[phares]

I'm new to the head-if community, so please forgive the improper location of this post - if it is improper. I just got a pair of HD 600s and am looking now for a proper amp. I have read many glowing and wonderful things about the Leckerton Audio UHA-6S.MKII and the (JDS Labs) O2 and ODAC or the O2 + ODAC; both/all setups come in around $300 so the cost differential is negligible to me. I already have an Audioquest Dragonfly, and have been using that quite happily with my previous headphones (IEMs), but I feel that with the larger demand of the HD 600, too much is being asked of the Dragonfly.

All that said I will do most of my listening at home and at work, so the setup needs to be 'portable', I'd like to stay in the $300 range, but since I have the Dragonfly, I only really need an amp to start with and I can upgrade the DAC over time. I will also be getting a new cable for the HD 600 - I don't want to turn this into a 'are cables worth it debate' I mostly want something that is shorter, stiffer, more durable, and of course equal or better SQ, but even after 3wks of taking them from home to office to home, the cable needs to be easier to manage, I can certainly see it getting inadvertently damaged regardless of how careful I try to be. I mainly mention the cable, bc different amps have different output options, and I can order my new cables to accommodate the output, and perhaps the output to better perform with the new cables(?).

So, super long first post, but the gist is: what 'portable' amp would you recommend for use with the HD 600 that is in the $300 range.

Thanks in advance, and thanks also for having this amazing place where one can learn so much about so many different products.

 

[Starcruncher]

I'm new to the head-if community, so please forgive the improper location of this post - if it is improper. I just got a pair of HD 600s and am looking now for a proper amp. I have read many glowing and wonderful things about the Leckerton Audio UHA-6S.MKII and the (JDS Labs) O2 and ODAC or the O2 + ODAC; both/all setups come in around $300 so the cost differential is negligible to me. I already have an Audioquest Dragonfly, and have been using that quite happily with my previous headphones (IEMs), but I feel that with the larger demand of the HD 600, too much is being asked of the Dragonfly.

All that said I will do most of my listening at home and at work, so the setup needs to be 'portable', I'd like to stay in the $300 range, but since I have the Dragonfly, I only really need an amp to start with and I can upgrade the DAC over time. I will also be getting a new cable for the HD 600 - I don't want to turn this into a 'are cables worth it debate' I mostly want something that is shorter, stiffer, more durable, and of course equal or better SQ, but even after 3wks of taking them from home to office to home, the cable needs to be easier to manage, I can certainly see it getting inadvertently damaged regardless of how careful I try to be. I mainly mention the cable, bc different amps have different output options, and I can order my new cables to accommodate the output, and perhaps the output to better perform with the new cables(?).

So, super long first post, but the gist is: what 'portable' amp would you recommend for use with the HD 600 that is in the $300 range.

Thanks in advance, and thanks also for having this amazing place where one can learn so much about so many different products.

I have the Schiit Vali and it drives my 600's very well. Others have the same sentiments. They just released, or are about to release, the Vali 2. This means you can get the Vali on closeout from Schiit for $99. Although I don't have a lot of experience with other gear, this amp at that price is worth serious consideration. One issue people have is that the Vali causes microphonic ringing in headphones. It happens in my 600's occasionally upon powering up, but goes away in less than one minute. And once the music gets going, you can't hear it. Plus, it is "portable" (and solidly built) in the way you are seeking.

 

[Crayonatic]

Hey guys. I wanted to ask where I can get that foam that blocks the driver hole from the outside. I removed it cause a friend said it gives more soundstage. but ended up hating the impact it had on imaging and overall warmth.
so I put them back and I can feel the sound changed a bit. like went from 100% to 90% HD600 sound signature. so I wanna buy a butt load of these tiny foams and try and try again till I reach the desired effect. does anyone know where I can get that part.
thank you all

sorry if this is in a wrong place or something. new to the forum.

 

[phares]

I looked at the Schiit products, but they didn't seem portable enough. But were I to reconsider, wouldn't it make more sense to get the Magni 2 Uber (I'm not going to try to move the Vali 2 around every day) rather than the discontinued Vali? I can still use the Dragonfly when going from my laptop or desktop, and when I get a DAP (getting very excited about the FiiO X7) I can use its internal DAC until such time that I get the Modi (or sim)?

Or back to the initial post, would it make the most sense to get one of the 'portable' amps first/now and later on get a more 'home' type amp, I appreciate that the portables are compromises and cost more than the equivalently performing non-portables, but one of my other concerns is durability, and I am assuming that amps and dacs intended to be moved around and jostled will do better in the long term than those meant to sit on a desk all day.

I have no one else to bounce this stuff off, so I apologize for the stream of consciousness response.

