[morks]

Without having read the thread: Get the O2 + ODAC and never worry about amp/DAC quality ever again Drives everything from in-ears to hungry Hifimans and 600 Ohm Beyers. I'm using the combo to drive my HD650s and the sound is flawless.
 
E.g. http://epiphany-acoustics.co.uk/our-products/ehp-o2d-miniature-desktop-headphone-amplifier-with-usb-dac/ -- available from other vendors as well, just google it.

 

[LnxPrgr3]

Quote:

Currently running the HD600 with a Fiio E9 and loving it.
I am still debating though, the value of upgrading from on board sound to some sort of external DAC, say a Fiio E7.
Will I consciously notice an improvement investing in an E7?

 
Most onboard sound I've heard is truly awful. I can even hear noise whenever I move the mouse or anything accesses the hard drive or network. It's infuriating! Sometimes I wonder how these things sell at all… but then again, most people won't notice or care. I was dating a woman who burned a CD for us to take a road trip together. One of the tracks came from a 56kbps mp3. Somehow, she never noticed anything wrong with it. Even distracted by driving and conversation, I immediately cringed and skipped the track. Not that that's surprising… 56kbps mp3 sounds absolutely awful. The surprising part is that a lot of people won't really notice a problem. Maybe that explains how onboard sound can be so bad and still satisfy most people.
 
Anyway, I'm using a MacBook Pro today, which has the best onboard sound I've ever heard from any computer ever. Even so, my cheap second-hand Zhaolu DAC/amp combo is a tremendous improvement over it. It's immune to the weird noises I seem to pick up from the AC otherwise in some places, including work and multiple friends' apartments. Even at home where I don't pick up so much noise, my external DAC sounds much cleaner to me. The amp could be part of this though. I should feed the analog output from my laptop to the Zhaolu and see what the difference is.
 
I haven't heard the E7, so I can't comment on it specifically, but I'm definitely a fan of getting the analog components out of the computer. The DAC counts, since its output is analog. Even my old Audigy NX 2 was a major improvement over onboard sound at the time. Or even today, considering some of the laptops I've heard :-/

 

[john65537]

Quote:

 
Most onboard sound I've heard is truly awful. I can even hear noise whenever I move the mouse or anything accesses the hard drive or network. It's infuriating! Sometimes I wonder how these things sell at all… ... Maybe that explains how onboard sound can be so bad and still satisfy most people.

Another reason might be most computer sounds are aiming for speakers instead of headphones.

 

[sipter]

Went to a headphone store yesterday, was 99% rooting to get the Q701's (Never listened to it). Asked the shop keeper if there is any headphone similar at the price range, for giggles expecting the Q701 to be superior to all. [Yulong D100 amp (not sure)] Tried an Ultrasone (Burned)and that didn't impress me at all. . Then wore this (New-Unburned), I was really impressed with it. Then tried the 701 (Burned) and it kinda disappointed me a little. I took my time and found myself liking the HD-600's the most. Learned my lesson after that day, you can't only read reviews to find your perfect match. (Keep in mind, this is just my opinion.)

I've been using this headphone UN-AMPED, connected to my PC's creative xfi on board sound card and it actually sounded pretty good (I can also crank up the volume to a very loud point) in my opinion.

At the price range of $150-$400 (Go beyond if one is really recommended) recommend me an AMP/DAC that could be connected to a computer that works really well with this headphone? [I've read many threads, but is still unsure.] Thank you in advance!

 

[FlySweep]

Get a standalone ODAC & Objective 2 (so you can run the O2 off batteries).. I've got an HD580 (with a custom-made, silver cable).  The HD580, by most all accounts, identical to the HD600 (they share the same drivers and tuning).  I'll spare you the long winded description of the sound..
 
HD580 (modded to APureSound specs) & silver cable + ODAC + Objective2 = "mini" HE-500.
 

