Sennheiser HD650 - The classic beauty in a grey dress Appreciation thread!
- Thread starter Ryanr1987
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Been Listening to my new Modi Multibit. Hooked up to the Vali 2 replacing the Chord Mojo I can notice a difference pretty easily. The Modi M is more textured in the bass and treble. I notice more detail in every range. I prefer how the Mojo handles the lower mids and the Mojo has more body but the ModiM sounds a bit more natural. I didn't realise how bloated the Mojo can sound in the bass. I would say the ModiM is a tad warm but coming from the Mojo I'm still adjusting. The stage sound much less compressed. The HD650 sound great with the stack but surprising the Nighthawk sound the best with the stack so far. I've not tried the HD800 yet.
Those who own 650's really should consider this stack.
Those who own 650's really should consider this stack.
Soldato
My main focus is on gaming, but I do listen to music on my PC and watch some movies etc.
Is a DAC/amp setup like the Schiit Modi/Magni overkill for mainly gaming? Would I be better off going with the STXII for use with these headphones?
Holding out for a pair on Black Friday, but will buy soon after if no deal.
Is a DAC/amp setup like the Schiit Modi/Magni overkill for mainly gaming? Would I be better off going with the STXII for use with these headphones?
Holding out for a pair on Black Friday, but will buy soon after if no deal.
Man of Honour
It will be perfectly fine for gaming, and you will enjoy great stereo 3D positioning in games. The upshot is that you will benefit even more in everything else from the gains you will get by having a dedicated external DAC/amp configuration. And it’s not system independent. So in years to come, when PC components change, your DAC/amp will continue to be compatible.
Had these for a couple of months now and the more I use them for TV and movies (haven't used them much for music yet) the more I like them. They are plugged directly into my Denon AVR-1200x amp so not sure if I am getting the most out of them, but they are clear and well balanced, understated rather than booming. A good purchase. 
Soldato
That is very true. One thing I could like, is the ability to connect speakers to my amp. From looking at the Schiit products, the Magni 2 Uber is capable of handling speakers and headphones? I assume just studio monitors are capable speakers? Something with an on-off switch could be nice though.
Also, is it better to use the optical output from my motherboard? Or use the USB audio direct to the DAC?
Sorry for asking in here, but as I plan on using the HD650s, I felt it was appropriate to ask here instead of a new thread.
Man of Honour
Use standard passive speakers, not active ones. You want the speakers to be driven by the amp, not the amp built into the active speakers. When headphones are connected, the speakers auto mute anyway.
Use USB for a direct connection, you'll get the best signal that way also.
Use USB for a direct connection, you'll get the best signal that way also.
Soldato
Excellent. Good to know that the speakers auto mute! Thanks for all your help.
One final thing: Any recommendation for good speakers? Budget say 100-200 quid.
Feels weird using USB audio, I've always been under the impression it wouldn't be that good. I'll need to sort a good USB cable to connect the DAC directly to the back of the PC.
Man of Honour
USB on a modern DAC uses Asynchronous transmission, it's very high quality!
If you have a local Sevenoaks or Richer Sounds, then pop in to take a look at the speakers they can demo for you, you can also take note of the size and in person design of them. Best option.
I have a pair of Kef Q300, and find them perfect for desktop use due to the uni-q tweeter design providing a special soundstage and front firing bass ports so having them close to a wall is no issue. Great for games or music. I don't know how much they cost now, but they were under 400, someyears ago. I'm sure you can get equally decent speakers for less as well now.
If you have a local Sevenoaks or Richer Sounds, then pop in to take a look at the speakers they can demo for you, you can also take note of the size and in person design of them. Best option.
I have a pair of Kef Q300, and find them perfect for desktop use due to the uni-q tweeter design providing a special soundstage and front firing bass ports so having them close to a wall is no issue. Great for games or music. I don't know how much they cost now, but they were under 400, someyears ago. I'm sure you can get equally decent speakers for less as well now.
Soldato
The Magni 2 Uber is able to feed active speakers only, if you want to use passive speakers then you will also need an amp to drive them.
The Magni 2 Uber does auto detect headphone insertion and switches outputs when connected. When no headphones are inserted, it also controls the volume level of the active speakers. So you would set the volume on the speakers to zero, the volume on the Magni 2 Uber to 90% or so and then slowly turn the volume on the speakers up until you reach a maximum bearable level. That is where you would permanently leave the speaker volume and then use the Magni 2 Uber to vary the actual listening level.
If you want to take the passive speaker route then you are going to need an amp that can drive them and the Magni 2 Uber most definitely can't. Mrk uses a NAD DAC/Amp for both headphones and speakers but this costs considerably more than a Schiit Stack. One option would be to add a cheap T-Amp to the audio chain, which would be connected to the RCA outputs of the Magni 2 Uber, the other would be to abandon the Schiit stack altogether. You are not going to get the same headphone sound quality out of a T-Amp, so the cheapest combo amp that can give you very good sound quality from both headphones and passive speakers would be the Creative X7. If you have a bigger budget then fair enough but make sure to test any prospective amp with HD650s because not all speaker amps have good headphone amps.