 

[Starcruncher]

Yeah, with its tube, I would not want to move around the Vali 2 either. The Vali and Magni are more robust in that there are no protruding parts. The Magni 2 Uber would only be necessary if you're looking to connect it to something through RCA cables. For just headphones, you only need the Magni or the Vali. They are both about the same size and really very portable for desktop amps. Truly portable devices, with batteries, are in a another realm. There are, generally, some tradeoffs for their compactness. Anyway, at the high end of your price range, have you considered JDS Labs Element? Both amp and DAC, so no need to carry two pieces of gear.

 

[phares]

I hadn't really considered the Element - though i'm not opposed to all-in-ones - as it hasn't been as highly rated as the O2 or the UHA-6S.MKII (which is both an amp and DAC), and since it was similarly priced and not rated highly I didn't want to risk the purchase.
 
I think I'm leaning heavily toward the Leckerton, for a lot of factors, but its ability to be picked up and moved regularly is most certainly part of the math I'm doing. I wish it had a 1/4" output (opens up my cable options a bit), and I wonder about its ability to drive the HD600 even though people say it can do so nicely.
 
Assuming that the HD 600 desires a more 'robust' or 'powerful' amp than most portables, but keeping in mind that i will be setting up and tearing down every day - though I don't work with criminals, the office is open, and we have about 200 people in the company, so i don't all of them personally and I won't feel comfortable leaving personal electronics out overnight, or for weekends and such, so it has to come with me - and expanding the price range to $500, does that change anything?
 
I will be getting a case for the whole thing once the rig is all assembled (HD600s, amp(dac), dac, cables/interconnects, dap, and possibly additional power brick), so the size is of concern, though it is secondary to (sound) quality.

 

[raybone0566]

I hadn't really considered the Element - though i'm not opposed to all-in-ones - as it hasn't been as highly rated as the O2 or the UHA-6S.MKII (which is both an amp and DAC), and since it was similarly priced and not rated highly I didn't want to risk the purchase.

I think I'm leaning heavily toward the Leckerton, for a lot of factors, but its ability to be picked up and moved regularly is most certainly part of the math I'm doing. I wish it had a 1/4" output (opens up my cable options a bit), and I wonder about its ability to drive the HD600 even though people say it can do so nicely.

Assuming that the HD 600 desires a more 'robust' or 'powerful' amp than most portables, but keeping in mind that i will be setting up and tearing down every day - though I don't work with criminals, the office is open, and we have about 200 people in the company, so i don't all of them personally and I won't feel comfortable leaving personal electronics out overnight, or for weekends and such, so it has to come with me - and expanding the price range to $500, does that change anything?

I will be getting a case for the whole thing once the rig is all assembled (HD600s, amp(dac), dac, cables/interconnects, dap, and possibly additional power brick), so the size is of concern, though it is secondary to (sound) quality.

Portaphile 627 drives the hd series phones very well. Though it just an amp it sounds fantastic. When I had it I used to drive my he500 planar's with it. Very good amp. I've got the leckerton now, but only use it on the go. Seems every time I've been on the website it's out of stock

 

[Asr]

I recently re-bought a set of these after not owning a set for several years. This may have been my 3rd purchase of the HD600 since like 2008 or something.

Was kinda motivated to check them out again after hearing the HD650 again at a recent meet not long ago. Got the latest silver-driver version, so I was interested in seeing if my impressions would be any different this time.
 
All I can say is: I don't think I've ever realized before just how good they sound! They're unbelievably outstanding, and sound so amazing that I'm not sure if I could ever part with them! Listening to any classical music on them is, to put it as succinctly as possible, a revelation. They make classical music sound so damn real that it's spooky!
 
I'm using a Schiit Bifrost 4490 to a Valhalla 2, along with the Garage1217 Project Solstice. Although the Valhalla 2 is definitely better than the Solstice at driving the HD600, the Solstice is absolutely no slouch either and provides nearly equally-amazing sound. It's so close to the Valhalla 2 that it almost doesn't matter. I had to try my HeadAmp Gilmore Lite as well, just because, which wasn't quite as good as either the Valhalla 2 or Solstice, but sounded really good in its own right with the HD600 and convinced me that I don't really need either of the other two amps for a great-sounding HD600.
 
The HD600 is an end-game headphone period, and I'm saying that as a previous owner of the Stax OII on the HeadAmp BHSE! (which was a >$10K rig in total when I had that with my previous Plinius CD-101 CDP!)

 

[Brooko]

Yep - they kind of draw you back in with their timbre and tonality don't they Steve.  I'm on my third pair.  I don't think I'll ever sell them again. And they still get more head-time than any of my other cans.

