An amplifier to drive HD650

bikingbuddha

Well-Known Member
After months of saving i finally managed to buy a Senheisser HD650 off the eBay. It is a slightly used one but i am so happy that i managed to buy it. It is not really the Senheisser HD650, it is called Massdrop HD6XX version to be precise and i read that it is the same thing. I am so excited and waiting patiently to get it shipped. While i was waiting few thoughts came to my mind since this is somewhere 300 Ohms and i don't think it will work with my laptop or phones earphone jack. Since my job involve travelling i thought of doing a bit of research and finding a cheap affordable headphone amp to power this so when i am away i can listen to it.

Any recommendations...?

At the moment i can't afford super expensive ones so start with the budget ones you know. I checked out few things on my own by searching the eBay and came across CMOY.

can CMOY drive the HD650?
 
I have the HD580, same drivers different 'bangles'. They are 300 Ohms and my laptop drives it just fine. But I built my own tube amp for it.
You shouldn't have a problem. Enjoy them.
 
I just got my HD650 and i can't believe what i am hearing. It basically is a time machine.... it delivers you to wherever the record is being played regardless of when and where or who. First thing i listened to was "Jimi Hendrix - Electric Ladyland remastered". I closed my eyes and i am right there in that exact place when it happens. People on AudioKarma, Head-fi and all over the internet was completely right about sennheiser HD650. Even though it is super expensive and i had to save a lot of money for a very long time to get it, it is still worth every penny i paid for it and more. Simply amazing sound.... it sure does delivered me in to a musical heaven from the moment i put them on.

Here are things i tried so far with it.

#1. HP 14-B031TU sleekbook with IDT High definition onboard sound
Honestly, i don't have much to compare so i connected the HD650 to this and it sounds pretty amazing. I use Foobar with Wasapi and my favorite track from Electric Ladyland remastered flac. "VOODOO CHILE". It sure brings jimi hendrix to life....! The notebook it self can drive the headphones so loud i can't listen to it at that volume levels. So i keep the volume slider around 90% and foobar volume slider 50% 60% depending on the track. If it's loud enough then it is driving them right....?

#2. iPhone 5S ( My wife's )
so far the best portable choice i have. Drive them pretty loud at 90% volume and sounds awesome too.

#3. Matisse Clone 6N3 tube amp with GE JAN5670 tubes (preamp) + super cheap Class-D Lepy amplifier with a headphone jack + Laptop as my source
Unbelievable, 100% volume on foobar, 90% on windows volume slider, 100% Volume up on 6N3 Tube pre amp, 40% to 50% on CLASS-D Lepy amp. Sounds outstanding, volume levels are super high.

#4. Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 AI
Sound quality is good but not powerful enough to drive HD650. Listenable at full volume. but lot of things are lacking here. I feel really bad because this is not going to work with my portable source in acceptable level.


What do you think my friends....? if it's loud enough then it is driving at least 80% well right....? i think i can live with these until i buy a dedicated headphone amp for HD650 (Hopefully with a dac). I gave up the idea of looking for portability because HD650 is super huge....! carrying it around from hotel to hotel and losing it on the way will make me want to commit suicide so i thought i will leave it alone at home. Any suggestions for a TUBE or hybrid option....? i think tubes sounds amazing on HD650.
 
I. would want an amplifier with graphic tone controls to correct for response compromises of the headphones or a pre-amp with a built in monitor amp. Mcintosh. C-34, 33, 0r 32. Sennheiser_HD580600650_Graphs_HD650.jpg
 
I have a pair of HD6XX, just like the OP. Best cans I've owned to date.

I don't know anything about portable use, but at home I've had them driven by my DAC and various integrateds.

My best sound comes from a Sansui C-2101 preamp. The tone controls serve as a parametric equalizer, one can adjust the cross over points.

My tweaked Music Hall 25.3 DAC produces excellent sound thru the HD6XX, but the volume isn't high enough for me.
 
Little Dot II
If little dot II does the job then that solves my problem. I can get them easily shipped from china to where i live without being super expensive. I was drooling at Schiit Asgard because someone from headfi recommended it to me and said it has the warm sound of a tube amp yet you don't have to worry about changing tubes (Looking all over the world for them). Then schiit will ship it to me with 230V power supply across the world and i believe the whole process will cost me somewhere close to 400$ which is a HUGE load of money when currency being converted to local.
 
For the time being until i am 100% sure about a dedicated headphone amplifier, i started using my little tube hybrid amp with the HD650. It sounds good for now and i can only pass the 9 o' clock mark on the volume pot. Beyond that is too loud. This little amplifier which i picked up about a month or so back has a headphone out JACK which i tried with all of my other headphones and IEM's which has lower impedance compared to HD650 (Below 100 ohms) and it had so much noise and distortion. Miraculously for HD650 it sounds clean and warm. I have no idea how it happens though. Could it be a impedance problem? i mean driving low impedance headphones using an amp designed to drive higher impedance headphones causes noise?.

( FYI - little tube you see on the amp is Tungsol 2C51 )

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I can highly recommend this JLH 1969 Hood based headphone amp design. Just gets out of the way and produces sweet music. One of the best non tube amps I've ever heard. Pair it with your DAC or sound card of choice:

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.com/ulk/itm/142434188439

The Hood is really only worthwhile with harder to drive headphones though rather than high efficiency.

If you can stretch your budget the Darkvoice 336SE OTL tube headphone amp is quite spectacular. Running mine with a Melz 6H8C hole plate tube and Amperex 6AS7G. Easily the best I've heard.

I've an S.M.S.L Sanskrit PRO-B in front of mine connected with Litz copper IC's with Amphenol connectors or Neotech UPOCC with Amphenol connectors. I alternate between AKG K712 Pro headphones and Monoprice Monolith M1060C planar headphones. The Neotech UPOCC does a great job smoothing out the highs on the K712 and the Litz is wonderful with the M1060C.
 
I can highly recommend this JLH 1969 Hood based headphone amp design. Just gets out of the way and produces sweet music. One of the best non tube amps I've ever heard. Pair it with your DAC or sound card of choice:

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.com/ulk/itm/142434188439

The Hood is really only worthwhile with harder to drive headphones though rather than high efficiency.

If you can stretch your budget the Darkvoice 336SE OTL tube headphone amp is quite spectacular. Running mine with a Melz 6H8C hole plate tube and Amperex 6AS7G. Easily the best I've heard.

I've an S.M.S.L Sanskrit PRO-B in front of mine connected with Litz copper IC's with Amphenol connectors or Neotech UPOCC with Amphenol connectors. I alternate between AKG K712 Pro headphones and Monoprice Monolith M1060C planar headphones. The Neotech UPOCC does a great job smoothing out the highs on the K712 and the Litz is wonderful with the M1060C.

I read about the amplifier you mentioned above. JLH HOOD, it seems very interesting what it says about the creator and what it is compared to in tube world. They say it is good as this one in the below link.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Williamson_amplifier

i actually wanted to go for a darkvoice but i was told that it is unsafe and catches fire.
 
I've not heard about the Darkvoice catching fire before, and I've read every user review I could find online before purchasing....
 
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