 

[turkishsp]

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I havn't measured it, which I think would be a ridiculously anal thing to do for this situation

 
You may think so, but I have recently seen a post from someone in another thread who thought one amplifier sounded much better (in the "night and day difference" sense) than another, until buying a cheap SPL meter and discovering that the "worse" amplifier was in reality used at a more than 10 dB lower level. And before that, that person thought it is about the same volume (probably influenced by the position of the volume knobs), but a huge quality difference. After really matching the levels, much of the difference disappeared. Volume matching by ear - especially an untrained one and without the ability to switch between the sources very quickly - is not reliable at all, it takes much less difference (less than 0.5 dB) to hear an effect on quality than on loudness (typically multiple dB without fast switching).
When one amplifier allegedly has a "thin, flat/lifeless sound, lacking bass, dynamics, and impact" compared to another, the chance of unmatched levels is quite high. Bass in particular is greatly affected by the SPL (see here why).
Another notable issue that affects subjective audio comparisons is expectation bias, even though many people refuse to accept that it exists.
The most likely reason why the E7 would sound really poor is if it cannot output sufficient power for the volume level you are trying to use it at, and it clips as a result.

Great! Hearing at different levels misleads sound appreciation.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Doralikesmath]

I'm not sure if this is a right place to ask since I'm fairly new to head-fi (don't justify my join date). Does anyone have problem unpluging the stock cable of the HD600? Mine seems to be just too hard to be unpluged.

 

[ri_toast]

Quote:

I'm not sure if this is a right place to ask since I'm fairly new to head-fi (don't justify my join date). Does anyone have problem unpluging the stock cable of the HD600? Mine seems to be just too hard to be unpluged.

your talking about the two cable entry into the speakers or the jack into the amp?
the prongs on the speaker entry side are different sizes; large and small. there should be an L and R embossed on the plug itself, this is away side from the ear when attached (faces out) correctly. There is a solid friction fit with this cable so maybe what you've experienced is normal. Do they sound ok? Polarity IS important side to side. Your phones should be in phase; either R and L facing out or in, not one way on one side and different on the other.
 
if you look closely you'll see that one prong is large and one is small.

 

[lejaz]

Quote:

Get a standalone ODAC & Objective 2 (so you can run the O2 off batteries).. I've got an HD580 (with a custom-made, silver cable) which is by all accounts, identical to the HD600.  I'll spare you the long winded description of the sound..
 
HD580 (modded to APureSound specs) + ODAC + Objective2 : "mini" HE-500.
 

 

This!
though I'm using a gamma1 dac, which is probably even cheaper. Ended my upgraditis without killing my wallet.

 

[Jmstrmbn]

I love my 600 with my Nuforce HDP its just above the range you mentioned at 450 but is well worth the price IMO

 

[imackler]

Why do I keep getting rid of my pair of HD600 if I love it this much?! 
 
Listening now with Just Audio AHA-120. I don't know if I've ever enjoyed the HD600 so much! 

 

[Audio-Omega]

Sennheiser HD600 is able to deliver my favourite music without me missing HD800 at all.  The music presentation is different but very enjoyable.  

 

[imackler]

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Sennheiser HD600 is able to deliver my favourite music without me missing HD800 at all.  The music presentation is different but very enjoyable.  

 
That is the nicest thing anyone has ever said. Well, that might be an exaggeration, but its always nice to hear from others who don't make you feel like a putz because you can't afford to be in the summit forum. 

 

[Windsor]

Quote:

Sennheiser HD600 is able to deliver my favourite music without me missing HD800 at all.  The music presentation is different but very enjoyable.  

 
I totally agree. To me, sometimes, such as when listening to heavy rock and metal music, the HD 800 sounds too lacking in bass presence to be enjoyable and I much prefer the HD 600, which, although is relatively lacking in presentation of the finer details, is a terrific listen in its own right.
 
I'd love to try the HD 600 with a silver aftermarket cable.

 

[lxar]

Quote:

 
I totally agree. To me, sometimes, such as when listening to heavy rock and metal music, the HD 800 sounds too lacking in bass presence to be enjoyable and I much prefer the HD 600, which,  although is relatively lacking in presentation of the finer details, is a terrific listen in its own right.
 
I'd love to try the HD 600 with a silver aftermarket cable.

I d say the same with the HD 650