The Magni 2 Uber does auto detect headphone insertion and switches outputs when connected. When no headphones are inserted, it also controls the volume level of the active speakers. So you would set the volume on the speakers to zero, the volume on the Magni 2 Uber to 90% or so and then slowly turn the volume on the speakers up until you reach a maximum bearable level. That is where you would permanently leave the speaker volume and then use the Magni 2 Uber to vary the actual listening level.
If you want to take the passive speaker route then you are going to need an amp that can drive them and the Magni 2 Uber most definitely can't. Mrk uses a NAD DAC/Amp for both headphones and speakers but this costs considerably more than a Schiit Stack. One option would be to add a cheap T-Amp to the audio chain, which would be connected to the RCA outputs of the Magni 2 Uber, the other would be to abandon the Schiit stack altogether. You are not going to get the same headphone sound quality out of a T-Amp, so the cheapest combo amp that can give you very good sound quality from both headphones and passive speakers would be the Creative X7. If you have a bigger budget then fair enough but make sure to test any prospective amp with HD650s because not all speaker amps have good headphone amps.
Man of Honour
Ah my bad! I thought that stack was able to drive passive speakers too 
Hmm, in that case your options are as rlds mentions.
Hmm, in that case your options are as rlds mentions.
Soldato
The only Schiit amp that drives passives is the Ragnarok and that would be a little over budget 
Soldato
Thanks for all the info. I might just look into some active speakers. Might be easier.
Soldato
A friend of mine got a spot in the first batch of HD6XX but is not interested anymore.
Anyone interested in taking the can?
If not he's just going to release the spot and give it to next in line in MD.
Anyone interested in taking the can?
If not he's just going to release the spot and give it to next in line in MD.
Soldato
The purchase would be in his name but the headphone will be shipped straight to the new buyer.
Edit: Essentially it's just gonna be him buying the can and sell it to you, except what you pay is just the can+shipping+import tax.
Soldato
Went into my local Audio T today for a chat about my HD650's and what they recommend to drive them. The guy in the store has them as well and I told him what I currently use, a TEAC UD-H01.
He offered no alternative apart from the Chord Hugo. 'Yeah it's only £1400' he said. Nothing in between, like the Audiolab M-DAC. Just the Hugo. He did say the 650's had a lot more left in them than I was likely to be getting, which was nice to know as they sound pretty amazing already.
He wants me to go in with my 650's and try it out. I'm scared it will sound so good I might be tempted!
He offered no alternative apart from the Chord Hugo. 'Yeah it's only £1400' he said. Nothing in between, like the Audiolab M-DAC. Just the Hugo. He did say the 650's had a lot more left in them than I was likely to be getting, which was nice to know as they sound pretty amazing already.
He wants me to go in with my 650's and try it out. I'm scared it will sound so good I might be tempted!
Soldato
Try them with the Chord Mojo - supposed to sound better than the Hugo and "only" costs £400.
Ryan seems very happy with his.
Ryan seems very happy with his.
Yeah I much prefer Mojo over Hugo. Hugo is too lean and sterile for my taste and it doesn't even sound that good. Hugo and Mojo are about on par technically but Mojo is much fuller and more musical. I bought the Modi M as my curiosity got the better of me and I did a shoot out against the Mojo and I had the Modi M as the better DAC but the Mojo is still one of the most enjoyable devices I've bought. I would just get a a good Schiit Dac and go amp shopping.
If you've never tried the 650 with anything better than your UD-H01 I would advise you to NOT listen to the Hugo because you will tell yourself that it sounds amazing and end up shelling out £1400+ when for that price you can get a high end Schiit combo or a fancy amp like the Icon HP8 MKII that sounds good. If you've experience quite a lot of gear and tried the 650's with other stuff then you will be fine. Most people get sucked into Chord gear from the over the top praise. I think the Mojo is an exception as for £400 it's a good little versatile device and it sounds lovely.
If you've never tried the 650 with anything better than your UD-H01 I would advise you to NOT listen to the Hugo because you will tell yourself that it sounds amazing and end up shelling out £1400+ when for that price you can get a high end Schiit combo or a fancy amp like the Icon HP8 MKII that sounds good. If you've experience quite a lot of gear and tried the 650's with other stuff then you will be fine. Most people get sucked into Chord gear from the over the top praise. I think the Mojo is an exception as for £400 it's a good little versatile device and it sounds lovely.
Soldato
Whats your budget?
I've done a ton of research on desktop headphone AMP/DAC combo's recently, I'm thinking of grabbing a Marantz HD-DAC1, seems to be a bit of an underrated AMP/DAC, the only really negative I can find is the relay switches clicking and no RCA L&R input, outside of that it seems like a good buy for £560, plus is looks sexy as hell imo.
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