[DDDamian]

Does the Ember have a DAC? The coax output from the E10K is digital PCM....
 
I think you want to use the Line Out.

 

[Olympus Mons]

  Years ago, I had a Marantz CD player. I also had a costly headphone amp. I honestly didn't think music sounded any better out of the dedicated amp than straight from the CD player headphone jack. 

My HD650s and CD5004 sound so good together I'm actually going to put the purchase of a headphone amp on the back burner for awhile and use the money to put towards a new lens instead. Really surprised at how well the HD650s sound out of the Marantz, wasn't expecting that at all.

 

[raybone0566]

Anyone else getting reDACted? The Multibit Gungnir? I think it will bring even more to the 650's... I can't wait.

Any idea on price? I'm looking for a new Dac to pair with my hopefully soon arriving "Black Widow".

 

[Solrighal]

 
My HD650s and CD5004 sound so good together I'm actually going to put the purchase of a headphone amp on the back burner for awhile and use the money to put towards a new lens instead. Really surprised at how well the HD650s sound out of the Marantz, wasn't expecting that at all.

 
I have a Marantz CD6000SE CD player & PM6004 amp and don't enjoy the headphone output from either of them. They don't sound bad but they don't really sing either.

 

[Olympus Mons]

   
I have a Marantz CD6000SE CD player & PM6004 amp and don't enjoy the headphone output from either of them. They don't sound bad but they don't really sing either.

Not saying the CD5004 is the last word when it comes to driving the HD650 but it certainly is adequate and a lot better than I was expecting. Haven't had a chance to hear the CD6000SE or PM6004 so I cannot comment on those.

 

[Solrighal]

  Not saying the CD5004 is the last word when it comes to driving the HD650 but it certainly is adequate and a lot better than I was expecting. Haven't had a chance to hear the CD6000SE or PM6004 so I cannot comment on those.

 
Likewise, I haven't heard your CD5004 and so can't comment. It might be really good for all I know. I think the thing with the HD 650 is that it sounds pretty decent out of anything. It scales well but it never sounds truly bad.

 

[Solrighal]

  Does the Ember have a DAC? The coax output from the E10K is digital PCM....
 
I think you want to use the Line Out.

 
Yes, this is right. I just assumed the E10 had regular analogue outs but it's a 3.5mm output so you'd need a 3.5mm to RCA phono's.
 
I must pay more attention

 

[DDDamian]

   
Yes, this is right. I just assumed the E10 had regular analogue outs but it's a 3.5mm output so you'd need a 3.5mm to RCA phono's.
 
I must pay more attention

No worries mate - I had to google lol

 

[DavidA]

  So i have hd 650 for about 6 months and im using them with fiio e10k but ,i want to upgrade to something else.Im thinking of buying Schiit modi 2 and magni 2.But sadly i live in ireland and they can't ship it from schiit europe website ;/ And electromod website only has magi 2 with UK Mains Transformer ;/ Or maybe buy O2 + ODAC Combo for 270Eur? 

I tried the HD-650 with my original magni and modi2uber and it was just ok.  I have heard that the magni2 is better so it may be good.  Also tried the ODAC/O2 and as @Solrighal posted there is a noticeable difference between ODAC/O2 and project ember but I've found that a BH Crack is even better with the HD-650, its like the BH Crack was designed for HD-600/650/800 and Beyer T1/990.  If you only get one amp the Ember is the best choice as it will work with almost any headphone while the BH Crack is just for high impedance headphones.

 

[raybone0566]

  So i have hd 650 for about 6 months and im using them with fiio e10k but ,i want to upgrade to something else.Im thinking of buying Schiit modi 2 and magni 2.But sadly i live in ireland and they can't ship it from schiit europe website ;/ And electromod website only has magi 2 with UK Mains Transformer ;/ Or maybe buy O2 + ODAC Combo for 270Eur? 

 


this little gem can be had on ebay for 119.00 shipped. might fit your budget better. has adjusting bias for rolling tubes, has bass boost switch, has plenty of gain & pairs very well with hd-650.

 

[mikoss]

Any idea on price? I'm looking for a new Dac to pair with my hopefully soon arriving "Black Widow".

The BW sounds like a really awesome amp. I'd love to compare it to the ZD... As for reDACted, it's up on Schiit's site now; $1248 new, or $500 for the upgrade from DS to multibit. 
 
I suspect the BW/650 pairing is fully capable of bringing out what the multibit DACs do best... superb detail presentation and resolution. It's a personal taste thing, but I would either get a cheap DAC that sounds nearly the same as every other <$500 DAC, or buy something you can actually hear doing something superb. 

 

[raybone0566]

The BW sounds like a really awesome amp. I'd love to compare it to the ZD... As for reDACted, it's up on Schiit's site now; $1248 new, or $500 for the upgrade from DS to multibit. 

I suspect the BW/650 pairing is fully capable of bringing out what the multibit DACs do best... superb detail presentation and resolution. It's a personal taste thing, but I would either get a cheap DAC that sounds nearly the same as every other <$500 DAC, or buy something you can actually hear doing something superb. 

well put. And a big decision. I have the 99$ modi now and I love it, no complaints. Just wondering if the upgrade pay-off is worth the price. Will it sound that much better.

 

[mikoss]

well put. And a big decision. I have the 99$ modi now and I love it, no complaints. Just wondering if the upgrade pay-off is worth the price. Will it sound that much better.

If you get a chance, give the Yggy and/or MB Gungnir a listen at a meet. Bring your 650's 

 I've heard more expensive DACs that don't even approach the realm of what I've heard from the Yggy. (The people who owned the DACs probably had never really heard of Schiit either, and it kind of makes sense. These weren't Chord DACs either...)
 
Also the Modi2 sounds a lot different than the original Modi, in my opinion. It reduces overall "muddling" and brings about an overall clarity. The tonality is not entirely superb, but I found it works very well feeding tube gear. It actually "helps" the 650's out quite a bit, as I find it has an overall tilt towards the treble, where the 650's can sometimes sound laid-back/rolled off. (Could be a good or bad thing, depending on source material). I generally prefer the Modi2 with the Zana Deux and 650's to the Aune T1 feeding everything. The Aune T1 is cheap for an amp/dac combo and sounds better to me than the original Modi, especially with decent tubes. It just can't do exactly what the Modi2 does...

 

[Shaffer]

well put. And a big decision. I have the 99$ modi now and I love it, no complaints. Just wondering if the upgrade pay-off is worth the price. Will it sound that much better.

I own a Modi, and as most of the regulars know, absolutely hate its sound. At the time of audition, I had it next to a HRT MSII and an AQ Dragonfly. Both of the latter were on a different level, sonically. I would have kept the Dragonfly, but missed Schiit's return period and kept the Modi instead. Its saving grace is that it's being used in a non-critical application. I guess I'm trying to say that you can do significantly better for just a tad more money, if not about the same. Good luck.

 

[vc1187]

Fired up my BH Crack with speedball again recently. My opinion is still the same as it was the last time I posted about it: with the hd650, it sounds better on the crack than the ZD on any genre other than classical, jazz, instrumental. So for all of you that own the crack and are thinking of upgrading to a different amp to pair with the hd650, appreciate what you already have. The crack is certainly a huge audio accomplishment.