amp and it was great for the price but the HD-600 needed a slightly better amp to make it sound like an "upgrade" from the HD-598, and as another poster suggested tubes is where it shines. 
 
If wanting to keep the natural/neutral sound some say the Valhalla2 is good, for me its a BH Crack or Ember and depending on the tubes used it will "color" the sound somewhat, not something I would consider drastic but it is noticeable.  For flexibility the Ember is hard to beat while the BH Crack is limited to higher impedance headphones like the HD-600/650/800 but it really shines with them.
 
For playing games I really like the HD-700, much better sound stage, positional accuracy, and dynamics, its also much easier to drive properly than the HD-600.

I thought about the VX1 for a while, but I got a really cheap deal on the D20. The SMSL sApII Pro isn't expensive either and it results in a respectable budget-fi setup if I do say so myself. Plenty of power as well. I love the look of tubes and it's true they do make the HD600s shine more than a SS amp. My bro's got a LD mkIV so I intend on stealing it to use every so often when he's not around

.
 
I haven't used the HD700 at all for gaming, but its 150ohm impedance makes it much easier to drive than the 300ohm HD600. And I dunno if it's just me, but I also felt the HD700 was a tad bit more comfortable too. I like the pads on the HD600 better, but it felt like the HD700 had more earcup space inside.

 

[yangian]

So if 700 is sold at the same price as 600, and you can only get one of them, which one you'll buy? For symphony, which one is better? Thnaks!

 

[DavidA]

  So if 700 is sold at the same price as 600, and you can only get one of them, which one you'll buy? For symphony, which one is better? Thnaks!

HD-700 for me, classical/symphonies is hard to beat on HD-700, and I would say even at the current prices of $280 and $485. 
 
HD-800 / T1 / SR-009 are better but need better equipment in the audio chain to do so.

 

[yangian]

  HD-700 for me, classical/symphonies is hard to beat on HD-700, and I would say even at the current prices of $280 and $485. 
 
HD-800 / T1 / SR-009 are better but need better equipment in the audio chain to do so.

Really! I was considering to get either a spared 600 or a 700 when it's on sale. 800 is a too big investment. Too much to throw in the future for DAC/amp! 
Could you say more about why you prefer 700 for classical/symphony? Thanks!

 

[DavidA]

  Really! I was considering to get either a spared 600 or a 700 when it's on sale. 800 is a too big investment. Too much to throw in the future for DAC/amp! 
Could you say more about why you prefer 700 for classical/symphony? Thanks!

Sending you PM since its off topic

 

[ColtMrFire]

Did a little more messing around with the ERS paper, not happy with the sound, it sounded bleached and overly bright.  I forgot that it's recommended you use very small pieces first and work your way up... I had a large piece inside my Modi 2 DAC, which was a mistake.  So I cut much smaller squares and put them on each individual microchip.  And my God what an improvement.  No hyperbole it sounded like a new DAC.  The best way to describe it is, especially with voices and acoustical instruments, they sounded like actual things performing, rather than recordings, not like they were in the room or anything, but they became much more realistic sounding, without a hint of grain or harshness.  Even bright recordings are completely tolerable now.  And the jump in resolution was not subtle.  This was even further improved when I got a hunch to add the 2nd jitterbug back into the chain.  Like any system, synergy and getting the right balance seems to be absolutely paramount.
 
I'm not going to go into this too much further, but to say it's the best sonic improvement I've yet heard in my system, hands down, is an understatement.  I must have had some EMI/RFI interference going on, because the DAC massively improved after applying the ERS paper.  At $24 a sheet, it's a cheap, but worthwhile opportunity... may not improve everyone's chain, but if you're curious, start out with very small pieces and experiment. 

 

[madwolfa]

^ this dude is going places!

 

[ColtMrFire]

Yes. Straight to audio heaven!

