[Jaawa]

Hello,

I own the Sennheiser HD 650 and Denon AH-D2000 headphones,
and I am now looking for a headphone amplifier to drive both of them well,
and they really are different, in terms of impedance, so I'm wondering which
kind of amp would be the best.

I like Meier-Audio amps, I had a Porta Corda Mk.III. I live in Finland so I don't
have so easy access to headphone amps (no local stores so have to order
from international sellers), therefor buying from Meier would be easy and
familiar.

My source is my computer, and as an USB DAC I have the Creative X-Fi
Xmod, I'm not proud about this little cheap source, it was just a quick
replacement for my unfortunate mishap with my Porta Corda that got fried.
I would have gotten another Meier-Audio amp (Jan even offered me a nice
discount) but I didn't have much money at that time.

So now I'm thinking about buying an Arietta to use with my Xmod, is the
Arietta a good choice for both the HD 650 and D2000? And I'm also
entertaining the idea of buying a 2MOVE to replace the Xmod, so I'd have a
nice DAC and a preamp in the same, with Arietta as the main amp

Please let me know if you have experience of the same kind of setup, and
any ideas about other headphone amps & source combinations are welcome
too, if you believe they're easy and affordable to get when living in Northern
Europe.

My budget for the amp or amp with DAC (if you think I should get rid of the
Xmod because it's horrible) is about 500 EUR (about 750 USD).

PS. Thanks for all possible replies in advance, this is my first post on Head-Fi
forums, and it's great to be here

 

[silverrain]

This thread should be a big help in deciding:

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f5/rev...mpared-259065/

Oh, and welcome to Head-Fi, and sorry about your wallet....

 

[Jaawa]

Quote:

Originally Posted by silverrain /img/forum/go_quote.gif This thread should be a big help in deciding: http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f5/rev...mpared-259065/ Oh, and welcome to Head-Fi, and sorry about your wallet....

Thanks for the welcome and the customary "wallet slogan"

I did read that thread you recommended, and it helps some, thanks

 

[silverrain]

Be sure to post what your final choice is.
I'm curious, since I like Meier amps, too, and have the HA2 MKII SE (discontinued when Opera came out).

 

[Jaawa]

Quote:

Originally Posted by silverrain /img/forum/go_quote.gif Be sure to post what your final choice is. I'm curious, since I like Meier amps, too, and have the HA2 MKII SE (discontinued when Opera came out).

I'm quite sure I'm actually going to buy the Opera Analog, since the sale price on it right now is just as much as I'm willing to stretch my budget.

I will get rid of the Xmod if it's no good and continues to show the slight "hiss" even through the Opera. I had an M-Audio Transit once, I'll probably get one of those again to be the source for the Opera.

For later I have planned a BelCanto DAC, but that's still in the far future

I've yet to even burn-in these brand new D2000s...

 

[Aimless1]

Good choice. The DAC is pretty decent if you can stretch to get the Opera with DAC.

 

[silverrain]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jaawa /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm quite sure I'm actually going to buy the Opera Analog, since the sale price on it right now is just as much as I'm willing to stretch my budget.

Yes, the sale price on the Opera has been making it more attractive to me, too. Very tempting....

 

[fdhfdy]

cantate so sure

 

[Jaawa]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fdhfdy /img/forum/go_quote.gif cantate so sure

Cantate? Hmm well, I'm trying not to let that review of Skylab to bias my thoughts too much, hehe, but I think that the HD 650 deserve the Opera.

While these D2000, maybe they would be happy with the Cantate, maybe even the Arietta? If you guys have experience of using these cans (Sennheiser HD 650 or Denon AH-D2000) with Cantate or Opera, please let me know

 

[Spadix]

I got my Cantate the other day and it sounds great powering HD600.

 

[Jaawa]

Well, I went for the Opera-analog, I'll see how the Xmod can hold up the job of a DAC, It'll go out the window if the "hiss" comes through the Opera

I can hardly wait, it's going to be a rough couple of weeks

 

[Downer]

I would suggest a solid separate DAC with Opera Analog. With this combo, you can't go with any kind of can; especially Senns. Also, it is always a delight to deal with Jan.

PS: just saw your post, he made a fine choice imo yet I believe you need to get a better source to get the most from your Opera.

 

[Jaawa]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Downer /img/forum/go_quote.gif With this combo, you can't go with any kind of can; especially Senns. ...yet I believe you need to get a better source to get the most from your Opera.

What do you mean I can't go with any kind of can? Especially not with Sennheisers?!

And yeah, I'll see what the Xmod can achieve, it's not a totally crappy DAC

 

[paaj]

probably "cant go wrong"

 

[Aimless1]

Good choice! This is a very nice amp that will work well with most headphones. Let us know how you like it