Would an amp help? (HD 595)

[Liquidretro]

Hi everyone. I am new to head-fi and have always valued quality audio. A couple of months ago I picked up some Sennheiser HD595's after reading many reviews. I love the clarity and how sharp they are but the bass seems to be lacking a bit. This has improved during break in but I am beginning to wonder if a headphone amp would help. My main source of playback is my Dell E1505 laptop. I seem to get enough volume out of it with the settings in windows turned up all the way and the sound control on the front at about 1/3 power.

I have a fair bit of DIY and solder experience because I built a computer controlled animated Christmas light system for my house with the help of some friends.

So do you think an amp would help? If so which on? I want to keep this under $100 and I would kind of like to build it but its not necessary.

Thanks in advance.

 

[leng jai]

Tube amps seem to fill the HD595s bass up somewhat. Keep in mind that they are never going to bassy cans, but they can achieve good depth if the recording allows it.

 

[breakfastchef]

My first decent headphones were HD595's. I found out very quickly that anything connected to the heaphone jack on my Dell laptop had fair sound quality, at best. So the weak link in my very short chain was the onboard sound card in my computer.

My solution was to purchase an iBasso D1USB/DAC and Amp combo. The 595's sounded much better, and I was able to change out op amps in the D1 to change the sound signature to my liking. The optical inputs on this amp made this even more versatile than I had imagined. Even though the D1 is discontinued, it has been replaced by the D2.

So, I am suggesting that you consider an amp (portable or desktop) with a built in USB/DAC. At $100, I am not aware of any killer USB/DAC/Amps out there. Otherwise, buying a cheap amp to pump up the headphone output of your laptop
might act more like an external volume control and not significantly improve on the sound from your HD595s.

 

[tomb]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Liquidretro /img/forum/go_quote.gif <snip> I have a fair bit of DIY and solder experience because I built a computer controlled animated Christmas light system for my house with the help of some friends. So do you think an amp would help? If so which on? I want to keep this under $100 and I would kind of like to build it but its not necessary. Thanks in advance.

Sounds like you need to build a Starving Student Millett Hybrid: http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f6/mil...id-amp-319231/

 

[hellopanda]

you could try the more affordable Ibasso D2 viper. DAC + amp. Good dynamics with bass control.
STEREO - http://www.stereo.com.sg

 

[Uncle Erik]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Liquidretro /img/forum/go_quote.gif I have a fair bit of DIY and solder experience because I built a computer controlled animated Christmas light system for my house with the help of some friends. So do you think an amp would help? If so which on? I want to keep this under $100 and I would kind of like to build it but its not necessary.

Are you familiar with the kits at Glass Jar Audio?

Glass Jar Audio

A SOHA might be perfect for you.

And welcome to Head-Fi! I hope to see you hanging around the DIY Forum.

 

[Liquidretro]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tomb /img/forum/go_quote.gif Sounds like you need to build a Starving Student Millett Hybrid: http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f6/mil...id-amp-319231/

This looks interesting. I will have to read more about it. Thanks for the idea.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uncle Erik /img/forum/go_quote.gif Are you familiar with the kits at Glass Jar Audio? Glass Jar Audio A SOHA might be perfect for you. And welcome to Head-Fi! I hope to see you hanging around the DIY Forum.

This looks really tempting. I like the kit idea and working on a pcb too. Is the base SOHA decent?

This is something I would really like to get more into. I enjoy the DIY part and building stuff. I just hope I can learn to trouble shoot when things go wrong. I had an EE friend who helps me on other projects but I would like to learn how to do it myself.

 

[analogbox]

I'm pretty sure you gonna need an amp no matter what down the road. Upgradit is a terrible disease and it will soon infect your whole body forcing you to buy higher end cans to cure it.

That being said, I don't think the HD595 will benefit much at all from an amp. I used to have HD595 for about a year and in those time I never felt a huge difference when it was amped and not. It does clear out the grain HD595 has but other than that I didn't hear any night and day difference. In fact, the problem is not the headphone, it's more your laptop. Most laptops with cheap-end sound card or integrated sound card will sound horrible especially on a nice headphone like HD595. My suggestion is to build an amp of your choice and get a dedicated DAC to really improve on the sound.

Of course, the easiest way would be to get a Corda 2move which is a fantastic portable DAC/headphone amp in that price.

 

[Liquidretro]

Quote:

Originally Posted by analogbox /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm pretty sure you gonna need an amp no matter what down the road. Upgradit is a terrible disease and it will soon infect your whole body forcing you to buy higher end cans to cure it. That being said, I don't think the HD595 will benefit much at all from an amp. I used to have HD595 for about a year and in those time I never felt a huge difference when it was amped and not. It does clear out the grain HD595 has but other than that I didn't hear any night and day difference. In fact, the problem is not the headphone, it's more your laptop. Most laptops with cheap-end sound card or integrated sound card will sound horrible especially on a nice headphone like HD595. My suggestion is to build an amp of your choice and get a dedicated DAC to really improve on the sound. Of course, the easiest way would be to get a Corda 2move which is a fantastic portable DAC/headphone amp in that price.

Hmm, I see what your saying. I did a quick google on the Corda 2move and am having a hard time finding a place where I can price one out. Any tips?

I am not opposed to getting rid of the HD595's. While I like them I am not 100% in love with them. I have a friend who I is into music production especially piano and he fell in love with them. Basically my question would be what do I get instead?

I love the clarity and comfort of the HD595 and the build seems to be fairly good. I guess I want something thats warmer and has some more bass. Open or closed is not very important to me as these will stay in my room/office and my budget is around $200. Any ideas? If I get serious about this I realize I should probably start a new thread but I guess this is just to get the ball running.

I think what I had before were some Sen HD500.

 

[spickerish]

Quote:

Originally Posted by hellopanda /img/forum/go_quote.gif you could try the more affordable Ibasso D2 viper. DAC + amp. Good dynamics with bass control. STEREO - http://www.stereo.com.sg

Is there any difference between the Ibasso D2 viper and the Ibasso D2 boa?