sennheiser hd600--headphone amp?

feyshay · 2nd December 2005

I have a pair of SennHD280's and like the sound of them when compared to Ultrasone 650 (to trebly) and Beyerdynamic (too bassy).
I could pick a HD600 up for about $200.
I consider that a great price compared to $500 for 650's. I've ruled out Ultrasone but would consider Grado's. I need them for mixing at night when I can't have the monitors because of sleeping children.
Also, I have an Apogee Mini-Dac. Would I need a headphone amp with the 600's?

Lek · 2nd December 2005

hd600's to me sound amazing (make the 280's sound like crap). I run them off of a benchmark dac1

Sounds Great · 2nd December 2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by feyshay

I have a pair of SennHD280's and like the sound of them when compared to Ultrasone 650 (to trebly) and Beyerdynamic (too bassy).
I could pick a HD600 up for about $200.
I consider that a great price compared to $500 for 650's. I've ruled out Ultrasone but would consider Grado's. I need them for mixing at night when I can't have the monitors because of sleeping children.
Also, I have an Apogee Mini-Dac. Would I need a headphone amp with the 600's?

You can get the HD650 for about $300 if you do some shopping, but I never compared it to the HD600, don't know if there is much difference.

http://cgi.ebay.com/BRAND-NEW-SENNHE...QQcmdZViewItem

feyshay · 2nd December 2005

I usually have to keep the volume of the mini-dac to about 3 in order to not to blow my monitors away. The sound goes up to 11.
How important is it to have a headphone amp?
Is it simply a matter of turning the volume up on the mini-dac or do I get a much better sound with a headphone amp. The impedance is 30W out of the mini-dac headphone output, yet the nominal impedance would be 300W for the headphones. Would this result in a thin sound?

audioboy6 · 2nd December 2005

I've used 600's for a while and I don't have a dedicated amp. The amp in my console (neotek) has no trouble driving them. However I listened to them in a few hi fi stores and having a good amp really helps. To me it sounds like the transient responce is a lot better.

I agree the 280's sound like crap. I have some clients that prefure them for tracking though

My 2 cents.

Jim Williams · 2nd December 2005

Dennis Colin has a very nice Class A headphone amp circuit in the Nov. 05 issue of AudioExpress magazine. It's designed for the 650 headphones, I doubt you will find many commercial (and no pro audio) designs that can beat it.

Jim Williams
Audio Upgrades

2nd December 2005	#1
feyshay Lives for gear Joined: Aug 2005 Posts: 1,358 Thread Starter	sennheiser hd600--headphone amp? I have a pair of SennHD280's and like the sound of them when compared to Ultrasone 650 (to trebly) and Beyerdynamic (too bassy). I could pick a HD600 up for about $200. I consider that a great price compared to $500 for 650's. I've ruled out Ultrasone but would consider Grado's. I need them for mixing at night when I can't have the monitors because of sleeping children. Also, I have an Apogee Mini-Dac. Would I need a headphone amp with the 600's?

2nd December 2005	#2
Lek Lives for gear Joined: Mar 2005 Location: NJ Posts: 642	hd600's to me sound amazing (make the 280's sound like crap). I run them off of a benchmark dac1 __________________ ----------- Calistro Music sales rep lek_calistromusic@yahoo.com

2nd December 2005	#4
feyshay Lives for gear Joined: Aug 2005 Posts: 1,358 Thread Starter	headphone amp? I usually have to keep the volume of the mini-dac to about 3 in order to not to blow my monitors away. The sound goes up to 11. How important is it to have a headphone amp? Is it simply a matter of turning the volume up on the mini-dac or do I get a much better sound with a headphone amp. The impedance is 30W out of the mini-dac headphone output, yet the nominal impedance would be 300W for the headphones. Would this result in a thin sound?

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2nd December 2005	#5
audioboy6 Gear maniac Joined: Nov 2004 Location: Minneapolis Posts: 151	I've used 600's for a while and I don't have a dedicated amp. The amp in my console (neotek) has no trouble driving them. However I listened to them in a few hi fi stores and having a good amp really helps. To me it sounds like the transient responce is a lot better. I agree the 280's sound like crap. I have some clients that prefure them for tracking though My 2 cents.

2nd December 2005	#6
Jim Williams Voiding warranties Joined: Feb 2004 Location: beautiful Carlsbad, CA Posts: 10,081	Dennis Colin has a very nice Class A headphone amp circuit in the Nov. 05 issue of AudioExpress magazine. It's designed for the 650 headphones, I doubt you will find many commercial (and no pro audio) designs that can beat it. Jim Williams Audio Upgrades