[Captain Howdy]

Not sure if it's appropriate to post here but I'll be selling my in very good condition HD600s soon for a good price. I'm the second Omer but when I got them they were mint. I'll throw in a 1.1m cable terminated in XLR 4 pin for balanced connections. Box included. I'm in Sydney

 
Put it in the For Sale / Trade Forum

 

[Captain Howdy]

I had used the ATH-M50 exclusively for several years until recently I got the bug to upgrade. I first tried the NAD VISO HP50, which initially did not impress me as significantly better than the M50. After careful and prolonged comparison I found that the HP50 did sound better, but eventually I returned them and bought the HD600 instead.
 
In contrast to the HP50, the difference between the HD600 and the M50 was immediately obvious. The first CD I happened to listen to with the HD600 was Catch a Fire (Barry Diament mastering) and it was as if I had never heard bass before. I cannot understand why people say the HD600 lacks bass, because the bass is usually what I'm most aware of in most of the recordings I've listened to so far. 
 
Right now I run the HD600 from the headphone jack of my 15-year old Onkyo receiver TX-8211. It sounds pretty good to me, but I have no experience with other equipment, so I wouldn't know if it were lacking. Over and over I see people say "The HD600 need a headamp" but I get the impression that these people assume your source is a laptop, DAP, or cellphone. I run my CD player and DAC through my receiver, so I'm wondering how much of an improvement, if any, a dedicated headamp like the Magni or O2 would actually be over the receiver's headphone out. Does anyone have experience/advice on this subject? 

 

[madwolfa]

  I run my CD player and DAC through my receiver, so I'm wondering how much of an improvement, if any, a dedicated headamp like the Magni or O2 would actually be over the receiver's headphone out. Does anyone have experience/advice on this subject? 

 
More than 10 years ago I've been feeding my HD600 from a relatively cheap CD player (TEAC C1D) for quite a while and it was great.
After some time I've added a Musical Fidelity X-CAN V3 headphone amplifier. Yes, it was a step up, but the difference wasn't dramatic.
 
PS: If you can stretch your budget a bit, I'd recommend getting an Asgard 2 instead.

 

[Captain Howdy]

  PS: If you can stretch your budget a bit, I'd recommend getting an Asgard 2 instead.

 
I had been considering that, but then I read this review, which concluded that the differences between the Magni and Asgard were minimal:
 
 Schiit Modi and Magni comparison to Bifrost and Asgard

 

[madwolfa]

   
I had been considering that, but then I read this review, which concluded that the differences between the Magni and Asgard were minimal:
 
 Schiit Modi and Magni comparison to Bifrost and Asgard

 
Well, Asgard + Bifrost is just a much nicer looking stack. 

 

[Jmstrmbn]

  I had used the ATH-M50 exclusively for several years until recently I got the bug to upgrade. I first tried the NAD VISO HP50, which initially did not impress me as significantly better than the M50. After careful and prolonged comparison I found that the HP50 did sound better, but eventually I returned them and bought the HD600 instead.
 
In contrast to the HP50, the difference between the HD600 and the M50 was immediately obvious. The first CD I happened to listen to with the HD600 was Catch a Fire (Barry Diament mastering) and it was as if I had never heard bass before. I cannot understand why people say the HD600 lacks bass, because the bass is usually what I'm most aware of in most of the recordings I've listened to so far. 
 
Right now I run the HD600 from the headphone jack of my 15-year old Onkyo receiver TX-8211. It sounds pretty good to me, but I have no experience with other equipment, so I wouldn't know if it were lacking. Over and over I see people say "The HD600 need a headamp" but I get the impression that these people assume your source is a laptop, DAP, or cellphone. I run my CD player and DAC through my receiver, so I'm wondering how much of an improvement, if any, a dedicated headamp like the Magni or O2 would actually be over the receiver's headphone out. Does anyone have experience/advice on this subject? 

Do you notice a lot of hiss in the background when you listen through the onkyo?  I have an older onkyo integrated and the headphone output sounds a little better than my Nuforce HDP but I hear a constant hiss in the background.  In this respect any amp made for headphones should be an improvement.  Otherwise, I will go ahead and throw in the Bottlehead Crack for consideration.  If you are DIY inclined it is a great deal and supposedly gets even better with the addition of the Speedball.  

