[JamieMcC]

Also knocked up a new can stand during the week.
 
 
 
  

 

[connieflyer]

  Nice vintage gear!! You need to get over to the vintage receiver/amp thread. You should hear some planar mag hp's with a vintage receiver. They just LOVE the power from the old steel. 

Perhaps the crack fest should be moved over to the appropriate crack thread,  I see nothing wrong with him showing what he uses, I have severall amps, receivers, that have good headphone outs and still use them on occasion.  Kudo's to the Teac!

 

[solblack]

  Here is something different and from a confirmed Crack head.
 
I picked up a replacement bedroom system speaker amp a few days ago its a TEAC Reference A-H500 and its headphone out is really pretty good with the HD650. Teac also make some dedicated high end head amp kit.
 
I am really quiet impressed with the sonic ability both with speakers and phones and the build quality is top notch. The metal front panel is a attractive champagne colour but looks more silver in the pics. The switches and dials have a nice feel to them and are also metal.
 
I reckon it is a bit of a second hand bargain imho. 
 
The Toroidal transformer gives 50 watts RMS per channel 20 Hz - 20,000 Hz @ 8 ohms and 80 watts RMS per channel 20 Hz - 20,000 Hz @ 4 ohms.
 
The amp was $150 brought locally and I picked the matching cd player up off of ebay for $65 delivered it makes a great compact system and I have no qualms about recommending the amp for stand alone headphone use.  Its a neat compact amp which oozes quality with a host of features balance, treble, bass, etc, for not a lot of money.
 
Web pics
 
 
 
 
 
and a link to the thread with some more info and where I borrowed the nice pics from.
 
http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/amps-pre-pros-receivers/68029-teac-reference-series-6.html

Nice amp

I just got my yuA28 the 650 sound nice in balance.
I want to try the "Crack" but the diy thing not my bag these days.
Also it's expensive and does the "Crack" sound good with other Headphones?

 

[JamieMcC]

  Nice amp

I just got my yuA28 the 650 sound nice in balance.
I want to try the "Crack" but the diy thing not my bag these days.
Also it's expensive and does the "Crack" sound good with other Headphones?

 
Its best with high impedance phone 300ohm plus but saying that my ATH W1000X sound ok out of it and they are 42 ohms. There are plenty of folk about who think it pairs well with HD800's and T1's (I do).  Everyone has a personal view on the expensive of equipment but if you have spent hundreds or even over a thousand on a pair of cans don't expect to them to perform at their best when paired with a budget amp, cause it just ain't going to happen.

 

[olegausany]

 Here is something different and from a confirmed Crack head.
 
I picked up a replacement bedroom system speaker amp a few days ago its a TEAC Reference A-H500 and its headphone out is really pretty good with the HD650. Teac also make some dedicated high end head amp kit.
 
I am really quiet impressed with the sonic ability both with speakers and phones and the build quality is top notch. The metal front panel is a attractive champagne colour but looks more silver in the pics. The switches and dials have a nice feel to them and are also metal.
 
I reckon it is a bit of a second hand bargain imho. 
 
The Toroidal transformer gives 50 watts RMS per channel 20 Hz - 20,000 Hz @ 8 ohms and 80 watts RMS per channel 20 Hz - 20,000 Hz @ 4 ohms.
 
The amp was $150 brought locally and I picked the matching cd player up off of ebay for $65 delivered it makes a great compact system and I have no qualms about recommending the amp for stand alone headphone use.  Its a neat compact amp which oozes quality with a host of features balance, treble, bass, etc, for not a lot of money.
 
Web pics
 
 
 
 
 
and a link to the thread with some more info and where I borrowed the nice pics from.
 
http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/amps-pre-pros-receivers/68029-teac-reference-series-6.html

Nice amp

I just got my yuA28 the 650 sound nice in balance.
I want to try the "Crack" but the diy thing not my bag these days.
Also it's expensive and does the "Crack" sound good with other Headphones?

You can get one already assembled in for sale forum right now but be aware that it suitable for high impedance headphones only (250 ohm and up) such as HD650, HD800, T1 and DT770/880/990 (250 and 600 ohm versions)

 

[FraGGleR]

  Question, what is the best amp for the HD 650 other than the bottlehead crack, because that is outside my budget. I currently have a schiits vali+ modi. Is there anything that imitates a crack amp but is cheaper?

What is wrong with your Schiit stack?  The Vali does quite a good job with the HD650s.  As good as several amps I have had that cost several hundred more.  

 

[MattTCG]

Abablitz...
 
you might just spend money on a better dac. The Vali is quite good and will scale will a better dac. 

