[SnookiMonstr]

I own a pair of HD650's, possibly looking to upgrade to HD800 later on.
 
Need advise for BUYING a killer Amp and Dac (no 2-in-1 please) I plan to run it through my laptop, hense the need for a dac, if i had a desktop, Id probably get a killer sound card, however that is not the case in my situation.
 
I'm a complete noob as the title stated, so everyone please keep it noob-friendly here. I dont know much about how sound gets converted from the digital file from the comp all the way to the headphones etc.. I fell in love after listening to a HD800 in a music store a week ago, and I have since promised myself I will NEVER AGAIN listen to music using low-end equipment.
 
Thank you everyone ahead of time
 
(also, moneys not an issue.. but please nothing over $1000 / each)

 

[Uncle Erik]

Welcome to Head-Fi and sorry about your wallet.

The HD-800 is a demanding mistress. It will show up the faults of lesser amps and sources. You might want to read through the various HD-800 amp threads since it is particular about what it is plugged into. And, unfortunately, $1,000 is not going to get you very far with good HD-800 amps. You might be better off putting $2,000 towards the amp and running off a decent (but good) CD player for a bit. Something like a Sony SCD-CE595. I got one for about $50. Not the best, but absolutely listenable.

The amp will make much more of a difference with the HD-800, anyhow. I prefer my HD-800 with tubes and there are a number of others who feel the same way.

So look around, and read through the threads. You'll be in for a bit of a financial commitment if you want the best from a HD-800.

I should mention that you can get a good HD-800 amp under $1,000, but there's a catch. You have to build it yourself. Still, you can get excellent quality inexpensively if you're willing to take up a soldering iron.

 

[SnookiMonstr]

Thanks! I was listening to it the other day, but Im not totally sure if im going to buy it JUST yet.
 
I do own a pair of HD650's... would you have any recommendation for what AMP/DAC i should get for that instead? I will mainly be using the dac when connected to my laptop/iphone anyway.

 

[jasonb]

i, today, just received an HD650 and the HeadRoom Desktop Amp/DAC. sounds amazing along with my laptop.
 
the amp/dac is $799.
 
Quote:

Thanks! I was listening to it the other day, but Im not totally sure if im going to buy it JUST yet.
 
I do own a pair of HD650's... would you have any recommendation for what AMP/DAC i should get for that instead? I will mainly be using the dac when connected to my laptop/iphone anyway.

 

[SnookiMonstr]

Thanks man, but im not looking for a 2-in-1 amp/dac... I've heard horrible reviews about them.
 

 

[Mariusz22]

I'm really enjoying my HD800 out of my Little Dot DAC_I and M-Stage Matrix amp (Macbook Pro/iMac as source).  I'd like to go tubes in the future (Woo WA6), but I'm more than satisfied for now.  

 

[jasonb]

nothing wrong with an amp/dac combo.
 
Quote:

Thanks man, but im not looking for a 2-in-1 amp/dac... I've heard horrible reviews about them.
 

 

[bozuhead]

I know that you prefer not to get a 2-in-1, however, the Red Wine Audio Isabellina HPA is a fantastic DAC and headphone amp for the HD800.
 
Since an upgraded version of this headphone amp was released recently, you can find people selling their older version for $1k regularly.
 
I highly recommend you try this equipment.