Best Amp /Dac for HD 650/600/6xx at budget price
- Thread starter mrbabaji
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Specify your budget, these 2 headphones have practically unlimited scalability.
What kind of amp are you looking for? Tube/ solid state?
Only amp or DAC/Amp?
They literally start from fiio and go up into very very expensive tubes.
I will warn you about one thing though, if you're ready to spend serious money, look beyond the usual Schiit audio offerings. Far better things exist at a slightly higher price point ( try to avoid headphonezone's offerings, sure they are importing it for you, but you're paying a lot more than the import tax with most amps)
If this is your first amp,buy a cheap fiio desktop amp. HD600 is not very difficult to drive. I can easily drive them with a tiny DAP to a satisfactory level.
What kind of amp are you looking for? Tube/ solid state?
Only amp or DAC/Amp?
They literally start from fiio and go up into very very expensive tubes.
I will warn you about one thing though, if you're ready to spend serious money, look beyond the usual Schiit audio offerings. Far better things exist at a slightly higher price point ( try to avoid headphonezone's offerings, sure they are importing it for you, but you're paying a lot more than the import tax with most amps)
If this is your first amp,buy a cheap fiio desktop amp. HD600 is not very difficult to drive. I can easily drive them with a tiny DAP to a satisfactory level.
Thanks Sir for your detailed response. Appreciate it
But Sir little surprising that you asking to move away from Schitt stack and advocating cheap fiio desktop amp.
In my opinion cheapest Fiio Desktop Amp /Dac would be Fiio K5 pro Or would u suggest something better or cheaper
But definitely a Desktop solid state amp.
Tube amp Bravo Ocean I heard is powerful and cheap also and can drive 600/650 but not sure if it can. That's also kind of Hybrid amp I guess???
Other tube amps are costly I guess..?
And if budget is an issue people advise going against Tube amps as solid state amps last longer
Also Sir please le tme know why u against a schitt stack
. I guess Magni is a very powerful Amp??
400mw at 300 ohms??
But Sir little surprising that you asking to move away from Schitt stack and advocating cheap fiio desktop amp.
In my opinion cheapest Fiio Desktop Amp /Dac would be Fiio K5 pro Or would u suggest something better or cheaper
But definitely a Desktop solid state amp.
Tube amp Bravo Ocean I heard is powerful and cheap also and can drive 600/650 but not sure if it can. That's also kind of Hybrid amp I guess???
Other tube amps are costly I guess..?
And if budget is an issue people advise going against Tube amps as solid state amps last longer
Also Sir please le tme know why u against a schitt stack
. I guess Magni is a very powerful Amp??
400mw at 300 ohms??
Please stop calling me Sir!! I know nothing about tech!! A complete noob!!!
I'm not suggesting you to ditch the idea of Schiit. Yes they are indeed good. I'm merely suggesting you to start from Fiio. That way you can find your way forward ( what kind of signature you like)
I know of people ( a lot of them) who don't feel the difference with a much more expensive amp after they bought them.
Yes, the tubes degrade with time, but you can change them easily. And there is a significant difference between the sound of a solid state and tube amps ( more warm, which many people like a lot)
All I'm suggesting is, try not to spend your entire budget on single amp ( specially if it's your first one) buy a cheap one ( fiio may be cheap but not bad at all) and save up for a different amp thereafter.
I'm no expert in audio. Just happened to have bought a lot of headphones/ amp/ DAC over years.
Personally I would rather have an inexpensive tube and solid state amp instead of a single expensive one.
Yes, hybrids exist, but good ones are very expensive.
Sorry, I don't remember fiio models, but fiio E10K was probably my first desktop amp which I left in India.
Bought a cheap unknown brand ( SMSL) amp here, which is excellent.
I bought a Denon DA 300USB last year, which is very powerful and small ( you can keep it horizontal/ vertical to save space) It's expensive but sonically better than most popular "audiophile" options.
Have a soft spot for tubes and bought an insanely expensive WooAudio tube amp, it's easily the best amp I've listened to in my lifetime. But I would never suggest anyone to buy it ( it's possible to buy a small car with the insane price for a freaking amp!!) and it barely gets any use now as I have given away most of my crazy to drive planers, 600 ohm Beyer 880.
I've only one useful advice for you brother...
Instead of going all out for a single headphone/ IEM/ DAC/ AMP/ DAP try to get different flavours ( 2-3 max) of each. Give away what you don't use anymore.
I'm not suggesting you to ditch the idea of Schiit. Yes they are indeed good. I'm merely suggesting you to start from Fiio. That way you can find your way forward ( what kind of signature you like)
I know of people ( a lot of them) who don't feel the difference with a much more expensive amp after they bought them.
Yes, the tubes degrade with time, but you can change them easily. And there is a significant difference between the sound of a solid state and tube amps ( more warm, which many people like a lot)
All I'm suggesting is, try not to spend your entire budget on single amp ( specially if it's your first one) buy a cheap one ( fiio may be cheap but not bad at all) and save up for a different amp thereafter.