 

[faisal2003456]

Joined. I had been looking at the HE400 as an upgrade from the M50, but I couldn't resist that price.

It's going to take like a month to arrive though..... which gives me time to chose an amp/dac.

 

[Captain Howdy]

  Do you notice a lot of hiss in the background when you listen through the onkyo?  I have an older onkyo integrated and the headphone output sounds a little better than my Nuforce HDP but I hear a constant hiss in the background.  In this respect any amp made for headphones should be an improvement.  Otherwise, I will go ahead and throw in the Bottlehead Crack for consideration.  If you are DIY inclined it is a great deal and supposedly gets even better with the addition of the Speedball.  

 
I've never noticed a hiss but I have tinnitus, so if it happened to be in the same frequency as my tinnitus I wouldn't be able to hear it.
 
I've heard a lot of good things about the Crack, but I'm not wild about the idea of DIY, especially for that kind of money, and I'm skeptical of tubes as well: I don't want an amp that needs maintenance. And I want to know that the Crack will be a huge improvement over my receiver before I spend as much on it as I spent on the HD600 itself.

 

[madwolfa]

  I don't want an amp that needs maintenance. And I want to know that the Crack will be a huge improvement over my receiver before I spend as much on it as I spent on the HD600 itself.

 
I'd say just grab a Magni. You can always return if you don't hear any difference.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

  I cannot understand why people say the HD600 lacks bass, because the bass is usually what I'm most aware of in most of the recordings I've listened to so far. 

 
Some expect to hear bass closer to how a pair of tower speakers with multiple bass drivers driven by huge amps (or one with an active subwoofer) sound like...
 
Where even fast double pedal kicks can be felt on the chest

 
 

..while some still expect the sort of bass coming from that parked black Cadillac with its doors open, with sound system components from Audiobahn.
 
If the doors and windows were closed he'd crack the glass

 

[hk1388]

So I just got HD600 recently. I'm using them with the Matrix M-Stage HPA-2. I'm wondering if there's another amp/dac around the same price ($300 or less) that has good synergy with the HD600.
 
Also is anyone using the HD600 with either the Project Ember or Project Polaris?

 

[faisal2003456]

  So I just got HD600 recently. I'm using them with the Matrix M-Stage HPA-2. I'm wondering if there's another amp/dac around the same price ($300 or less) that has good synergy with the HD600.
 
Also is anyone using the HD600 with either the Project Ember or Project Polaris?

This. What's wrong with the HPA-2? It was one of my candidates, since I heard it paired well with the HD800.

 

[squareznboxez]

Currently tossing and turning between the DT880 600ohm, HD600 and HD650 - looking to pair with a Matrix Mini-I Pro
 
I've listened to a friends 880 600ohm on a Firestone stack (Beyond HD, Spitfire and Supplier HD) and it has been the best i've heard so far
 
Short of that I've tried the Matrix Mini-I Pro with a HE500 and they seem to power it plenty to provide the richness it's known for
 
The main review for the Mini-I Pro states that it pairs really well with the HD600 - but I can't help but wonder if the 880s would suit me better
 
I enjoy the low reaching bass presence of the 880s, is this something i'll miss in the HD600s?

 

[sinnottj]

  Currently tossing and turning between the DT880 600ohm, HD600 and HD650 - looking to pair with a Matrix Mini-I Pro
 
I've listened to a friends 880 600ohm on a Firestone stack (Beyond HD, Spitfire and Supplier HD) and it has been the best i've heard so far
 
Short of that I've tried the Matrix Mini-I Pro with a HE500 and they seem to power it plenty to provide the richness it's known for
 
The main review for the Mini-I Pro states that it pairs really well with the HD600 - but I can't help but wonder if the 880s would suit me better
 
I enjoy the low reaching bass presence of the 880s, is this something i'll miss in the HD600s?

 
DT880 & HD600 owner here. The HD600 has a slighty boosted mid-bass compared with the DT880, so sounds a little warmer/richer. The DT880 bass is more neutral, but tighter, better defined and reaches lower. 

 

[squareznboxez]

Awesome, thanks for chiming in, regarding mid-bass and warmth I've recently moved on a set of Audio Technica AD-1000x as a result of listening to my friends 880 600ohms, i preferred the more neutral signature over the AD-1000x's more warm and pronounced soundtrack
 
Appreciate the feedback for the 600s, I think the 880s do suit me better