[chiuming07]

what's the cheapest setup
1) sound card,
2) headphone amp

i need to take full advantage of HD650 ($305) ?

thanks

 

[granodemostasa]

the setup i have with the audiophile usb and the Meier HA1 MKII cost a total of 392 dollars. 99 for the audiophile and 293 for the amp.... it sounds good.
and audiophile usb alone can power the amp (as it has a great headphone out), although the amp does do a better job.

 

[Uncle Erik]

I haven't seen it recommended here, but a few months back, I picked up an M-Audio DiO 2448 on eBay for about $25. It's not the highest end, since it only supports 24 bit/48kHz. However, it does have both optical and coaxial output. When you're ready for the next step, it'll send a clean signal to an external DAC.

It works fine with ALSA (Linux) and I believe it has full support in Windows.

If you can get a cheap DiO 2448, it'd be a small budget stretch to pick up a Gilmore Lite which goes for $299. If you're handy with a soldering iron, you can build a Dynalo (same thing, more or less) for around $100.

Your HD-650 would sound great with this setup.

 

[Zorander]

Make sure a good amp is included in the equation. Even the built-in amp of the Audiotrak Prodigy is not quite good enough.

 

[chiuming07]

i get some suggestion of expensive amps like

1) Meier HA1 MKII ($299)
2) Gilmore Lite ($299)
3) Creek OBH-21 ($250)

but on ebay there is alot of amp called Custom cmoy sold for around $50

http://cgi.ebay.com/Micro-Cmoy-headp...QQcmdZViewItem

what are the quality different between the expensive ones and cheap cmoy ones?

thanks

 

[l_simon_l]

imho a cheap soundcard (like the m-audios) won't get you anywhere near the full potential of the senns..

 

[chiuming07]

then what kind of sound card / DAC / amp i need to get full potential of HD650??

 

[Asmo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by chiuming07 then what kind of sound card / DAC / amp i need to get full potential of HD650??

That is a very subjective question. You can easily spend thousands of dollars on amps and dacs before the 650s become the bottleneck.

You have to decide yourself how far you want to take it.

Minimum I personaly recommend to get good results from the 650 is, you want to make sure you have a good amp, base model i'd conisder is something like the gilmore lite ($299).

As for DACs, its good to find one that matches well the characteristics. Depends what kind of music you like to listen too. Price wise, $300-1000 on a decent dac, and you want a soundcard that has a good digital output, some say the AV-710 is all you need for bitperfect, but there is more to it than that, I'd look at a more respectable card in the $100-200 range to provide you with digital transport.

Also make sure all your cds are ripped lossless not compressed mp3s.

You don't have to start with something expensive to enjoy the 650s, they are top class headphones and have a lot of room to grow, I'd say the first thing that will hold them back is a amp.

 

[skyline889]

Quote:

Originally Posted by chiuming07 i get some suggestion of expensive amps like 1) Meier HA1 MKII ($299) 2) Gilmore Lite ($299) 3) Creek OBH-21 ($250) but on ebay there is alot of amp called Custom cmoy sold for around $50 http://cgi.ebay.com/Micro-Cmoy-headp...QQcmdZViewItem what are the quality different between the expensive ones and cheap cmoy ones? thanks

Cmoys won't let you take full advantage of your HD650s they were primarily designed for portable use.

 

[BRBJackson]

Agreed, a CMOY won't let you experience all that the 650's are capable of.

Quote:

Originally Posted by chiuming07 i get some suggestion of expensive amps like 1) Meier HA1 MKII ($299) 2) Gilmore Lite ($299) 3) Creek OBH-21 ($250)

No, THESE are expensive!

http://www.singlepoweraudio.com/maestrozr.htm
http://www.meier-audio.homepage.t-on...eheadmk2se.htm
http://www.headphone.com/products/he...lanced-amp.php

 

[dknightd]

I used an m-audio firewire audiophile for about a year. It sounded pretty
good. Then I added an amp. Then replaced the DAC. They sound better
now, but they sounded pretty good to me just out of the built-in
headphone jack of the m-audio. I suspect there is still room for improvement. The 650's really do seem to scale well. But you don't have to do everything at once to enjoy them.

 

[chiuming07]

how about the Xitel Pro HiFi-Link External Sound System is this a good DAC??

http://www.shopping.com/xPC-DPI_Pro_Hi_Fi_Pc

 

[skyline889]

It's carried by Staples, so probably not

.

 

[l_simon_l]

Quote:

Originally Posted by chiuming07 then what kind of sound card / DAC / amp i need to get full potential of HD650??

I don't know really.. My source upgrade path was as follows M-audio delta 1010lt> Mindprint Diport Dac> Modded Emu 0404 (actually worse than the mindprint and slightly better than the m-audio, mainly used as transport)> Eastsound E5.

Although I've never heard the hd650s I have no reason to doubt that they are just as source dependent as my HD600s. I wasn't really happy with my Senns until the last source upgrade! That said, there should be cheaper ways, but I haven't heard any more sources than those I own.. Micro DAC?

 

[AndyRx7]

I'm very happy w/ my 650's driven by my powerbook-->airport express-->microDAC-->microampDM

I would certainly doubt this is the 'full potential' of the cans, but it sure sounds GREAT to me

It's not the total cheapest setup at $600, but it's far cheaper than lots of other stuff.