 

[The Dutch Guy]

I've had dozens of high end headphones over the year: HD800 , He-6 , MDR-R10 , T1 ,T5p , TH900 , AH-D7000 etc etc. 
In my opinion the HD600 is up there with the best of them: Some of the more exotic high end headphones might beat them in specific areas, but as a total package nothing beats the HD600 it really sounds THAT good to me. Factor in the price , the modular construction and they simply are the best headphones ever made. (IMHO ofcourse)
 
They remind of the best loudspeakers from the early 90's, when high end loudspeakers of various brand actually sounded similar to each other: Neutral
A lot of the modern flagship headphones remind me of today's high end loudspeakers: All with a very distinct sound signature, often defined by various anomalies in the high end and slightly elevated low frequencies.
 
I'll take a Kef 105.3  over a B&W 80X "diamond"  any day of the week.

 

[Asr]

Yep - they kind of draw you back in with their timbre and tonality don't they Steve.  I'm on my third pair.  I don't think I'll ever sell them again. And they still get more head-time than any of my other cans.

 
Indeed, like I said it's spooky how realistic it sounds. Don't know how I never noticed that before the last time I had them 8+ years ago, or maybe it's just my current gear?

 
 
Also interested in someday hearing a KEF set btw, I've seen so many raves about their speakers.....

 

[ustinj]

I've had a good experience with NewFantasia cables from Amazon. It sounds the same to my ears, but it's WAY stiffer, shorter, and nicer looking IMO.

I'm new to the head-if community, so please forgive the improper location of this post - if it is improper. I just got a pair of HD 600s and am looking now for a proper amp. I have read many glowing and wonderful things about the Leckerton Audio UHA-6S.MKII and the (JDS Labs) O2 and ODAC or the O2 + ODAC; both/all setups come in around $300 so the cost differential is negligible to me. I already have an Audioquest Dragonfly, and have been using that quite happily with my previous headphones (IEMs), but I feel that with the larger demand of the HD 600, too much is being asked of the Dragonfly.

All that said I will do most of my listening at home and at work, so the setup needs to be 'portable', I'd like to stay in the $300 range, but since I have the Dragonfly, I only really need an amp to start with and I can upgrade the DAC over time. I will also be getting a new cable for the HD 600 - I don't want to turn this into a 'are cables worth it debate' I mostly want something that is shorter, stiffer, more durable, and of course equal or better SQ, but even after 3wks of taking them from home to office to home, the cable needs to be easier to manage, I can certainly see it getting inadvertently damaged regardless of how careful I try to be. I mainly mention the cable, bc different amps have different output options, and I can order my new cables to accommodate the output, and perhaps the output to better perform with the new cables(?).

So, super long first post, but the gist is: what 'portable' amp would you recommend for use with the HD 600 that is in the $300 range.

Thanks in advance, and thanks also for having this amazing place where one can learn so much about so many different products.

 

[polecrab]

Does anyone have experience with the Chinese replacement cables with mic and remote sold on eBay by low20101020 and blue-copper for ~$20? I thought it would be nice to use my comfy HD600s for long conference calls instead of my uncomfortable work-issued headset, but want to hear some testimony first on the SQ for both listening and mic.

 

[RojasTKD]

Does anyone have experience with the Chinese replacement cables with mic and remote sold on eBay by low20101020 and blue-copper for ~$20? I thought it would be nice to use my comfy HD600s for long conference calls instead of my uncomfortable work-issued headset, but want to hear some testimony first on the SQ for both listening and mic.

 
Though I'm sure many would say usinf "cheap" cable with the HD 600 would be HORRID Idea. I have recently got a cable from blue-copper for my HD 600. It was listed as "OCC + silver plated" and was $39.99. Sounds no different to the stock cable to me and is much shorter. It is not a Mic version though. I'm happy with my $40 cable and can't imagine paying the HUNDREDS some companies want for their cables.
 
I also have a 13 doallar cable I use with my AKG K712 and Beyerdynamic DT 1770 that seems to sounds no different than the stock cable. I may eventually purchase a 40sih dollar cable to compare to the 13 dollar cable and see if there is s difference, then the DT 1770 and K712 will have their own short non-coiled cables.
 
I do have an ebay cable for one my IEM with a Mic that I paid something like $14 for. The mic works fine but I believe it dose sound a little less clear than my BTG Audio cable. I'm not really a believer in cable make a real difference, but I guess real cheap ones MAY be inferior, or maybe it was the in line mic that was causing it. I don't remember the seller of that cable.

 

[polecrab]

I appreciate your input, and I share your general attitude towards cables. I've heard differences between cables before, but they were so subtle that I would never notice unless I was switching back and forth between them and listening hard for differences. I don't find playing around with that as fun as trying out different cans, speakers, or to a lesser degree, amps. What I do care about is that the cable meets the basic functional and electrical requirements for the job (doesn't cause static, dropouts, noticeable frequency response anomalies, etc.) in a durable, reliable, and practical package. So hopefully if I do pull the trigger on one of these eBay cables, they meet those requirements.