 

[audiojun]

  Did a little more messing around with the ERS paper, not happy with the sound, it sounded bleached and overly bright.  I forgot that it's recommended you use very small pieces first and work your way up... I had a large piece inside my Modi 2 DAC, which was a mistake.  So I cut much smaller squares and put them on each individual microchip.  And my God what an improvement.  No hyperbole it sounded like a new DAC.  The best way to describe it is, especially with voices and acoustical instruments, they sounded like actual things performing, rather than recordings, not like they were in the room or anything, but they became much more realistic sounding, without a hint of grain or harshness.  Even bright recordings are completely tolerable now.  And the jump in resolution was not subtle.  This was even further improved when I got a hunch to add the 2nd jitterbug back into the chain.  Like any system, synergy and getting the right balance seems to be absolutely paramount.
 
I'm not going to go into this too much further, but to say it's the best sonic improvement I've yet heard in my system, hands down, is an understatement.  I must have had some EMI/RFI interference going on, because the DAC massively improved after applying the ERS paper.  At $24 a sheet, it's a cheap, but worthwhile opportunity... may not improve everyone's chain, but if you're curious, start out with very small pieces and experiment. 

I use grounded aluminum foil. I also will wrap electrical tape around the foil so it doesn't short anything. Emi/rfi can't penetrate the grounded aluminum housing of the modi, if your picking up interference then it would likely be from the power supply.

 

[madwolfa]

Don't forget the tinfoil hat!

 

[ColtMrFire]

I use grounded aluminum foil. I also will wrap electrical tape around the foil so it doesn't short anything. Emi/rfi can't penetrate the grounded aluminum housing of the modi, if your picking up interference then it would likely be from the power supply.

My Modi doesnt have a power cable. You mean the power supply from the usb? I already had the jitterbugs cleaning up the usb signal, the biggest change was from the ers paper in the Modi, or that combined with the jitterbugs, so would it be from my laptop's power supply/power cable?

 

[ColtMrFire]

Don't forget the tinfoil hat!

Whatever helps you sleep at night.

 

[audiojun]

it could also be your amp. try it without a dac or inputs.

 

[Kodachrome2000]

got'em! 
 
i haven't had my 598 for over a year so i'll do my best to compare.
 
plugged into my receiver; yamaha htr 5550 headphone out (it's all i got for now) i have to say i was let down - which i expected, given that it's a headphone out.
 
so far it sounds like a 598 with better detail retrieval overall, solid mids, better bass quantity/quality and a MUCH smaller soundstage.  there are a couple electronic songs i enjoyed on the 598 that give me a surreal "out of head" experience.  i didn't get that with the 600.  there's some instrument separation, but i don't feel it's worth mentioning above any other average headphone.  one thing that was nice, however, was that i found a lot more texture in electronic music i had not previously heard.
 
one thing that immediately became apparent is that my description of "lush vocals" for the 598 really should have been "forward vocals at the expense of everything else".  the 600, while sounding perfectly average in stage/imaging, sounded better on all fronts except maybe the vocals.  they still sound very good.
 
sorry i can't be more specific; don't have that critical of an ear yet - but it's natural, it's laid back.  all parts are present.  i have a feeling a decent amp is gonna bring this way up and blow the 598 out of the water.
 
if i had to choose right now?  i'd prefer a 598 unamped over the 600 unamped, despite the improvements.  the soundstage and imaging are the reasons why.  when i wore the 598 i could forget i was wearing headphones - i felt like i had instruments playing all around me, like i was on the stage behind the band/people/whatever, not like i was in a concert hall.  thankfully i'm not going to be keeping these unamped.    
 
i've decided to start small and simply use the 150$ amazon gift card to get a starting point - a couple reviews pointed me to the asgard 2 as a good place to start despite not being a tube amp.  would this open up the stage and imaging while keeping the largely neutral/natural characteristic of the hd600?  many reviews seem to indicate such.  i'm thinking later on i'd spring for the mjolnir 2 as my "endgame" amp after i've saved and learned to enjoy a basic amp and dac.