[reddington]

Thanks for the answer, I am currently in Germany, which makes it a little bit harder, but I will look further. 

Schiit has distributors in EU and also ships worldwide. Look into these.

Also look into the 02 amp. Reviews are stellar and its supposed to be a lot cheaper in Europe.

 

[encoreAC]

Schiit has distributors in EU and also ships worldwide. Look into these.

Also look into the 02 amp. Reviews are stellar and its supposed to be a lot cheaper in Europe.

Yeah, the famous O2 amp, I am searching for them right now. They are going for 145€ right now, which is roughtly 165 dollar. The price is the same I guess.

 

[imzjnzjn]

the tube amp + hd650s is magical =] the hd650 + zu=the hd650 + equinox? =]?

i think hd650 plus tube amp is very smooth but its too dark. Next time i will try it. Hahahh

 

[Solrighal]

i think hd650 plus tube amp is very smooth but its too dark. Next time i will try it. Hahahh

 
This very much depends on the particular amp in my opinion.

 

[teofilrocks]

This very much depends on the particular amp in my opinion.

I lowered my DAC/amp combo budget and went for a used GO1000 just so I could add a Project Ember sooner for the HD650.

 

[Solrighal]

I lowered my DAC/amp combo budget and went for a used GO1000 just so I could add a Project Ember sooner for the HD650.

 
I don't blame you. The Project Ember sounds superb to my ears. To be fair, from reviews it seems to sound superb with most headphones. In my case it's like now I'm listening to music where before (with the O2) I was listening to the sound. Also, as much as it brings certain sounds to the fore it also allows other sounds to drop back in the mix. I could actually understand why someone would not like the effect but for me it's awesome.
 
Having said that, I'm now looking at possible upgrades from my ODAC but they are proving somewhat more elusive.

 

[wgr73]

 
Any idea how to do that without melting the plastic?

The way I always solder is I tin *all* of the wire(s) that will go onto/into place first!  Then I tin the component/terminal (always use solder flux) to prep it.  Once both are tinned then dab a little flux on the wire (or terminal) and hold the iron there until it melts.  When it melts, because you have flux there, the solder will absorb into both parts
 
The thicker the terminal/wire, the longer you have to hold it there....which in that case may start melting the rubber around the terminal.  That takes some finesse managing heat time.  Practice first the way I said using some spare wire.  Flux is key

 

[teofilrocks]

I don't blame you. The Project Ember sounds superb to my ears. To be fair, from reviews it seems to sound superb with most headphones. In my case it's like now I'm listening to music where before (with the O2) I was listening to the sound. Also, as much as it brings certain sounds to the fore it also allows other sounds to drop back in the mix. I could actually understand why someone would not like the effect but for me it's awesome.

Having said that, I'm now looking at possible upgrades from my ODAC but they are proving somewhat more elusive.

I would've just grabbed a dac and the Ember, but I read that it, along with other tube amps, can roll off some of the sub bass unless some specific (read: expensive) tubes are used. Since I'm just adding the TH600, I didnt want any sub bass rolloff on them especially. So I got the GO to power both for now, and can add the Ember later for the HD650. Who knows, maybe I won't be able to tell if there's substantial sub bass rolloff.

 

[Solrighal]

I have more bass now with the Ember than I had with the O2. More of everything really. That's with the Ember on low R. Switch it to medium or high and it gets a bit slower and more bloated. The high R setting works superbly on the Q701 though. It actually tames the treble spike on those. It still doesn't make the Q's a match for the 650's though.

 

[kman1211]

I have more bass now with the Ember than I had with the O2. More of everything really. That's with the Ember on low R. Switch it to medium or high and it gets a bit slower and more bloated. The high R setting works superbly on the Q701 though. It actually tames the treble spike on those. It still doesn't make the Q's a match for the 650's though.

I never had bass issues with tubes, I usually had more bass presence and sub-bass with tubes. I have the Lyr 2 and I find my K712 is equal to the HD 650, just a different sound signature with different strengths and weaknesses. I found different tubes reacted differently to different gain settings and headphones. Sometimes the synergy of a headphone and a tube doesn't really make much sense considering how a tube may sound on other headphones. 

 

[teofilrocks]

I have more bass now with the Ember than I had with the O2. More of everything really. That's with the Ember on low R. Switch it to medium or high and it gets a bit slower and more bloated. The high R setting works superbly on the Q701 though. It actually tames the treble spike on those. It still doesn't make the Q's a match for the 650's though.

More sub bass as well?

 

[joebobbilly]

I had the K702 65th Annies for a while (which the K712 sound sig are mostly based on). They were definitely better than the Q701s that I listened to at the local meet. They are more comfortable than the Q701s (no headband bumps, softer memory foam velour cups) and their sound signature was something closer to an in-between of Q701 and HD650... so a good sense of soundstange and details/separation without so much treble spike.
 
With that in mind... they still are brighter with more air than HD650... the Senns are still warmer, more musical/romantic and more mellow. But the K702Annies were good enough that even a treble sensitive guy like me would have been very happy with them for the long run... they were good complimentary cans to the HD650s. They just had to go in the end cause I had gone balanced and those ones can't be easily rewired to run balanced

.

 

[Solrighal]

More sub bass as well?

 
I'm not sure I know what sub-bass is but this sounds stunning...
 

 

[Solrighal]

Here's another thing I believe is worthy of note. Previous to using the Ember I was forever searching for the right crossfeed plug-in for JRiver. Not any more. The soundstage is massive in comparison to the O2.

 

[wgr73]

So I see people linking youtube videos all the time on this site.  Im probably way late on this but last time I checked youtube had just started to allow stereo sound (used to be mono only on all videos). Is there actually high-quality sound in the streams now?  Something an audiophile can listen too. 
 
Of course it'll have to be a hq upload....just wondering if youtube limits all uploads to their requirements.