Just bought the Sennheiser HD6XX. I'm not an audiophile but I was expecting that a 300 Ohm headphone would not sound that good from a laptop. To my surprise, they sound great. I was thinking though of buying an amp for these (Schiit Magni 3) as I didn't expect my laptop to be able to drive them. How different would you say the sound will be if I get the amp?
Depends on the amp I would think. I have not heard them from a Magni 3 but have from a Vali and Magni and they did a fine job but how much better than the MBP don’t know haven’t actually tried them from mine maybe later. A amp that I really like with them is the Massdrop Cavalli Tube Hybrid but it is over double the price and the best I have with them is a Bottlehead Crack but that is even more expensive and you have to put it together yourself or find a prebuilt one. I know the Magni 3 will have no problem running them though but how much better sound not sure but definitely more power.
Just bought the Sennheiser HD6XX. I'm not an audiophile but I was expecting that a 300 Ohm headphone would not sound that good from a laptop. To my surprise, they sound great. I was thinking though of buying an amp for these (Schiit Magni 3) as I didn't expect my laptop to be able to drive them. How different would you say the sound will be if I get the amp?
Macbooks aren't bad for high impedance, higher sensitivity headphones. The Magni3 will just make that louder but I can't guarantee how much cleaner it can be since it will still work off the analogue signal coming out of the Macbook.
Just save your money and get a DAC with the headphone amp later, plus maybe a really low noise amp like - like an ODAC and a Meier Jazz FF. Or a single unit with both, like the AudioGD NFB-11.
I'm a bit divided now after the comments. From the research I did, getting an amp was more important compared to a DAC. I read a couple of articles that said Macbook Pro's have pretty good DACs. I've already ordered the Schiit Magni 3. Now I'm thinking of getting the Schiit Modi but I'm not sure if it's worth it.
I'm a bit divided now after the comments. From the research I did, getting an amp was more important compared to a DAC. I read a couple of articles that said Macbook Pro's have pretty good DACs. I've already ordered the Schiit Magni 3. Now I'm thinking of getting the Schiit Modi but I'm not sure if it's worth it.
People tend to overstate the HD 650/6XX's need for an amp. They see the high impedance and assume that it needs gobs of power. That said, they do benefit from more and better power. How much they benefit probably depends as much on the listener as it does the amp. If you get your Magni and don't hear much difference, try not to jump to the conclusion that it was money wasted. Give it time, listen to it for a few days or weeks, then go back to listening straight out of the MBP. Often, for some reason, it's harder to hear improvements when going from bad gear to better, but it's easier when going from better to bad (not that the MBP's amp or DAC are really bad). Your ears/brain also need time to acclimate.
To reiterate what others have said, I'd probably hold off on the DAC for the time being. Not that it won't make a difference, but if you're enjoying what you hear already, there's no point in spending more money. Only upgrade when you feel like you need to-- you need more/different features or you want to tweak the sound in some way.
I haven't heard the Magni 3, but my guess is that it'll be a good investment in the long run. If nothing else, it can act as an insertion point for a future DAC. And it's always fun to have gear, especially if it has knobs.
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