[audiogamma]

Sell the 650s here and buy some easy drivers like the M50s. 

 

[Olias of Sunhillow]

The Purity Audio KICAS (in either Caliente or non-Caliente versions) is a nice cost-effective amp to pair with your HD650s. They can usually be found used here for $250 or less.
 
What do you use to play your music? If it's a decent CD player, you should be fine for now. If it's a cheap CD player or a computer with onboard sound or a cheap sound card, you should consider something like the Audio-GD FUN DAC/Amp combo.
 
Good luck!

 

[Jtom94]

i do most of my work at home on my desktop pc and my headphones will be attached to my computer. Should i invest in a good sound card or an amp or should i invest both. I OK with not having the absolute best performance but at the same time i want to get the best performance i can afford. What should i do?

 

[beeman458]

I think the best price to performance DAC/Amp of choice is made by Audio-gd.  Their Sparrow and/or the Fun.
 
In truth, for a hundred bucks, what's available, my opinion, isn't going make you happy.  The best sound card, my opinion is going be the ASUS, Xonar STX.  Screaming good specs but also a bit more than your budget but it "easily" drives the HD-650.
 

 

[stef50millbay]

I got the G2 on e-bay for $80 all in,and it certainly will power the HD650, at half volume is all I can take...The very best would be a Mier concerto.They is matched,but thats almost 700 clams..For your computer, the answer is a Matrix M stage.For 270 on E-bay.You plug it into a usb port and I promise its the best digital sound.When I first plugged similar into my laptop,I went from fuzzy low volume to hi-fidelity with more sweet volume than I could take.Add free foobar and you have arrived.

 

[ev01ut10ndt]

Are you sure the Matrix Mstage and not the Matrix mini-i? I thought that mstage as just an amp, and not a amp/dac like the mini-i. 

 

[stef50millbay]

On the e-bay site they claim the matrix m stage has a usb input for computer use,but I have looked at the pictures and cant see one..Anyway you dont need a soundcard just an amp with usb.There are lots in the two hundred range.good luck.

 

[jr41]

I've read comments that people have been happy with the Little Dot MK II and the HD 650. The MK II is an OTL tube amp and costs only $140.
 
I did extensive research into the right amp for the HD 650, and the general consensus seems to be that the HD 650 pairs well with tube amps. $140 is is a very small sum for such a product ($500-$1000 seems to be the range for a decent Western made OTL tube headphone amp) and as such I think it's fair to say compromises have been made to achieve this price. The MK III seems to a more popular choice as a budget amp for the HD 650, and sells for $194.
 
As Kingtz states, there is a wealth of information on this site regarding your particular query, and it's well worth swatting up to ensure you get the best amp in your budget and for your requirements.

 

[RexAeterna]

you don't need to spend 100's on a amp. i would suggest into looking for vintage stereo receiver/amps. those things are monsters. i suggest look up locals on craigslist. there's people selling vintage stereo amps all the time for cheap. if you do it craigslist you can test out the amp yourself but have to drive there which can be a pain. people will suggest Pioneer or Marantz or Mcintosh or Sansui but i find Kenwood amazing under-rated brand and is on par or better then the heavy hitters like Marantz and much more perfered. also fisher and rotel are really great. remember when buying marantz is make sure the model is before 1981 i think cause around then they sold their name to phillips so around from 1980 and earlier is the marantz models to look for.

can check ebay too but honestly i be more edgy and so about that especially if it has to be shipped. can't trust the salesman so i usually never use ebay at all. benefits also with a vintage speaker receiver/amp be able to hook up nice speakers as well. thing have to remember too with vintage receiver/tuner amps is some have on and off button for the speakers cause headphone jacks during the analog era were ran off the same powerful speaker amp. they were perfect for old high impedance dynamic studio headphones and vintage orthodynamic headphones which are power hungry as well. just a suggesting. 

 

[RexAeterna]

don't have to invest into a very expensive soundcard. i use the turtle beach riviera soundcard works great. i have my 1970's kenwood kr-720 speaker amp and jvc xl-f108 5-disc cd player hooked up and from my ears there is no noise whatsoever and i blast my speakers. tested max level of my amp and no noise. thing when i worked on pc's is that the line-in and mic inputs are what causes the noise most of the time with the soundcards(especially the mic boost feature). might take up space but can look into a nice cd player and hook it up to soundcard's input to bypass the dac and use the cd player's instead. works for me. just a suggesting tho so take whatever i say with a grain of salt.
Quote:

i do most of my work at home on my desktop pc and my headphones will be attached to my computer. Should i invest in a good sound card or an amp or should i invest both. I OK with not having the absolute best performance but at the same time i want to get the best performance i can afford. What should i do?

 

[Jtom94]

Thanks for all the responses. Unfortunately, my roommate who was originally going to sell me his old HD650s ended up selling them to his brother. I fell in love with them the first time i heard them and i want to get a pair. This is probably off topic, but should i buy HD650's new or is it a better value shopping for a used pair? What price range should i expect for a used HD650s and what should i watch out for? 

 

[jr41]

I've read that the HD 650 hold their value well and that second hand pairs in good condition don't fall far behind new pairs - price wise. I'd check the 'for sale' section of head-fi to get a feel for prices. I don't know where you're based, but in the UK, around £250 seems to be a good price for this headphone - brought new.
 
If you do plump for second hand, watch out for the colour of the diaphragm. Older pairs had a dark colour diaphragm and the sound is supposedly darker and more 'veiled' by comparison to newer versions with the silver colour. The diaphragm is visible through the outside cup grill - there are plenty of threads on this subject with pictures.
 
The thing to bear in mind - as previously expressed - is that in order to get a taste for the true potential of the HD 650, you need a high-quality and powerful amp. Therefore the outlay for a good HD 650 setup can be considerably more than the headphone itself.
 
You're in a good place right now in that you've had a taste of what a good headphone can deliver, but since you don't have the HD 650 anymore, you're free to explore and research all the options. There are other great sounding headphones out there which aren't as hard to drive as the HD 650 and are therefore easier on the wallet. Or, by reading up, you can determine what you need to get what you want out of the HD 650 and start saving.
 
This is the approach I took and I'm so glad I did. To my uninitiated ears the HD 650 sounds good out of my Little Dot I+ (a budget, hybrid tube amp), and were I none-the-wiser, I would be satisfied to stay with this sound. However, when hooking the HD 650 up to my Little Dot MK IV SE, which is an entry/mid-level OTL tube amp I purchased specifically to pair with the HD 650, they sound completely different. The sound is so much more engaging, alive and realistic and brought me surprisingly close to being at the live performance - which to my mind is the ultimate goal.
 
There are lots of reviews of the HD 650 paired with a whole range of amps which describe the experience far better than I can.
 
Good luck and let us know how you get on!

 

[Jtom94]

thanks for all your responses, its really pointed me in the right direction.

 

[mackat]

fiio e9

 

[shingo43]

used gilmore lite