 

[BoneEnterprise]

Hello HD650 lovers, a fellow HD650 owner here of many years looking to finally make the plunge into external amp ownership, I am currently running my HD650s on a ASUS Xonar Xense and factory cables (which I also have plans of upgrading), with that being said I have what I guess is going to be a loaded question:
 
Note: 100% use of my cans are done on my desktop computer with the use ranging from listening to music to gaming.
 
1) As far as getting a cable upgrade for the longest time I have been wanting to get a Cardas cable upgrade but never did, are Cardas still a relevant upgrade or has something "better" come along?
 
2) As far as amps go, I have been on the fence with getting either a Bottlehead Crack OTL w/Speedball Upgrade or a Schitt Lyr, which of these two would be for my setup and use?
 
My one and only hold back with getting the Bottlehead Crack is the fact that I don't have a soldering rig or have any experience at all with soldering, while I do have someone that is willing to do this for me on the free, said person lives a few hours away from me and I really would not want to 'bother' them with assembling this for me, trying to figure out if the Bottlehead Crack is really THAT much better than the Schitt Lyr.
 
With the cost difference of $55 to get the Schitt Lyr vs Bottlehead Crack not bothering me in any way, should I go for it or get the Bottlehead?
 
I LOVE the aesthetics of the Lyr (while I know looks are not everything for an amp) so that is a plus for me.
 
Does anyone have experience with both amps, if so which did you prefer?
 
Thanks in advance for any advice. (waits for the Bottlehead crack recommendations)

 

[MattTCG]

  Hello HD650 lovers, a fellow HD650 owner here of many years looking to finally make the plunge into external amp ownership, I am currently running my HD650s on a ASUS Xonar Xense and factory cables (which I also have plans of upgrading), with that being said I have what I guess is going to be a loaded question:
 
Note: 100% use of my cans are done on my desktop computer with the use ranging from listening to music to gaming.
 
1) As far as getting a cable upgrade for the longest time I have been wanting to get a Cardas cable upgrade but never did, are Cardas still a relevant upgrade or has something "better" come along?
 
2) As far as amps go, I have been on the fence with getting either a Bottlehead Crack OTL w/Speedball Upgrade or a Schitt Lyr, which of these two would be for my setup and use?
 
My one and only hold back with getting the Bottlehead Crack is the fact that I don't have a soldering rig or have any experience at all with soldering, while I do have someone that is willing to do this for me on the free, said person lives a few hours away from me and I really would not want to 'bother' them with assembling this for me, trying to figure out if the Bottlehead Crack is really THAT much better than the Schitt Lyr.
 
With the cost difference of $55 to get the Schitt Lyr vs Bottlehead Crack not bothering me in any way, should I go for it or get the Bottlehead?
 
I LOVE the aesthetics of the Lyr (while I know looks are not everything for an amp) so that is a plus for me.
 
Does anyone have experience with both amps, if so which did you prefer?
 
Thanks in advance for any advice. (waits for the Bottlehead crack recommendations)

 
I have both these amps on my desk right now. I have been listening to both comparatively for several days. The lyr is warm, punchy and dynamic...just a beast of an amp that drives the hd650 well. 
 
The Crack is better IMO. The "synergy" is perfect. The crack was MADE for the 650. You'll get better tone and realism from the Crack. It's simply seductive to listen to the 650 and the crack. 

 

[chee006]

  My HD 650 is also going to arrive in the next few days but my PC DAC and amp ain't. I too can't wait to get my hands on a good amp and DAC my portable one is decent but I am afraid it won't sound as good if I paired it with a tube amp. Do you guys have any amp/dac or seperate components for my HD 650? my budget is around $350

Sorry to bother you guys but I still need someone's recommendation on my amps and dac, also do you think this will sound good through my DX 50 -> PB 2?

 

[BoneEnterprise]

   
I have both these amps on my desk right now. I have been listening to both comparatively for several days. The lyr is warm, punchy and dynamic...just a beast of an amp that drives the hd650 well. 
 
The Crack is better IMO. The "synergy" is perfect. The crack was MADE for the 650. You'll get better tone and realism from the Crack. It's simply seductive to listen to the 650 and the crack. 

 
Interesting, glad to hear a suggestion from someone that actually has both units, thank you for your input.
 
Think if I do go with the Crack I am going to try and find a different material and or a nicer wood to use than what it comes with to "class" it up a small bit.
 
Any advice on cable replacements or are you running any?

