[DavidA]

   
I confess: I haaaaate Grado pads. They don't even feel like pads. They feel like those age old headphone POS covers that we wore in the late 80s. Sure they have soundstage, but that's only because the things don't have anything resembling a seal. 

I also hate the flats ("I" pads) and "L" pads but the large G pads are actually not bad since they are not resting entirely on you ear but also on the side of your head.  For me being in Hawaii where its quite humid the G pads breath much better than any other pads of my other headphones.  I found this out a few months ago when I was working on restoring a water damaged photo album for a friend and was working on my computer for 8-10 hours every day, the HD-650 and HD-700 which I consider quite comfortable were getting too heavy and didn't breath enough and after about 4-5 hours where getting uncomfortable so I decided to try my Ypsilon build and didn't notice any discomfort for the entire day.  I guess the lack of a seal is what is important for me since it breaths and stays cool and comfortable.

 

[Rolley]

Are the O2/ODAC and Schiit M2/M2 Stack about equal when it comes to pairing with the HD650? Because at the moment I can get the Desktop O2/ODAC for cheaper than the Schiit M2/M2 non-U Stack. Does this mean I'm better off with the O2/ODAC?

 

[HeretixAevum]

I haven't heard either, but I'm fairly certain the schiit's amp is supposed to put out substantially more power than the O2. That may or may not result in better sound / synergy, but more juice is certainly nice. If I was buying blind I'd go with the stack of schiit for that reason. Additionally, the uber combo has RCA out and pre-amp functionality, which is great for having speakers hooked up to your chain (or a tube amp if you're into that). I'm not sure that the objective has that, could be wrong, though.

 

[Solrighal]

  Are the O2/ODAC and Schiit M2/M2 Stack about equal when it comes to pairing with the HD650? Because at the moment I can get the Desktop O2/ODAC for cheaper than the Schiit M2/M2 non-U Stack. Does this mean I'm better off with the O2/ODAC?

 
I haven't heard the Schiit kit but I owned the O2 for a while. It was only after I bought my HD 650 that I realized I needed a new amp. Horrible combination.

 

[DavidA]

  Are the O2/ODAC and Schiit M2/M2 Stack about equal when it comes to pairing with the HD650? Because at the moment I can get the Desktop O2/ODAC for cheaper than the Schiit M2/M2 non-U Stack. Does this mean I'm better off with the O2/ODAC?

The o2/odac is not a good pairing with the HD-650, tried it once and never again.  Never heard the M2/M2 non uber stack so I don't know if its a good or bad pairing.  For the price of either I would look at Modi2/Vali2.

 

[DivineCurrent]

The o2/odac is not a good pairing with the HD-650, tried it once and never again.  Never heard the M2/M2 non uber stack so I don't know if its a good or bad pairing.  For the price of either I would look at Modi2/Vali2.

I guess it's a matter of personal preference, because I love the ODAC/02 with the HD650. They really show the capabilities of the 650 by maintaining a flat sound and getting out of the way of the music. Sometimes I think the reason people complain about the HD650 treble is because they are using tube amps and DACs that roll off the highs a bit.

 

[DavidA]

I guess it's a matter of personal preference, because I love the ODAC/02 with the HD650. They really show the capabilities of the 650 by maintaining a flat sound and getting out of the way of the music. Sometimes I think the reason people complain about the HD650 treble is because they are using tube amps and DACs that roll off the highs a bit.

I didn't like the HD-650 paired with the ODAC/O2 because the sound was thin, lacked any bass extension and the highs were also a touch metallic to me.  The ODAC/O2 is a better DAC than an amp IMO since it didn't pair well with many of my headphones but the DAC section with another amp was quite good for the price.  I also had the original M/M stack at the time and it was about the same but since the Modi that I had was optical it was what I kept since I don't like dealing with USB drivers and the issues that can come with them.
 
I've since moved on to a little better gear and that is when like @Solrighal noted above you know the ODAC/O2 is holding back the HD-650.  Got to hear the HD-650 on some TOTL gear (Liquid Glass, EC Balancing Act, etc) and it was when I understood why people say the HD-650 will scale up a lot, if I didn't like the many different sound signatures of my other headphones a HD-650 and EC ZDS would be my end game, but alas, I like variety in wine, women and song.

 

[Solrighal]

I guess it's a matter of personal preference, because I love the ODAC/02 with the HD650. They really show the capabilities of the 650 by maintaining a flat sound and getting out of the way of the music. Sometimes I think the reason people complain about the HD650 treble is because they are using tube amps and DACs that roll off the highs a bit.

 
You would be mistaken to think this.

 

[Me x3]

I guess it's a matter of personal preference, because I love the ODAC/02 with the HD650.

