Nirvana Woman
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Oct 7, 2012
- Posts
- 255
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- 149
i listen to 128 kbps mixes as well as any other format. doesnt matter to me. sounds awesome
Loving my HD650's with RSA's The Intruder and odac right now!
Hi guys, i am new here but i've spent hundred of pages and multiple threads on head-fi before i decided on a new pair... then it all concluding into new, shiny pair of HD650 , because i'm new to this audiophile world forgive me if i use incorrect word/jargon and please move/remove this post if its not in correct place
so here's the story
got my HD650 2 days ago, massive leap from my Plantronic Gamecom 777. But why i didn't see lightyears leap in listening experience? i run it without amp and only come from D2X soundcard in my PC. The HD650 gives more 'space' or soundstage when i read it here its very immersive but sometimes its bit flat, which i suspect come from the recording because it said the HD650 reveal the true nature of the recording if i remember correctly so the sound in my plantronic come from the colouring in the headset? but all over all i decide i need amp, good one
so today i got to store, search for Fiio e17, since its the most common word associated with HD650 when searching 'best amp for hd650' in the search bar. the clerk said its not powerful enough and (no offence just what i heard) people believe e17 will drive almost anything. he gives me meier audio corda2stepdance, i hear some improvements, just not enough to wow me. Then he showed me the matrix: m-stage which did the job, amazing amp and gives more depth. anyone have any experience with both this amp? will want to know if you guys have better amp with similar price. really want to unlock this caged beast of a can or this sleeping dragon... or sleeping bear....
how are the hd650s with a fiio e9 and an asus xonar essence st's speaker output??
Hi guys, i am new here but i've spent hundred of pages and multiple threads on head-fi before i decided on a new pair... then it all concluding into new, shiny pair of HD650 , because i'm new to this audiophile world forgive me if i use incorrect word/jargon and please move/remove this post if its not in correct place
so here's the story
got my HD650 2 days ago, massive leap from my Plantronic Gamecom 777. But why i didn't see lightyears leap in listening experience? i run it without amp and only come from D2X soundcard in my PC. The HD650 gives more 'space' or soundstage when i read it here its very immersive but sometimes its bit flat, which i suspect come from the recording because it said the HD650 reveal the true nature of the recording if i remember correctly so the sound in my plantronic come from the colouring in the headset? but all over all i decide i need amp, good one
so today i got to store, search for Fiio e17, since its the most common word associated with HD650 when searching 'best amp for hd650' in the search bar. the clerk said its not powerful enough and (no offence just what i heard) people believe e17 will drive almost anything. he gives me meier audio corda2stepdance, i hear some improvements, just not enough to wow me. Then he showed me the matrix: m-stage which did the job, amazing amp and gives more depth. anyone have any experience with both this amp? will want to know if you guys have better amp with similar price. really want to unlock this caged beast of a can or this sleeping dragon... or sleeping bear....
I bought the E17 and it doesn't drive the hd650's well enough but its handy for lower impedance headphones plus it has a DAC function which with the fiio L7 gives it a line out so Ive kept it around, they became more alive with the Objective 2 which is what Im using for now its also a very transparent amp that doesn't add or take anything away so Im going to stick with for a while as funds are a bit tight at the moment. The Matrix M stage is something on my list to consider in the future its basically a Chinese clone of Lehman audio cude linear which normally retails for £700+ ive read quite a lot of reviews on this site that say it pairs well with the hd650's also I believe its quite easy to change the op-amps and there are some better ones available as a optional extra.
In regards to why you don't h a huge leap in your listening experience; most people feel that when they get new headphones they should be completely blown away and shocked at how good they sound, but in reality, sometimes that is not a good thing. If you are shocked by the sound, that means it is something you aren't accustomed to, and if it is that far off of what you normally hear, it may not be a good thing. You should be hearing an improvement in every aspect such as the clarity, detail retrieval, soundstage and etc., but don't expect to be "wowed" completely, despite what people tell you. People on this forum tend to exaggerate marginal differences, and although the 650 is an enormous leap from your plantronics headset, it shouldn't surprise you every time you put it on, it should just sound good, really good.
As to the e17, i didn't feel like it drove the 650 well. It just doesn't have enough power, and i think a lot of people agree with me on that. If you are on a tight budget, the fiio e09k or o2 would be better options to consider. I haven't really heard anything about the matrix, however, so maybe someone will chime in about that. If you are a diy'er, the bottlehead crack is known to be an amazing pairing with the 650, and i believe it is around 250 dollars, and if you are willing to stretch your budget even more, the schiit valhalla can be had for ~300 on the fs forum here. Although, if you are not familiar with diy'ing, you may want to just get the valhalla since the equipment you would need to build the crack would be costly.