[KukoCL]

I have a pair of HD6XX from some months ago, and when i connect them in all my sources they dissapoint me in different ways:

- iPhone 6s plus: sounds horribly muddy and very low volume.
- Galaxy S9+: Sounds kinda good in details and treble, just boring without soundstage and bass. Doesn´t feel dynamic.
- Galaxy S7: Same as S9+.
- OnePlus 6: low volume and muddy, non dynamic sound.
- SoundBlaster Audigy RX (PC soundcard): While using the bit perfect feature and the high impedance headphone amp integrated in the soundcard, it sounds pretty impresive. Clear detailed sound, good soundstage, very enjoyable on rock music. Music feels vivid. I would only want the sound to be a bit more warmer with more punchy bass which is what i expected from these headphones.

I'd read many times it is not fair to judge these headphones without an amp, so i ordered a LD MKii with Mullard CV4010 driver tubes to give them a last chance when it arrives, because at this point, i'm feeling i'm just wasting money and i'll just keep my closed back Momentum 2 Wireless.

 

[Wildstyle33]

I have to agree with many on here. My experience with the HD650 is very similar to many users here. I definitely recommend an amplifier to fuel the amazing sound quality the HD650 has to offer.

So far, I have used:
--> iPhone 7Plus - soundstage is very small and instruments sound like the players are stuck in a claustrophobic elevator.
--> iPhone 7Plus w/Dragonfly Red - improvement in detail and instruments sound more separated.
--> MacBook w/Dragonfly Red - still very similar to iPhone 7plus w/Dragonfly Red with a little more weight (only noticeable on some tracks).
--> MacBook w/Dragonfly Red into Schiit Magni - Much better! Dynamics are now present with clearer separation of instruments. Soundstage is also much wider.
--> MacBook w/Schiit Modi into Schiit Magni - Slight increase in dynamics. Slightly smaller soundstage. Otherwise, sounds the same as the Dragonfly Red. Biggest difference is with the recording material, in that the Dragonfly has much better depth and better extension when the recording is stellar. Normal recordings can be hard to hear the difference.
--> MacBook w/Rega R-Dac into Bottlehead Crack - Bingo! Now I can hear what all the buzz is about! Super Big difference in sound quality. Soundstage is huge, instrument separation is stellar; each instrument seems to have its own performing space, note extension and decay is natural w/o any etch, lots of depth to the music now as well. I can listen for hours on this setup.

If you ask me, I would say invest into a good reputable amplifier and a good dac and go from there. I have yet to try SS as I have read on many threads about how the HD650 fairs much better with tubes than with SS. However, I have a Burson Virtuoso on the way and hoping to see if good quality SS can match a simple OTL Design such as the Bottlehead Crack. Which in my opinion is an awesome value for what you can get.

 

[dolgen]

I have a pair of HD6XX from some months ago, and when i connect them in all my sources they dissapoint me in different ways:

- iPhone 6s plus: sounds horribly muddy and very low volume.
- Galaxy S9+: Sounds kinda good in details and treble, just boring without soundstage and bass. Doesn´t feel dynamic.
- Galaxy S7: Same as S9+.
- OnePlus 6: low volume and muddy, non dynamic sound.
- SoundBlaster Audigy RX (PC soundcard): While using the bit perfect feature and the high impedance headphone amp integrated in the soundcard, it sounds pretty impresive. Clear detailed sound, good soundstage, very enjoyable on rock music. Music feels vivid. I would only want the sound to be a bit more warmer with more punchy bass which is what i expected from these headphones.

I'd read many times it is not fair to judge these headphones without an amp, so i ordered a LD MKii with Mullard CV4010 driver tubes to give them a last chance when it arrives, because at this point, i'm feeling i'm just wasting money and i'll just keep my closed back Momentum 2 Wireless.

I have a pair of HD6XX from some months ago, and when i connect them in all my sources they dissapoint me in different ways:

- iPhone 6s plus: sounds horribly muddy and very low volume.
- Galaxy S9+: Sounds kinda good in details and treble, just boring without soundstage and bass. Doesn´t feel dynamic.
- Galaxy S7: Same as S9+.
- OnePlus 6: low volume and muddy, non dynamic sound.
- SoundBlaster Audigy RX (PC soundcard): While using the bit perfect feature and the high impedance headphone amp integrated in the soundcard, it sounds pretty impresive. Clear detailed sound, good soundstage, very enjoyable on rock music. Music feels vivid. I would only want the sound to be a bit more warmer with more punchy bass which is what i expected from these headphones.

