[ZoNtO]

http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/testing-audibility-break-effects

 

[Tuneslover]

Cowboy Junkies

I was listening to The Trinity Sessions outside of the Trinity church in downtown Toronto earlier today!

 

[Mercilesslord]

Which amp/dac combos are u guys using with ur hd650s?

 

[mysticstryk]

Which amp/dac combos are u guys using with ur hd650s?

If your looking for a combo yourself, tell us your budget and we can help you find a good system.

Personally I use a Bifrost/Valhalla 2 combo.

 

[ContractorHei]

I upgraded from the 598 to the 650 myself, you won't be disappointed!

   
Welcome to the club! 

Thanks guys. So far so good. Too early to make any definite judgement, but so far I'm liking the sound signature. The HD598 was a little too forward, but I do miss that in some songs though. Though I think I need to get an amp to make these really shine. Any cheap but good/fitting amp for the HD650? The Dragonfly Red does the job somewhat, but I'd like to have more headroom.
 
Budget would be around €300. That's reasonable I think?

 

[Sajakhaki]

Thanks guys. So far so good. Too early to make any definite judgement, but so far I'm liking the sound signature. The HD598 was a little too forward, but I do miss that in some songs though. Though I think I need to get an amp to make these really shine. Any cheap but good/fitting amp for the HD650? The Dragonfly Red does the job somewhat, but I'd like to have more headroom.

Budget would be around €300. That's reasonable I think?

BH Crack with speedball, darkvoice 336 or Valhalla 2. Those seem to be the top options in your price range. The Crack probably being the best.

 

[Planner]

  Thanks guys. So far so good. Too early to make any definite judgement, but so far I'm liking the sound signature. The HD598 was a little too forward, but I do miss that in some songs though. Though I think I need to get an amp to make these really shine. Any cheap but good/fitting amp for the HD650? The Dragonfly Red does the job somewhat, but I'd like to have more headroom.
 
Budget would be around €300. That's reasonable I think?

Actually, I have the same budget. IMO, if you like tube amps, Bottlehead Crack w/ Speedball will be a great choice in this price range. Atm, I'm looking for a secondhand Crack in EU, but it seemed to be quite hard. 

 

 

[ContractorHei]

BH Crack with speedball, darkvoice 336 or Valhalla 2. Those seem to be the top options in your price range. The Crack probably being the best.

Thanks! The Bottlehead Crack looks really interesting. But I'll probably have to grab the Speedball with it if I'm going for it. I'll also have to read up on how much (if any) import VAT etc will be put on the product too.
Another thing I'm a lil worried about is that it's a DIY, especially considering its price. What if I fuq it up?
 
Edit: I calculated and this endeavour would set me back €540,12 or so.
 

  Actually, I have the same budget. IMO, if you like tube amps, Bottlehead Crack w/ Speedball will be a great choice in this price range. Atm, I'm looking for a secondhand Crack in EU, but it seemed to be quite hard. 

 

Never had a tube amp before. I do want one though. They look awesome.

 

[CanadianMaestro]

I was listening to The Trinity Sessions outside of the Trinity church in downtown Toronto earlier today!

I need to go there sometime...pilgrimage LOL.

 

[HungryPanda]

BH Crack with speedball, darkvoice 336 or Valhalla 2. Those seem to be the top options in your price range. The Crack probably being the best.

I use a Little Dot MkII as a tube amp and a Firestone Audio Fubar HD (solid state with built in dac) and both drive them well

 

[Planner]

  Thanks! The Bottlehead Crack looks really interesting. But I'll probably have to grab the Speedball with it if I'm going for it. I'll also have to read up on how much (if any) import VAT etc will be put on the product too.
Another thing I'm a lil worried about is that it's a DIY, especially considering its price. What if I fuq it up?
 
Edit: I calculated and this endeavour would set me back €540,12 or so.
 
Never had a tube amp before. I do want one though. They look awesome.

 
Yeah, I calculated that price as well. 

 

 

[DavidA]

BH Crack with speedball, darkvoice 336 or Valhalla 2. Those seem to be the top options in your price range. The Crack probably being the best.

@ContractorHei, while I've never heard a DV 336, I have a BH Crack and have used my friends Valhalla2 a few times along with my Lyr2 and Ember, the BH Crack is the best pairing with the HD-650 in this price range IMO.  Just remember that you will/should change the stock tubes and this will add to the cost.  My favorite tubes for the Crack are TS-5998 for the power tube and Telefunken 12AU7 for the driver, note that these will add about $150-250 to the price of the Crack.
 
If you have other headphones then I would seriously look at the Ember, it is much more flexible since you can change the output resistance to match almost any headphone out there and the 12XXX series tubes are not the most pricy at this time or if you feel like pushing it there are adapters to go to dual tubes and other tube families.
 
The Valhalla2 is the most neutral sounding between the Crack, Ember and Lyr2, it can be dry sounding to some but the dynamics are quite good IMO.  I haven't done much tube rolling with it, only rolled the drivers so its basic characteristic didn't change much to me, seems like tube rolling has less of an effect on the Valhala2 than on the other amps where tube rolling has a larger effect on the sound characteristics of the amp.
 
DACs that I use: UD-301, Bimby, Uber and 4490 Modi.

 

[Mingus Ah Um]

Agree.  I've had my 650's for nearly 3 years.  I started out with a Little Dot mkIII for about 6 months with it.  It sounded good...no real complaints.  Then I tried the BHCrack w/speedball...I've never looked back and never really had the urge to try something different.  The pairing of the 650 w/Crack in my opinion is about as good as it gets with these hp's.  I'm also using the TS 5998 with a Tesla 12au7.  There are a lot of really good amps out there but for me the 650/Crack pairing is about as close to perfection as I've heard.  

 

[bavinck]

Just jumped on the garage 1217 kameleon preorder. Got a filter for hd650 and he560. Should in an interesting experience. The hd650 plug in is supposed to give subbass presence and extension.

 

[DavidA]

Just jumped on the garage 1217 kameleon preorder. Got a filter for hd650 and he560. Should in an interesting experience. The hd650 plug in is supposed to give subbass presence and extension.

I'd be really interested in this, might be a reason to set up a system with just the Ember, HD-650 and HE-560 in my bedroom.