AMP/Soundcard for HD650

Snookums · 17 Mar 2018 at 13:27

Hi there,

Recently obtained some HD650's my soundblaster wasn't cutting it to be perfectly honest so I went and bought a cambridge audio DACMagic PLUS and I'm not overly impressed the sound is ok but quite mushy at points and distorts.

So what AMP/soundcard combo would you recommend or would you simply say an AMP will do the job?

I'm shocked a £350 RRP DAC isn't making these sound amazing maybe a config then?

Any input would be highly appreciated.

Rroff · 17 Mar 2018 at 13:33

HD600 series love voltage / good voltage swing a lot of amps focus on being able to provide a lot of current but they don't need much current.

The Schiit audio range are generally well regarded with the 600 series.

Snookums · 17 Mar 2018 at 13:48

Yeah I'm just disappointed in my Cambridge Audio Dacmagic Plus DAC

So what would you recommend Schiit Magni 3?

EsaT · 17 Mar 2018 at 14:40

Snookums said:
Yeah I'm just disappointed in my Cambridge Audio Dacmagic Plus DAC

For the price its output voltage is certainly disappointing.
Sub 4V to 600 ohms:
http://kenrockwell.com/audio/cambridge/dacmagic-plus.htm#output
Also that output impedance isn't good for low impedance headphones.
Better internal and USB sound cards of Creative give more volts...

Are you using it for gaming or only music listening?

TALON1973 · 17 Mar 2018 at 15:34

If you're in the £300-£400 range look at the chord mojo.

Snookums · 17 Mar 2018 at 16:45

EsaT said:
For the price its output voltage is certainly disappointing.
Sub 4V to 600 ohms:
http://kenrockwell.com/audio/cambridge/dacmagic-plus.htm#output
Also that output impedance isn't good for low impedance headphones.
Better internal and USB sound cards of Creative give more volts...

Are you using it for gaming or only music listening?

Primarily for music, but gaming secondary.

ethan · 17 Mar 2018 at 19:07

Snookums said:
Hi there,

Recently obtained some HD650's my soundblaster wasn't cutting it to be perfectly honest so I went and bought a cambridge audio DACMagic PLUS and I'm not overly impressed the sound is ok but quite mushy at points and distorts.

So what AMP/soundcard combo would you recommend or would you simply say an AMP will do the job?

I'm shocked a £350 RRP DAC isn't making these sound amazing maybe a config then?

Any input would be highly appreciated.

I'm probably going to shift my D3020 in the MM later in the week as I replaced it with an Audiolab M-Dac. Prior to that I had the DacMagic Plus which I never really liked.

rids57 · 17 Mar 2018 at 20:04

if it's for pure stereo, with no virtual surround then the Schiit Modi 2 and Schiit Magni 3 duo sound very good.
if virtual surround is needed then the Asus STX and STX II are able to drive the HD650s with ease.

Snookums · 18 Mar 2018 at 08:49

ethan said:
I'm probably going to shift my D3020 in the MM later in the week as I replaced it with an Audiolab M-Dac. Prior to that I had the DacMagic Plus which I never really liked.

How good is the d3020?

No need for surround it’s a complete gimmick for games anyhow, movies it’s relevant I guess

neil_g · 18 Mar 2018 at 10:55

Schiit have no magni 3 or modi 2 uber stock right now for info..

rids57 · 18 Mar 2018 at 11:02

that didn't last long

Marsman · 18 Mar 2018 at 12:01

Snookums said:
How good is the d3020?

No need for surround it’s a complete gimmick for games anyhow, movies it’s relevant I guess

D3020 is a speaker amplifier. Yes it has a headphone socket, but as with most speaker amps the headphone output is secondary. The focus of manufacturers is the speaker output.

Best to get a dedicated headphone amp.

Snookums · 18 Mar 2018 at 14:51

Marsman for around £300 used what would you suggest.

I want the magni but they’re out of stock constantly

Snookums · 18 Mar 2018 at 19:04

Would you recommend the Magni 2 as the 3 isn't readily available

Marsman · 18 Mar 2018 at 21:06

Yeah magni 2 is still a good choice. For similar money, Magni 3 aside, I doubt there is a better choice. Magni 3 is better from the comments I've seen from rids57 and others, so I guess it depends whether you want something soon as possible or maybe wait. Maybe that depends whether you're a patient person or not.

rids57 · 18 Mar 2018 at 21:55

They had some production problems at the beginning of the year and also demand has been massively higher than they anticipated, so they've suffered something of a perfect storm. They are producing full steam ahead now though so stock should become easier to get hold of from the main company (Schiit EU is just the UK distributor and is actually Electromod).
Personally I would wait for stock to arrive and grab a Magni 3 as soon as it drops, you just need to be vigilant and have a twitchy mouse finger

Snookums · 20 Mar 2018 at 08:08

US had stock so bought from there

deFiniLoGy · 20 Mar 2018 at 09:35

Snookums said:
US had stock so bought from there

Rmbr that they will only honor warranty if you ship the device straight back to the US if you buy from there, and they don’t undervalue their packages so 9/10 you’ll be hit by custom charge...

But having it sooner beats everything

neil_g · 20 Mar 2018 at 17:26

$50 cheapest for shipping is a bit pricey too imo.

Snookums · 20 Mar 2018 at 17:51

$37 dollars,

Worked out as £103