[Odin412]

can anyone introduce me a balance amp for hd6xx?
im considering:
1)drop X alex cavalli liquid carbon x
2)drop THX 789
3)schiit Jotunheim

any other amp i should consider as well?

I would recommend that you also look at the Cavalli Liquid Platinum from Monoprice.

 

[acguitar84]

For me, RME ADI 2 DAC - Schiit Jotunheim - HD650 (4 pin XLR) made for a lot of hours of fun listening.

 

[529128]

can anyone introduce me a balance amp for hd6xx?
im considering:
1)drop X alex cavalli liquid carbon x
2)drop THX 789
3)schiit Jotunheim

any other amp i should consider as well?

I am very satisfied with my Schiit Asgard 3. Can definitely recommend it.

 

[r_aquarii]

I am very satisfied with my Schiit Asgard 3. Can definitely recommend it.

thanks, i was looking at asgard as well but im wondering if balance amp will improve the performance.
i want something more future proof for better headphone ie; focal clear, LCD2, HD820...

 

[matti621]

Anyone has owned both the 650 and the Beyer T1 and can compare the too?
I've sold my 650 and kept the T1 but would like to hear other people's opinions.

 

[Odin412]

Anyone has owned both the 650 and the Beyer T1 and can compare the too?
I've sold my 650 and kept the T1 but would like to hear other people's opinions.

I have both and they are very different. The T1 has a much brighter sound signature than the 650, and to my ears it is certainly more resolving of details. I have the T1 V2 model; I had the V1 before but it was just too bright for me so I sold it. I'm very treble-sensitive, so keep that in mind when reading my comments. The T1 is good for actively listening to details; the 650 is good for sitting back and just enjoying the music. YMMV, as always.

 

[bassounds]

Also a huge thing with the HD 650 is the fit. You really need to experiment with the fit to get the best sound possible out of the 650/6xx.

They really can sound edgy and unrefined when the fit is not right, to becoming amazingly clear, natural and smooth when the fit is right. Also with different bass quantity inbetween the different ways they fit.

It's the reason why I've sold and bought them 3 times, because of the huge variable sound in fit. Luckily for me, I have mastered how they'll fit on my ears for the best sound, and now they're my favorite headphone.

Could you expand on what you did that changed the fit for better or worse?

 

[dakanao]

Could you expand on what you did that changed the fit for better or worse?

I tried out as much different positions as possible.

It really comes down to how much distance, either vertically, horizontally AND diagonally is between the drivers and your ear canal.

It's tricky to learn to get it right every single time, since the distance goes in 3 directions. It takes practice and trial and error in positioning to get it right constantly, but I found the below tips to be best for me.

Regardless, with the stock earpads I always found the bass too weak for my taste. But for the stock pads, I found the best fit to be if your ears would be precisely in the middle of the pads, with as equal of a distance in the middle in all vertical, horizontal and diagonal positions of the pads.

With my new Yaxi pads, I find the best sound to be when left-top side of the left pad and right-top side of the right pad, are as close as possible on the upperside of your ears.

If I position the Yaxi pads like I do with the stock pads, the resulting sound is resonant, harsh and distant, though with more bass. However with the above method, it's atleast as smooth as the stock pads if not smoother with just as full vocals but better bass impact and extension.

 

[KeithPhantom]

thanks, i was looking at asgard as well but im wondering if balance amp will improve the performance.
i want something more future proof for better headphone ie; focal clear, LCD2, HD820...

I have the Asgard 3, the HD800, and the LCD-2. They are both powered to a loud volume at about 9 o'clock, so power is what this amp has the most. Balanced is not going to improve anything that's audible (because I don't think the room you are listening in is extremely noisy in an electrical way).

 

[gooeyrich]

I'm always skeptical with massdrop. I'd spend some extra on the 650 instead of the 6XX.

I've had multiple purchases from massdrop including this headphone and have never had a problem.

I think they've done a lot for the audiophile community and we should support them.

 

[RickB]

I've had multiple purchases from massdrop including this headphone and have never had a problem.

I think they've done a lot for the audiophile community and we should support them.

Plus the HD6XX paint job is very cool. If the HD650 had this as an option before Drop came out with it, I would've chosen it.

 

[knorris908]

Anyone has owned both the 650 and the Beyer T1 and can compare the too?
I've sold my 650 and kept the T1 but would like to hear other people's opinions.

My 4 most-used headphones on a daily basis.

As you can see I still have my HD650 and T1v2, (I was sent the v1 by mistake and had a week or so to compare them against the v2 before the vendor wanted the v1 back - Preferred the v2 easily.) and I agree with everything that Odin said in his response. I was comparing HD650, T1, HD800, & HD700. My T1 won for everything except listening to jazz and classical that I don't feel the need to hear in an "expansive soundstage". For analyzing and actively listening I will typically grab my T1s. For just melting into the couch and blissing-out to some relaxing jazz or blues - HD650.

 

[GearMe]

I've had multiple purchases from massdrop including this headphone and have never had a problem.

I think they've done a lot for the audiophile community and we should support them.

Same here

 

[CAJames]

... Balanced is not going to improve anything that's audible (because I don't think the room you are listening in is extremely noisy in an electrical way).

I assume this has been covered ad nauseam but because I'm new and haven't seen it in this thread let me say this.

Unlike interconnects between components the advantage of a differential (I prefer differential to balanced) connection for headphones is not common mode noise rejection. The two (theoretical) advantages of a differential headphone connection are a better electrical connection with the XLR jack vs. phono and (assuming your signal path is also differential) driving your phones directly with the 4 components of the differential signal: Left+ Left- Right+ and Right- instead of summing them for the phono output that uses 3 wires, Left. Right and Common Ground. Of course whether or not any of it matters is up to you.

 

[KeithPhantom]

I assume this has been covered ad nauseam but because I'm new and haven't seen it in this thread let me say this.

Unlike interconnects between components the advantage of a differential (I prefer differential to balanced) connection for headphones is not common mode noise rejection. The two (theoretical) advantages of a differential headphone connection are a better electrical connection with the XLR jack vs. phono and (assuming your amp is also differential) driving your phones directly with the 4 components of the differential signal: Left+ Left- Right+ and Right- instead of summing them for the phono output that uses 3 wires, Left. Right and Common Ground. Of course whether or not any of it matters is up to you.

The electrical field is not my expertise, but doesn't that applies to differential amps with single-ended outputs? Just to know more about this topic.

PS: I think differential has the advantage of not sharing ground and not risking to have a ground loop. I'll maybe upgrade my amp to differential when I get the funds to do so, but not for better audio quality, just because I want the cleanest path possible.