 

[JamieMcC]

  Hello HD650 lovers, a fellow HD650 owner here of many years looking to finally make the plunge into external amp ownership, I am currently running my HD650s on a ASUS Xonar Xense and factory cables (which I also have plans of upgrading), with that being said I have what I guess is going to be a loaded question:
 
Note: 100% use of my cans are done on my desktop computer with the use ranging from listening to music to gaming.
 
1) As far as getting a cable upgrade for the longest time I have been wanting to get a Cardas cable upgrade but never did, are Cardas still a relevant upgrade or has something "better" come along?
 
2) As far as amps go, I have been on the fence with getting either a Bottlehead Crack OTL w/Speedball Upgrade or a Schitt Lyr, which of these two would be for my setup and use?
 
My one and only hold back with getting the Bottlehead Crack is the fact that I don't have a soldering rig or have any experience at all with soldering, while I do have someone that is willing to do this for me on the free, said person lives a few hours away from me and I really would not want to 'bother' them with assembling this for me, trying to figure out if the Bottlehead Crack is really THAT much better than the Schitt Lyr.
 
With the cost difference of $55 to get the Schitt Lyr vs Bottlehead Crack not bothering me in any way, should I go for it or get the Bottlehead?
 
I LOVE the aesthetics of the Lyr (while I know looks are not everything for an amp) so that is a plus for me.
 
Does anyone have experience with both amps, if so which did you prefer?
 
Thanks in advance for any advice. (waits for the Bottlehead crack recommendations)

 
I have no experience with any of the Schitt gear myself but will throw in the thought that it is possible to easily mod up the Crack at a later date. For less than $100 you can up scale its performance quiet noticeably. Which imho makes much more sense than a new cable which you simply won't require. This could save you money in the long run if considering another amp purchase sometime in the future.

 

[BoneEnterprise]

   
I have no experience with any of the Schitt gear myself but will throw in the thought that it is possible to easily mod up the Crack at a later date. For less than $100 you can up scale its performance quiet noticeably. Which imho makes much more sense than a new cable which you simply won't require. This could save you money in the long run if considering another amp purchase sometime in the future.

Other than the Speedball upgrade that I intend to to right off the bat, what other upgrades are there to do on the Crack, I assume tube rolling?

 

[solblack]

   
Its best with high impedance phone 300ohm plus but saying that my ATH W1000X sound ok out of it and they are 42 ohms. There are plenty of folk about who think it pairs well with HD800's and T1's (I do).  Everyone has a personal view on the expensive of equipment but if you have spent hundreds or even over a thousand on a pair of cans don't expect to them to perform at their best when paired with a budget amp, cause it just ain't going to happen.

So they work well with other headphones maybe i'll make "Crack"my birthday git to me. lol I have to have a reason. lol
Your telling the truth about everyone view I have the ATH 900x combo with the DX50 and CC bht (my portable rig) I love it!
I was using the 650 with D100, HA INFO and Darkvoice3322.
I just did not want to buy the "Crack"  just for the 650.
I bought the A28 to go with my Alpha dogs and its a great match.

 

[FraGGleR]

  Hello HD650 lovers, a fellow HD650 owner here of many years looking to finally make the plunge into external amp ownership, I am currently running my HD650s on a ASUS Xonar Xense and factory cables (which I also have plans of upgrading), with that being said I have what I guess is going to be a loaded question:
 
Note: 100% use of my cans are done on my desktop computer with the use ranging from listening to music to gaming.
 
1) As far as getting a cable upgrade for the longest time I have been wanting to get a Cardas cable upgrade but never did, are Cardas still a relevant upgrade or has something "better" come along?
 
2) As far as amps go, I have been on the fence with getting either a Bottlehead Crack OTL w/Speedball Upgrade or a Schitt Lyr, which of these two would be for my setup and use?
 
My one and only hold back with getting the Bottlehead Crack is the fact that I don't have a soldering rig or have any experience at all with soldering, while I do have someone that is willing to do this for me on the free, said person lives a few hours away from me and I really would not want to 'bother' them with assembling this for me, trying to figure out if the Bottlehead Crack is really THAT much better than the Schitt Lyr.
 
With the cost difference of $55 to get the Schitt Lyr vs Bottlehead Crack not bothering me in any way, should I go for it or get the Bottlehead?
 
I LOVE the aesthetics of the Lyr (while I know looks are not everything for an amp) so that is a plus for me.
 
Does anyone have experience with both amps, if so which did you prefer?
 
Thanks in advance for any advice. (waits for the Bottlehead crack recommendations)

I'm obsessed with cables, but will be one of the first to tell you that you should spend your money first on a good DAC and amp.  You will get FAR more improvements with those than with any cable, no matter how much unicorn hair was used in building it.