I'd read many times it is not fair to judge these headphones without an amp, so i ordered a LD MKii with Mullard CV4010 driver tubes to give them a last chance when it arrives, because at this point, i'm feeling i'm just wasting money and i'll just keep my closed back Momentum 2 Wireless.

I just purchased a pair of HD6xx headphones, which I've been listening to for a couple of days only. I'm running them through a Burson Conductor Virtuoso 1. I'm quite amazed at the beauty of the sound they produce, quite competitive with what I hear from my other headphones which cost 5 or 10 times as much to purchase.
The only negative is that my HiFiMan or Focal, or Audeze headphones produce an image with more space and especially depth than the Sennheisers. But the sound signature on the 6xx's is superb. And so very listenable!

 

[KukoCL]

I have a pair of HD6XX from some months ago, and when i connect them in all my sources they dissapoint me in different ways:

- iPhone 6s plus: sounds horribly muddy and very low volume.
- Galaxy S9+: Sounds kinda good in details and treble, just boring without soundstage and bass. Doesn´t feel dynamic.
- Galaxy S7: Same as S9+.
- OnePlus 6: low volume and muddy, non dynamic sound.
- SoundBlaster Audigy RX (PC soundcard): While using the bit perfect feature and the high impedance headphone amp integrated in the soundcard, it sounds pretty impresive. Clear detailed sound, good soundstage, very enjoyable on rock music. Music feels vivid. I would only want the sound to be a bit more warmer with more punchy bass which is what i expected from these headphones.

I'd read many times it is not fair to judge these headphones without an amp, so i ordered a LD MKii with Mullard CV4010 driver tubes to give them a last chance when it arrives, because at this point, i'm feeling i'm just wasting money and i'll just keep my closed back Momentum 2 Wireless.

Just as an update, i got my MKii with CV4010 tubes, and iv' been using them the last 4 days.
I connected the output from my SoundBlaster Audigy RX from my PC in bit perfect mode in low gain to the MKii tube amp, and the amp to my HD650.

Now i know the integrated amp in my SoundBlaster has enough power to drive the HD650 well, because it sounds as good with the tube amp, but with a different sound signature.

With tubes, the sound feels more soft and pleasant to me, like the warmth adds more body to it. The harsh part of the treble when it was connected directly to my SoundBlaster now feels soft and enjoyable.
The only thing i do not love is i feel like the fine texture of the sound dissapeared. Now i can't hear any difference in Tidal between a regular 44khz/16bit song and a MQA song, which was notorious connected directly to the sound card.

¿Does anybody tried the HD650 with tubes and MQA?

 

[Yh173088]

I have a similar problem to u . I got a HD 600 recently but I only have a portable FiiO q1m2 which could not power them sufficiently . Then I heard my friend’s HD 600 on his Setup . I think u should get the amp first . That way u can use it with your current headphones while waiting for the new headphones . I say this coz I don’t think u will be completely satisfied with them without an amp and may have buyers remorse .

 

[SeeHear]

Big surprise (to me): The 650 sounds great driven by the LG V30! In fact, I like it better than via my WA2!

 

[mushin1989]

I recommend giving the Topping NX4 a go. It *should* be able to give you enough volume, though I don't suppose I'd try to drive planar magnetics on it. The bass boost is wonderful and it sounds great in general. There's also the Xduoo XD-05 for even more power (about $170 from China on Ebay). These portable dac/amp combos provide a huge amount of value assuming they provide the power you need. EDIT: I adittedly haven't tried the 600/650s on those, just the x58 Jubilees. I absolutely loved the Jubilees with the bass boost turned on with those two suggestions, however. Like, I loved it.

 

[Hooster]

They need an amp, and if you ask me they need a cable that is better than the stock cable.

 

[blackdragon87]

They need an amp, and if you ask me they need a cable that is better than the stock cable.

Correct on both parts

 

[dgozalie]

Hello

My friend just review this massdrop hd6xx.. check it out...

https://orronoco.blogspot.com/2019/09/sennheiser-hd-6xx-better-upgrade-over.html

Thanks

 

[jasonb]

I've enjoyed them out of the headphone jack of an LG V10, and I've enjoyed them out of a Hidizs Sonata HDII USB-C DAC dongle. If you want to crank them, they do sound better out of a Topping NX4DSD though.

 

[Morgann]

You can find similar amplifiers here.
https://www.allicdata.com/product/i...instrumentation-op-amps-buffer-amps/1926.html