[BobG55]

I definitely prefer the 600 over the 660s.

So do I. I finally bought the 660s in March of this year out of curiosity. Sold them early May. I’ve never been without an HD600 since 2003.

600 are are to beat

Indeed !

I saw this coming a mile away.

Many previous HD600 owners re-aquire them after trying what they believed to be greener pastures.

 

[matti621]

Any used or Chinese amps drive the HD600 decently? I spent too much recently to get something expensive.

 

[Midgetguy]

Any used or Chinese amps drive the HD600 decently? I spent too much recently to get something expensive.

Already have a DAC? Just need an amp with L/R RCA inputs? And what's your definition of looking for something cheaper? Some people say they're looking for a more budget amp and for them, that means like $200, but for me, cheap is like <$100. For my definition of cheap, I used to have a SMSL sApII Pro. It's like $70 or something, loads of power. Didn't feel like I had any problems with powering the HD600 on it, but YMMV as I'm not exactly the super discerning type.

 

[matti621]

Already have a DAC? Just need an amp with L/R RCA inputs? And what's you're definition of looking for something cheaper? Some people say they're looking for a more budget amp and for them, that means like $200, but for me, cheap is like <$100. For my definition of cheap, I used to have a SMSL sApII Pro. It's like $70 or something, loads of power. Didn't feel like I had any problems with powering the HD600 on it, but YMMV as I'm not exactly the super discerning type.

I can't find measurements of it... and this guy tested many SMSLs: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?pages/Audio_Equipment_Reviews/

 

[Midgetguy]

I can't find measurements of it... and this guy tested many SMSLs: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?pages/Audio_Equipment_Reviews/

Perhaps this? https://reference-audio-analyzer.pro/en/report/amp/smsl-sap-II.php#gsc.tab=0

I'm not a measurements kinda guy so I never know where to look anyway, but a quick search brought me there, maybe that'll be of help if it's good data.

 

[BobG55]

Any used or Chinese amps drive the HD600 decently? I spent too much recently to get something expensive.

I don’t know if you’re looking for a tube amp or not. If you’re ok for an SS amp, cheap, I can think of no better one than a JDS Labs Objective 2. At $139.00 there really is no equal to this amp. Here’s a review :

https://homestudiobasics.com/the-jds-labs-objective-2-headphone-amp/


www.jdslabs.com

 

[matti621]

I don’t know if you’re looking for a tube amp or not. If you’re ok for an SS amp, cheap, I can think of no better one than a JDS Labs Objective 2. At $139.00 there really is no equal to this amp. Here’s a review :

https://homestudiobasics.com/the-jds-labs-objective-2-headphone-amp/


www.jdslabs.com

I've owned it and it's the worst amp I listened to.

 

[BobG55]

I've owned it and it's the worst amp I listened to.

Matter of taste.

 

[matti621]

I can't find measurements of it... and this guy tested many SMSLs: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?pages/Audio_Equipment_Reviews/

It says:
Recommended impedance ...
For Over-Ear Headphones
8 - 455 ohm
So unsuitable.

 

[gimmeheadroom]

It says:
Recommended impedance ...
For Over-Ear Headphones
8 - 455 ohm
So unsuitable.

What? It's kinda hard to help you, guy. I sent you a PM offering to help get you a new pair of HD 600s a couple of days ago in response to your Wanted post and you didn't even bother to respond. Then you said the O2 amp was the worst you heard but didn't say what you did hear so we have no idea what to suggest. And now you are listing specs of an amp that look suitable on the surface but you are saying it's not suitable.

 

[Midgetguy]

It says:
Recommended impedance ...
For Over-Ear Headphones
8 - 455 ohm
So unsuitable.

What? It's kinda hard to help you, guy. I sent you a PM offering to help get you a new pair of HD 600s a couple of days ago in response to your Wanted post and you didn't even bother to respond. Then you said the O2 amp was the worst you heard but didn't say what you did hear so we have no idea what to suggest. And now you are listing specs of an amp that look suitable on the surface but you are saying it's not suitable.

You gotta give us more to work with here. HD600 is listed as a 300ohm impedance headphone (let's just stick to Sennheiser's rating and ignore for now the impedance swing by frequency that I've seen mentioned before). Last I checked, 300 falls inbetween 8-455 and the HD600 is an over-ear headphone, so I'm failing to understand what exactly is unsuitable about that. At least regarding the amp I listed, the specs seem fine, it's cheap as hell, and clearly you haven't listened to it, unlike how you've said you've listened to the O2.

So give us something to go on here. @BobG55 even mentioned tube vs SS and you haven't addressed that either. Heck, we still don't even know what you're calling cheap; cheap is $100 for some people and $500 for others. We can't be of much help just shooting blind here.

 

[CJG888]

Little Dot Mk III or Darkvoice 336se work well, would these fit in your budget?

Generally, OTL tube amps are a good choice for the HD600s.

There should be plenty of used ones around...

 

[matti621]

You gotta give us more to work with here. HD600 is listed as a 300ohm impedance headphone (let's just stick to Sennheiser's rating and ignore for now the impedance swing by frequency that I've seen mentioned before). Last I checked, 300 falls inbetween 8-455 and the HD600 is an over-ear headphone, so I'm failing to understand what exactly is unsuitable about that. At least regarding the amp I listed, the specs seem fine, it's cheap as hell, and clearly you haven't listened to it, unlike how you've said you've listened to the O2.

So give us something to go on here. @BobG55 even mentioned tube vs SS and you haven't addressed that either. Heck, we still don't even know what you're calling cheap; cheap is $100 for some people and $500 for others. We can't be of much help just shooting blind here.

That's really weird, I was certain the HD600 and 650 were 600ohm and I owned the 650 for quite some time.
I've listened to the O2, BHC, DAC1 built-in amp, and numerous Chinese brandless amps. Thinking about it the HD650+BHC+HRT II+ combo was as perfect as it could get - even though it sounded unnatural and colored.
What I call cheap? Considering SMSL SAP-II costs $68 I'd say sub $100 is cheap, $100-150 is middle, and anything above that is expensive.

 

[dakanao]

That's really weird, I was certain the HD600 and 650 were 600ohm and I owned the 650 for quite some time.
I've listened to the O2, BHC, DAC1 built-in amp, and numerous Chinese brandless amps. Thinking about it the HD650+BHC+HRT II+ combo was as perfect as it could get - even though it sounded unnatural and colored.
What I call cheap? Considering SMSL SAP-II costs $68 I'd say sub $100 is cheap, $100-150 is middle, and anything above that is expensive.

On an audio science site, they would tell you those amps are as audibly perfect as they can get..

 

[matti621]

On an audio science site, they would tell you those amps are as audibly perfect as they can get..

Which is why I bought the O2, but nevertheless it sounded awful to me.