[Solrighal]

Why not wait for CanJam London and hear most of them for yourself?

Might as well be Timbuktoo.

Neutral to warm if they still use the Wolfson 8742 in the newer models.

I'd like Wolfson if possible.

I would definitely recommend you ask this question here - it's one of the most active threads on Head-fi with some really cool insightful members

Been there already & as far as I remember the only suggestions I got cost a fortune.

and a vast tendency to call many transparent DACs dull and boring, and instead go crazy over anything that's unorthodox for the only sake of it being unorthodox.

See above.

Does your Mac Mini have optical out through the 3.5 mm audio out?  If you do, optical is the way to go....

I hadn't even thought of that. Is optical better than USB?

 

[pietcux]

 
and a vast tendency to call many transparent DACs dull and boring, and instead go crazy over anything that's unorthodox for the only sake of it being unorthodox.

I think I came across some old posts where you got beaten up by the pirates. Very unfriendly people. Others got banned for less I think.

 

[DecentLevi]

   
You can pair the Geek Out with your Ember. IMO it is hands down the best portable AMP/DAC combo. Much more competent and detailed sounding than the ones listed above. 

I've tried Geek Out 450 and found it to have harsh highs on several headphones, and the soundstage nowhere near Wolfson chips. Have you tried any of these and actually still prefer G.O.?
 
( Modi 2, Meridian Explorer, HRT Microstreamer, HRT Music Streamer III, Peachtree Audio DAC-iT)

 

[cuiter23]

  I've tried Geek Out 450 and found it to have harsh highs on several headphones, and the soundstage nowhere near Wolfson chips. Have you tried any of these and actually still prefer G.O.?
 
( Modi 2, Meridian Explorer, HRT Microstreamer, HRT Music Streamer III, Peachtree Audio DAC-iT)

 
I have the Modi and also heard the Meridian Explorer 2. I had a E07k with a Wolfson WM8740 chip which was an overall warm sounding DAC with an emphasis on the low end. Detail retrieval is nowhere close to the Sabre DAC. 
 
I think you may be referring to the Sabre fatigue (or whatever they call it). However, with the new v1.5 there are 2 new filters that completely overhaul the stock ESS filters that normally cause these stridency issues due to the transparency and detail that the 9018 presents. 
 
Because the GO uses a superior DAC chip to the ones you mentioned above is the only one that decodes DSD-128 natively. Not to mention a Class-A amp topology. Look out for the GO V2 its going to replace the current line-up.
 
(I may be a bit biased because I own the GO but I've tested it with some others while making my final decision to purchase it off some guy on head-fi)

 

[castleofargh]

 

 
and a vast tendency to call many transparent DACs dull and boring, and instead go crazy over anything that's unorthodox for the only sake of it being unorthodox.

I think I came across some old posts where you got beaten up by the pirates. Very unfriendly people. Others got banned for less I think.

I do like and have great respect for a lot of one eyed people, my favorite is probably ultrabike both for knowledge and personality and that on any forum or blog where you can find him.
I actually got blocked from posting on that topic after I went a little too ironic for moderators, in response to a post where purrin was more or less saying that one DAC was dynamic for loud sounds, but not so dynamic for quiet sounds.

ROFL
I let you imagine how deadly high the distortion measures would be if something like that was to happen and the amplitude of a signal wasn't linear to the point of being audible as a dynamic change between loud and quiet. the kind of stuff I would write for an april fool in the sound science section. but still I was alone finding that strange and effectively ended up being the bad guy because I don't master the complicated art of writing "if I had written something so false, I would hide under a rock for the next 20years" in a way that isn't offensive and overly sarcastic. good old and sad "form matters more than content" situation.
anyway, it doesn't mean that the topic isn't a mine of actual intel, or that purrin isn't a very knowledgeable guy for many stuff. just that there is also a great many romantic placebophile nonsense that renders the topic pretty useless for the untrained eye. I know I wouldn't direct a friend to this topic.
 
oh wait! IMO YMMV AFAIK subjective opinion etc.

(magic audio shaman prayer against ban).

 

[mikoss]

Question for all you HD-650 lovers... If you could change one characteristic about the headphones, what would it be?
I'll start off by saying I want a closed back Sennheiser headphone with the same sound sig. That would be cool.

 

[cuiter23]

Question for all you HD-650 lovers... If you could change one characteristic about the headphones, what would it be?
I'll start off by saying I want a closed back Sennheiser headphone with the same sound sig. That would be cool.

 
Slightly faster low-end decay! 

 

[mikoss]

Slightly faster low-end decay! 

So would that equate to tighter sounding bass?

 

[castleofargh]

Question for all you HD-650 lovers... If you could change one characteristic about the headphones, what would it be?
I'll start off by saying I want a closed back Sennheiser headphone with the same sound sig. That would be cool.

no roll off in the sub kind of ortho like.
and maybe a little less distortion in the bass, but I'm not sure about it as the distortion might very well be half of the reason I like the bass of the hd650 so much ^_^ .
argghhhh that's 2 stuff.
ok wasted for wasted, a headband slightly more solid(/paint Y U go away in the middle?????). but if it makes the headphone 100gr heavier then no thank you I keep it as it is.
 
it really is a cool headphone.

 

[cuiter23]

So would that equate to tighter sounding bass?

 
Hmm.. Yea you could say that. Just an all-round quicker bass which replicates kind of a planar sound as castleofargh described. 

 

[ejwiles]

  Here's what's floating my boat right now (and for the foreseeable future too)..

Western Digital USB3 external HD > Mac mini i5 (2012) > JRMC19 > ODAC > Project Ember Mk2 with Sylvania 6SN7GTA & 'Bob's Knob' > Forza Audio Works Colour cable > Sennheiser HD 650
 

 
Is that the aluminium version of the Ember?  Very cool.

 

[DDDamian]

Question for all you HD-650 lovers... If you could change one characteristic about the headphones, what would it be?
I'll start off by saying I want a closed back Sennheiser headphone with the same sound sig. That would be cool.

As others have mentioned, a touch more of the planar speed. The tonality and balance across the FR are wonderful. If the PRaT were just a bit better they'd be untouchable. I think a big part of imaging and texture are tied to this.

But then they'd be different cans

 

[Liu Junyuan]

As others have mentioned, a touch more of the planar speed. The tonality and balance across the FR are wonderful. If the PRaT were just a bit better they'd be untouchable. I think a big part of imaging and texture are tied to this.

But then they'd be different cans

That headphone already exists--LCD-2

 

[kman1211]

Question for all you HD-650 lovers... If you could change one characteristic about the headphones, what would it be?
I'll start off by saying I want a closed back Sennheiser headphone with the same sound sig. That would be cool.

What I consider a closed-back HD 650 already exists, it's just not made by Sennheiser, it's called the Beyerdynamic DT 150. Though admittedly they sound a little different but surprisingly close. The Beyers are faster, have slightly more energy, and have what I consider better PRaT. 

 

[DDDamian]

That headphone already exists--LCD-2

Next on my must-have list