+1
 
I guess if one wants a neutralish HD650 then a very flat (it could be slightly bright/sharp combo as well) will provide a good approach.
On the other hand if one wants to emphasize or give a slight tweak to HD650's signature (really warm, darkish but resolving) some other amplifiers will work much better than something like ODAC/O2 or Magni2U/Modi2U.
 
Depending on the recording HD650 can be slightly dry on very neutral SS setups. That's the way it is.

 

[rovopio]

  Are the O2/ODAC and Schiit M2/M2 Stack about equal when it comes to pairing with the HD650? Because at the moment I can get the Desktop O2/ODAC for cheaper than the Schiit M2/M2 non-U Stack. Does this mean I'm better off with the O2/ODAC?

 
How much cheaper?
How long do you intend to use the hd650 and the O2?
 
I think those are relevant to give you input on which option will be good for you.

 

[Rolley]

   
How much cheaper?
How long do you intend to use the hd650 and the O2?
 
I think those are relevant to give you input on which option will be good for you.

I live in Australia so at the moment I can get regular O2/ODAC for $280 or the Desktop (with metal volume nob, 1/4 inch output, RCA inputs) for $350 both locally. 

Locally the Schiit Magni 2 and Modi 2 are $199 each so $400 for both and that's non-Uber. The Ubers are $279 each and the Vali 2 is $329. I can get the Schiit stack directly from Schiit for around $350 for non-Uber including shipping but that gives a bunch of warranty and DoA concerns.

I've ordered the HD6XX from Massdrop so they haven't arrived yet (should be here start of Jan). I plan on having the headphones for a few years minimum and the AMP and DAC for at least a year or 2, hopefully more.


EDIT-

I can also get the 
Matrix M-Stage HPA-2 Headphone Amplifier with USB DAC for $279
Matrix Quattro 1 DAC/Headphone Amplifier for $549 

but I don't know much about either of these units. TBH I've mainly heard people mention either the Schiit Vali/Magni 2 and Modi 2 or the O2 to be paired with HD650 as entry level stacks.

 

[rovopio]

 

I think you should point out that the $ amount you quoted are all in AUD.
 
If you feel like you have self-control to use w/e amp you buy for minimum exactly 2 years, I'd say get the best amp you can get at your current budget and think about the DAC later. Unlike building a PC, you may not need to get your DAC the same time you get your amp. Sure you probably will get double amping if you plug your amp directly to your PC or some other problem like noisy laptop sound, but if you give it a try first, you might have a chance to find out how much you can tolerate the problem of plugging amps directly without an external dac. Who knows, maybe you can live with it....
 
If you think that you don't have enough self-control and will most likely upgrade in <6 months or so, just get the cheapest deal you can currently get.

 

[gefski]

I also hate the flats ("I" pads) and "L" pads but the large G pads are actually not bad since they are not resting entirely on you ear but also on the side of your head.  For me being in Hawaii where its quite humid the G pads breath much better than any other pads of my other headphones.  I found this out a few months ago when I was working on restoring a water damaged photo album for a friend and was working on my computer for 8-10 hours every day, the HD-650 and HD-700 which I consider quite comfortable were getting too heavy and didn't breath enough and after about 4-5 hours where getting uncomfortable so I decided to try my Ypsilon build and didn't notice any discomfort for the entire day.  I guess the lack of a seal is what is important for me since it breaths and stays cool and comfortable.

Grado cans with flats and L-Cush pads are intentionally "on-ear", with G-Cush are "over-ear".

 

[DosPesos]

Have others listened to the HD650s with a Bottlehead Crack + Speedball? 
 
I think those two are a match made in heaven, I went to a Bifrost multibit and Lyr 2 and just couldn't get the same type of sound signature like the Crack. It was just perfect.

 

[penmarker]

 

I live in Australia so at the moment I can get regular O2/ODAC for $280 or the Desktop (with metal volume nob, 1/4 inch output, RCA inputs) for $350 both locally. 

Locally the Schiit Magni 2 and Modi 2 are $199 each so $400 for both and that's non-Uber. The Ubers are $279 each and the Vali 2 is $329. I can get the Schiit stack directly from Schiit for around $350 for non-Uber including shipping but that gives a bunch of warranty and DoA concerns.

I've ordered the HD6XX from Massdrop so they haven't arrived yet (should be here start of Jan). I plan on having the headphones for a few years minimum and the AMP and DAC for at least a year or 2, hopefully more.


EDIT-

I can also get the 
Matrix M-Stage HPA-2 Headphone Amplifier with USB DAC for $279
Matrix Quattro 1 DAC/Headphone Amplifier for $549 

but I don't know much about either of these units. TBH I've mainly heard people mention either the Schiit Vali/Magni 2 and Modi 2 or the O2 to be paired with HD650 as entry level stacks.

Get the M-Stage, one of the best equipment you can get for that price. Don't worry about it getting warm or hot during usage, it is a Class A amplification amp, they do tend to get hot.
 
Upgrade the op-amp later if you feel like having a budget upgrade.