What headphone amp to buy for the HD600s
Dec 1, 2002 at 6:42 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 23

Kal525

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Hi, i am a newcomer to this forum and decided to join because of how complex owning a set of high end headphones can be. I figured i just buy the best headphones and i'm done, they'll sound great on anything i plug them into, right? wrong. After i did some research it turns out that i need to purchase an amp for the sennheiser hd600s to take full advantage of them. So far all i have looked at are the airhead and total airhead offerings from headroom. They seem pretty damn expensive, but i have never dealt with headphone amps, so they could be a really good buy, i really don't know. I was wondering if anyone here could give me some advice on what to do, as i definitely need some direction when it comes to amps. I currently plan on purchasing the sennheiser hd600s from headroom for $280 which will become $230 after a $50 mail in rebate. Then i was thinking of the total airhead for $180, so that puts me at $410, which is more expensive than my klipsch promedia 5.1 system for my pc, so if i do go for this setup it better sound like pure bliss. If there is anything else i should look at please let me know, i could use any help you could give. Thanks in advance.
 
Dec 1, 2002 at 7:08 PM Post #2 of 23
Hmm, have you looked into getting a meta42? To my ears, the meta sounds much better than a total airhead, which in my opinion just doesn't do justice to the hd600s. Also, are you against buying used?
 
Dec 1, 2002 at 7:17 PM Post #3 of 23
I have not heard of the meta42, but a quick search with google did not turn up any reviews or anything, but it did come up with a parts list in order to build a meta42. Who is it made by? And how much do you think it would cost? If possible, i would prefer to not buy used, but i really do not want to spend more than $200 and $100 would be very nice. If it's possible to DIY at a lower price and still get the same quality, i would also be interested in that too, as i am studying computer engineering and have some experience with circuits and soldering. Is there one amp out there that's known to sound good with these phones at a relatively low price? I'm looking to use them for all around use, music, games, movies, etc.
 
Dec 1, 2002 at 8:06 PM Post #5 of 23
Kal525,

While I haven't heard the Meta42 I would think that it would be the best bang for your buck, especially if you could build it on your own. A DIY amp will give you much more value for your money even if you get someone like Tangent, JMT or eric343 to build it for you. I feel the 580/600's really need a good amp to sound their best so do the best you can for what you can afford and you'll be rewarded.
 
Dec 1, 2002 at 8:10 PM Post #6 of 23
Kal525 - allow me to be the first to welcome you to Head-Fi while expressing condolences about your wallet. Expect to see it get at least $1,000.00 lighter during the next year and expect to be very happy.

Sounds like you want to set up a portable/battery rig for your HD600s. I would suggest you contact Dr. Jan Meier at Meier Audio (link on the Head-Fi welcome page and see what kind of package he will make you with a porta CORDA amp and a pair of HD600s. These are usually extremely good deals and Jan is extremely responsible to deal with. The porta CORDA amp, BTW, can be run with a regulated wallwart transformer up to 32volts (I believe but you better check) for even better performance. It is EASY to spend $1,000 on an amp alone and NEVER regret the purchase.

When you are set with that a set of Cardas "smurf" cables for your HD600s ($150 HeadRoom) will have you exploring the limits of your sources. Like I said, sorry about your wallet. Happy listening!
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Dec 1, 2002 at 9:33 PM Post #7 of 23
thanks for the replies guys. It does seem as though i'm diving head first into a rather.......expensive hobby. What i'm looking for is just an amp under $150 that will sound best with these headphones. Although i would prefer portability, it is not required. I'm still not sure what exactly i should be looking for in an amp, as it seems as though they are all different and each have their pros and cons. The thing holding me back from these custom amps is that they are not reviewed and i have nothing to compare them too. Some names i have been seeing are audio alchemy, air head, total airhead, Behringer ( the ha4600 looks interesting at only $100). People seem to have found various problems with the air head though and even say that it wouldn't provide enough power for the senns. At $180 for the total airhead, that's not a risk i'm willing to take. As for the meta42, i don't know much about it and how its components compare to the airhead, and the mentioned CORDA amp. It just seems like there is so much out there, and i don't want to make the wrong investment. As for building it myself, after looking at the parts list, it looks like it would require some effort to hunt down all of those parts and then a significant amount of time to make sure that i put it together correctly. If anyone can offer any more clarificaiton or some suggestions i would be greateful, in the meantime i will continue to research the amps mentioned in your replies, thanks.
 
Dec 1, 2002 at 10:00 PM Post #9 of 23
Do yourself a favor: if you know how to solder, etc, build a meta42 for yourself. Read up on it at tangent's site, linked above, and order boards and parts from him. You will NOT regret it.
 
Dec 1, 2002 at 10:16 PM Post #10 of 23
I agree with the build it yourself idea for the META42. Tangent makes it incredibly easy by being able to order the board and difficult to find parts directly from him. The assembly is really easy with the board, and tangent has the parts list on his site. It may be hard for tangent to make it any easier.
 
Dec 1, 2002 at 10:21 PM Post #11 of 23
well the meta42 seems pretty good. I just read the review and the reviewer seems to think that it competes with much more expensive units, although i still don't know how much the meta42 would cost me. So then i am correct in saying that it blows the total airhead out of the water? Please correct me if i'm wrong. I will look into building it myself, but before i set my heart to this thing, what about the porta CORDA. I read up on that and it seems like a very nice unit that you can tweak and configure if need be, and it's also of very sturdy construction. How would you compare those two amps. Also, the last one that i am wondering about is the Behringer HA4600. I saw a post about it over at headwize and it seems as though it has very high components for the price. Let me know what you think.
 
Dec 2, 2002 at 3:51 AM Post #15 of 23
Quote:

Originally posted by Kal525
So is it the porta CORDA or the meta42? I need some votes.


I've never heard the Porta, just the META. The META is a great amp, very versatile. So I vote for the META.
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