Help with driving headphones

Radec

Radec

Radec

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Hi guys.
Finally purchased my first ever pair of headphones; The HD600.
I felt like in the end these might be most suited for me, and would still leave me with enough to drive them. And i'm going to guess this won't be my only ever pair.

Now, I've created this thread because I really need some help as I know nothing.
I'd appreciate if anyone could recommend any DAC+Amp's and or soundcards and possibly why?

Budget: I'd 'like' to spend around £100 to £150, but as I know so little, not sure what this would get me.

And I think I might prefer a DAC+Amp combo just so I'm not limited to a PC.
I travel to hotels often, and would also be good if I could use with a Playstation (optical output).

Thanks
 
For that kind of price and the need for an optical in, I'd say the FiiO E17 is about as budget as you'll want to go. Not the most ideal amp for the HD 600 but it'll do.
 
The Schiit Modi is an excellent DAC and punches well above it's weight.

The Schiit Loki is an add on DAC that just provides DSD, so you would also need the Modi for normal operations.

Add on a Schiit Magni (solid state amp) for £80 or a Schiit Vali (hybrid tube amp) for £99 and you have a nice little system that will drive the HD 600 extremely well.
 
I really like the look of the Schiit stuff.
But how do the DAC & amp compare to others out there? £80 for the DAC or amp seems quite cheap.

How is the EHP O2 DAC+amp?
Seems quite cool that it can run on it's battery too.

And lastly, If an DAC+amp didn't have didn't have an optical in, would some sot of adapter be ok to use without cost of quality?
 
The hd600 are good headphones . Personally I think your budget needs to be higher , leaving you room for future upgrades as well. I made sure my headphone amp was good enough to last an upgrade in audio quality. But then again im a constant changer in equipment lol

i'd do it in stages ... i still own the hd600 ( but not in favour atm ) . i used them initial through my mobo . I knew o was going to upgrade other areas, but as i couldn't do it in one go, got them first. I then bought my first dac , and a good headphone amp in quick succession . The amp covered me for upgrades . The dac did get replaced as well , but did a good job at the time.

if your after a good all in one combo this is pretty good

Graham Slee Bitzie USB DAC ..... it will double your budget tho

i own a graham slee srg11 headphone amp ... great products as a whole.
 
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TALON1973 said:
The hd600 are good headphones . Personally I think your budget needs to be higher , leaving you room for future upgrades as well. I made sure my headphone amp was good enough to last an upgrade in audio quality. But then again im a constant changer in equipment lol

i'd do it in stages ... i still own the hd600 ( but not in favour atm ) . i used them initial through my mobo . I knew o was going to upgrade other areas, but as i couldn't do it in one go, got them first. I then bought my first dac , and a good headphone amp in quick succession . The amp covered me for upgrades . The dac did get replaced as well , but did a good job at the time.
Click to expand...

I'm new to audio so just looking for the DAC+amp thing.
But don't really know what I'm looking for.
 
Oh yeah .... have them playing sound constantly if you can, even if your not around. 200 hours of "burn in " should make them sound better from initial play :)
 
TALON1973 said:
Oh yeah .... have them playing sound constantly if you can, even if your not around. 200 hours of "burn in " should make them sound better from initial play :)
Click to expand...

Would DAC+amp would you recommend?
Would paying more that the Schiit/ ehp-o2 area make a huge difference in quality?
 
I haven't tried those combos tbh so cant comment on how good they are. But from experience , i know "sometimes" setting a budget can be detrimental. Tv is ten a penny, but with audio it can be crucial .
 
over budget but I would save up and buy a Bottlehead Crack headphone amp.
The hd600 are fantastic headphone and it sounds really good with this amp ...
Tung sol 5998 tube. ive had loads of headphones and always go back to my hd600's with this amp
Only thing is you have to build this amp yourself but totally worth it, just bit soldering the instructions are excellent.
I even prefer my Hd600 with this amp than my Hd800s.
last week they had a deal with get the speedball upgrade for $20 when buying the amp dont no if its still going.
Trust me buy this amp it sounds ace with all types of music quality , I run it from my computer that has a creative ZxR sound card ...all music sounds fab even youtube music videos :)
 
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I had a ****e vali amp for a while ...not good with the hd600s
maybe other cans its good but not hd600s, and that amp has tiny tubes inside so no good as portable
 
Loving them so far, and that's from the onboard.
Incredibly comfy, and better than expected.

Looking forward to hearing what they can do though.
 
The bottlehead is a lot less portable than the Vali, it's like a shoe box with a milk bottle sticking out of it. :D

As for what works with what, its all subjective and the only way to find out if you like the sound is to listen to the combination.

Swampy says the Vali doesn't work well with the HD600 while hundreds of others say it does, all it means is it doesn't produce the sound signature he wanted.
 
Arcam rPAC or Cambridge Audio DacMagic XS?

If you go to the place that sells them and tell them you are not sure whether you need one, they will let you buy it on a 30 day no quibble money back guarantee.

*edit*

Read the OP Papa, no optical out.
 
I think I might just look through peoples set ups and see what they have, and then read up a bit about them.
I'm a lot more flexible on what I'd buy, depending on quality, size and price.
 
yeah its not the kind of amp you cart around :)
I found the vali just couldn't drive the hd600 hard enough (well for me anyway).
Vali sounded just like a headphone out of the back of my soundcard.
The hd600s likes lots of power...Youre notice it when listening to music with beats drums.
The Bottlehead has a groovy sound
I have thousands of hours on my hd600s , the 1st editions black cloth screens.
 
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