[Artie17]

Hey everyone, I bought my first pair of nice headphones last summer (HD555's) and they've been great and I love the sound. I'm about to graduate next semester and I'm thinking about getting something better. What do you guys think would be the next logical upgrade, would I feel a huge difference going from my current headphones to say a HD 650's with a nice amp. I'm trying to figure out how much money I need to save to get a good setup (headphone+amp), I listen to pretty much all types of music except for country and trance or techno. What do you guys think?

 

[captian73]

I don't see why not. But be careful when you say "nice amp" make sure it is a nice amp, because your average sub $100-200 headphone amp might not be enough to power them. I never saw the point in the HD650's until i bought my Ray Samuels amp, and I understand that it could do with something a bit more, although I love my RSA. 

 

[savagekabbage]

I've had mine for just over a year now, and have been loving them. I don't have too much of a setup currently - mostly just running them straight out of a computer motherboard. I ordered the DAC+AMP unit from Headroom, so I'll be able to see how well they work together.
 

 

[Artie17]

How much was your amp and which amps do you recommend. Sorry I am really new to the whole head-fi community and don't even know what I should be looking for when it comes to amps. I went to a local audio store today and the sales man only had one amp and It was $1300 dollars I believe (forgot what brand). I just want to make I can hear a big difference when I upgrade

 

[kchui999]

I'm powering my 650's with the Little Dot MKIII.  It's an awesome unit that sounds amazing, even with the stock tubes, and it came out to less than $300. 
 
Definitely check out more of the threads on this site about amps.  I've spent 100x the hours reading posts than writing them out. 

 

[Artie17]

Thanks. May I ask what kind of headphones you had before getting the 650's, and where is a good place to buy amps, sometimes when I google amp names that I get reccomended I cant find any for sale

 

[leng jai]

Took a similar path, going from HD595s to HD650s. With a nice tube amp they really sing.

 

[SP Wild]

Tubes all the way

 

[The Fire Snake]

I am pretty new to headphones but I bought my M50 a couple of months ago and they sound great for comming directly out of an IPOD and no amp(better with an amp).  I think that was a great purchase.  I just bought the HD650.  I am not really thrilled with the HD650.  For the money they seem overrated to me.  Maybe I will change my opinion of them as I am trying a lot of different equipment.

 

[Blasto_Brandino]

HD650's need JUICE to really give you all they've got, They bested my Sony MDR-F1's for music and the F1's go for $200+ on eBay. And the F1's are some pretty lethal cans.

 

[Artie17]

Thanks for all the input guys. It seems like I need about $300 on an amp to get the best out of the 650's

 

[r_monk]

You can find amps for less than €300 on ebay, for example Little Dot II or M-Stage Matrix. Or the FUN DAC, which is a DAC + Amp.

 

[TheOtus]

I´d get a tad bright amp for HD650... At least with my own amp they could´ve had a bit more clarity.

 

[xnor]

Saying that an amp needs to cost at least xyz $ to be able to "power them" is ... well, sounds a bit naive, doesn't it?
If you decide to get the 650's I'd first try them out with you current source before buying something over 300 $, heh.

 

[Artie17]

I currently listen to music on my pc with a Auzentech Prelude sound card and I use HD555's. The reason I say I need to spend about $300 on an amp is because I've read everywhere that the HD 650's need a good source because without an amp they wont be used to their full potential and from talking to people it sounds like to get a decent amp I'll need to spend $200 + . I can't find places around my home in the Bay Area where I can test out some equipment, I would really like to try it before I spend $600.