I'm no expert in audio. Just happened to have bought a lot of headphones/ amp/ DAC over years.
Personally I would rather have an inexpensive tube and solid state amp instead of a single expensive one.
Yes, hybrids exist, but good ones are very expensive.
Sorry, I don't remember fiio models, but fiio E10K was probably my first desktop amp which I left in India.
Bought a cheap unknown brand ( SMSL) amp here, which is excellent.
I bought a Denon DA 300USB last year, which is very powerful and small ( you can keep it horizontal/ vertical to save space) It's expensive but sonically better than most popular "audiophile" options.
Have a soft spot for tubes and bought an insanely expensive WooAudio tube amp, it's easily the best amp I've listened to in my lifetime. But I would never suggest anyone to buy it ( it's possible to buy a small car with the insane price for a freaking amp!!) and it barely gets any use now as I have given away most of my crazy to drive planers, 600 ohm Beyer 880.
I've only one useful advice for you brother...
Instead of going all out for a single headphone/ IEM/ DAC/ AMP/ DAP try to get different flavours ( 2-3 max) of each. Give away what you don't use anymore.
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ninjenstein
Discoverer
I've come across similar advice everywhere. Try multiple different things instead of spending all your cash on one expensive device. Makes sense, as one gets to experience different sound signatures, brands, and whatnot.
At what price point did you start noticing the effects of the "law of diminishing returns?"
Anyway, I'll be getting my HE-400i (2020 ver) tomorrow and those will be my first expensive headphones (I'll be upgrading from KZ ZST). Let's see if I'll need an amp/dac for it.
In a blind test I would possibly never be able to distinguish between a 100 USD good DAC from a 500 USD one.
But amps are different, each one has a different character..FiiO's entry level amps are very good.
But I have always been partial to vacuum tubes ( they distort sound in a very musical way and some introduce a strangely beautiful grain in the music, it's almost magical!!)
Wow!! You upgraded to a planer directly!! Planers are wonderful..and I've heard great things about the 2020 version of HE 400i.
If hifiman can improve their QC issues of past ( like they did with Sundara) they are practically unmatched in the sound quality. You will love the superfast punchy bass of the planers. Congratulations mate..
But amps are different, each one has a different character..FiiO's entry level amps are very good.
But I have always been partial to vacuum tubes ( they distort sound in a very musical way and some introduce a strangely beautiful grain in the music, it's almost magical!!)
Wow!! You upgraded to a planer directly!! Planers are wonderful..and I've heard great things about the 2020 version of HE 400i.
If hifiman can improve their QC issues of past ( like they did with Sundara) they are practically unmatched in the sound quality. You will love the superfast punchy bass of the planers. Congratulations mate..
ninjenstein
Discoverer
I see... I don't know anything about tubes yet... Will read up...
And thanks! Glad I've made the right decision, I'm looking forward to listening to them! Never heard anything better than my KZ ZST so I'm hoping this will indeed be a completely different experience
rdst_1
Juggernaut
I wanted a portable setup to drive my HD650 so I went with E1DA 9038s. It's only 37mW at 300 ohm but that is more than plenty I would say. I was even able to drive them very respectably with the dac on my LG G8X and I really listen to them at quite loud volumes
So aside from budget, my question would be what type of setup are you looking at - desktop or portable? Whether you are comfortable with buying balanced cables or want the flexibility of using normal cable?
In audio world, one can spend as much as they want for small gains or just be content by buying good VFM hardware which will do 95% of what hardware costing 10 times is capable of.
So aside from budget, my question would be what type of setup are you looking at - desktop or portable? Whether you are comfortable with buying balanced cables or want the flexibility of using normal cable?
In audio world, one can spend as much as they want for small gains or just be content by buying good VFM hardware which will do 95% of what hardware costing 10 times is capable of.
The E1DA stuff is really good according to many hardcore audiophiles. AFAIK they are a family run company with few very dedicated and knowledgeable people.
rdst_1
Juggernaut
Yeah man. Their stuff is so good and VFM that their customers (like me) become their spokesperson. Also the main guy is very active on their discord server and all new products are designed with feedback from the users.
I have their 9038s gen 2. Due to their power, the Gen 1 weren't suitable for sensitive IEMs. So in Gen 2 he built a special mode for sensitive IEMs. Again, people like me were planning to use these with phones and not DAP and we weren't able to control the volume via phone buttons so he built a very cool touch based hardware volume for the gen 3 alongwith an app with which one can change the parameters of the hadrware inside the DAC. All app and other development work is handled by his son.
He also built the 9038D because not all people had headphones which can support balanced cables or even if they did they wanted to use them with normal cables.
AliExpress is not working at Prague, I am planning to send them an email requesting PayPal payment and ensure proper shipping that should work.
BTW Corona is back with a vengeance in Europe.
BTW Corona is back with a vengeance in Europe.
bennysachdev
Discoverer
I'm using a chord mojo with a thx 789 with my hd6xx with balanced cables. sounds fantastic. I don't think I'll need to change anything about it ever.
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