[roadrunner343]

Hello everyone,
 
I have pretty much decided I will be purchasing the HD598 and I need an amplifier/DAC to go along with it. It does not need to be portable, as this setup will be used at my desktop PC. My primary goal is to get a high quality music experience (All kinds of rock) but they will also be used for games, videos, etc... (All purpose computing).
 
I've been looking at a million different amps and can't figure out what to get. I would like to spend no more than $400, but I am willing to stretch the budget if it means a better sound that will last me longer. I'm the type of person who likes to buy things right the first time so I don't need to upgrade ever month, or year, or whatever.
 
Amps/Dacs I am considering: Maverick Tubemagic D1, NuForce Icon HDP, Schiit Magni/Modi, Schiit Asgard+some other DAC, and JDS Labs O2+ODAC (Though I hate all the inputs on the front). Will any of these be particularly well suited to the HD598, and ocntinue to serve me well should I ever choose to get a different set of cans? Any other suggestions? Thanks everyone for your help.

 

[augie05]

Bump....   trying to help out the OP.    Doesn't anyone have any suggestions?

 

[augie05]

Great headphone BTW.
 

 

[DanTheDane]

I only have experience with the Nuforce icon HDP, which I use myself together with my HD650's.
I'm pretty happy with the Nuforce. It's a great match with the HD650's, the build quality it pretty good and it's small enough to easily carry along in a backpack.
 
You list both tube & solid state amps which are quite different beasts. You should probably first decide which kind of amp technology you would like to have.

 

[roadrunner343]

I think I am leaning towards solid state, so I don't have to worry with tube replacements. This is my first setup afterall. I think I am mainly leaning towards the Schiit Magni/Modi or a NuForce solution of some sort.

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

Hello everyone,
 
I have pretty much decided I will be purchasing the HD598 and I need an amplifier/DAC to go along with it. It does not need to be portable, as this setup will be used at my desktop PC. My primary goal is to get a high quality music experience (All kinds of rock) but they will also be used for games, videos, etc... (All purpose computing).
 
I've been looking at a million different amps and can't figure out what to get. I would like to spend no more than $400, but I am willing to stretch the budget if it means a better sound that will last me longer. I'm the type of person who likes to buy things right the first time so I don't need to upgrade ever month, or year, or whatever.
 
Amps/Dacs I am considering: Maverick Tubemagic D1, NuForce Icon HDP, Schiit Magni/Modi, Schiit Asgard+some other DAC, and JDS Labs O2+ODAC (Though I hate all the inputs on the front). Will any of these be particularly well suited to the HD598, and ocntinue to serve me well should I ever choose to get a different set of cans? Any other suggestions? Thanks everyone for your help.

As you going to be gaming and watching videos (Blu-ray & DVD movies?).
Your really better off getting a sound card with a built in decent amp.
or a sound card a with a good external headphone amplifier.
 
The Titanium HD sound card is selling for $102 at Amazon.
http://www.amazon.com/Creative-Blaster-Titanium-Internal-SB1270/dp/B0041OUA38
 
Schiit Magni headphone amplifier, $99 at Schiit.
http://schiit.com/cart/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=0&products_id=13

 

[MegaMushroom]

The Magni/Modi combo sounds like a pretty good end all solution to the "lower" end of headphone amps.  Had Schiit come out with these I would have skipped over my HiFiMAN EF2A for them.  I'm going to say you should probably go with the good schiit, and get the Magni/Modi. 

 

[roadrunner343]

Thanks for the replies all.
 
While it is true I will be doing some gaming and videos (Mainly just onlline stuff, not high quality DVD/Bluray rips), the main forcus was to get a high quality music experience. That's when I really care about quality.
 
I decided to go with the Sennheiser HD598 and the Schiit Magni/Modi combo. The headphones arrived yesterday (I love amazon $3.99 overnight shipping) and the Magni/Modi is due to arrive this Friday. I already notice quite a difference from my old headphones, so can't wait to get the rest of the setup. Especially because there is quite a bit of EMI interference going on in my PC (I can hear my mouse move). I've ripped it apart a few times and rebuilt it and can't figure out where it's coming from, I'll chalk it up to an agin PSU, as it isn't an issue I had when I first built it a few years ago.

Anyways, anything else I should know before the stuff shows up? Any sort of special hookup/software configuration I should be doing to get the most out of my music?

 

[MegaMushroom]

You might want to get the cables to hook up the magni/modi.  If you want the consistency Schiit sells em as well. (PYST cables)  Otherwise a normal off the shelf component should work. 

 

[roadrunner343]

Yup, got the PYST cables coming with the Magni/Modi. Just making sure there wasn't anything else special to configure my system properly. Thanks for the help.

 

[ErikV55]

  Yup, got the PYST cables coming with the Magni/Modi. Just making sure there wasn't anything else special to configure my system properly. Thanks for the help.

Hey, I know this thread is old, but I didn't see and update and I'lm looking to go the same route as you did w/ this set up. How do you like it?