Amp for sennheiser hd 650

[EbayPolice]

Hello there i am thinking of purchasing the sennheiser hd 650 however i will need an amp to drive them as well. I would like to hear your suggestions for the best price/performance amp i can get. Btw i own an alienware 17 r3 is there a chance the onboard audio is good enough to drive them without the use of an amp?

[BryceJonathan]

First suggestion I have is look at massdrop and see if you can get the senheiser hd6xx as they are $200(so a lot cheaper) they are the same headphones except have different paint on the headband and come in a different box so are much more worth it. When I bought my amp I went with a schiit fulla 2 as it is small good quality and personally I dont think the amp makes a huge difference until you are using like $1000 tube amps. Your onboard audio will drive it just with the 300 ohm impedance it might not get loud enough if you listen to loud music also it may begin to distort the audio when you are blasting loud.

[EbayPolice]

1 minute ago, BryceJonathan said:

First suggestion I have is look at massdrop and see if you can get the senheiser hd6xx as they are $200(so a lot cheaper) they are the same headphones except have different paint on the headband and come in a different box so are much more worth it. When I bought my amp I went with a schiit fulla 2 as it is small good quality and personally I dont think the amp makes a huge difference until you are using like $1000 tube amps. Your onboard audio will drive it just with the 300 ohm impedance it might not get loud enough if you listen to loud music also it may begin to distort the audio when you are blasting loud.

I won't buy them to get a louder audio i only want to improve audio as much as i can but i appreciate your answer i will check the amp you suggested thank you!

[BryceJonathan]

2 minutes ago, EbayPolice said:

I won't buy them to get a louder audio i only want to improve audio as much as i can but i appreciate your answer i will check the amp you suggested thank you!

Also if you do get the headphones I will let you know that the clamping pressure is pretty high when you first get them to the point it is not comfortable. However after about a month of wearing them a lot the get really comfortable.

[Max_Settings]

What’s your budget? Try the Schiit Fulla 2. $100 for a DAC/Amp combo that is pretty small and USB powered so you could throw it in a bag with your laptop.

[Sack]

Schiit Fulla 2 is what I'd go for, like someone else said, clamping pressure is going to be quite bad in the beginning, if you have some books/dvds/games you can put those together at roughly the thickness of your head and put the headphones over them to keep stretching the headband while you don't use them.

[Max_Settings]

2 minutes ago, Sack said:

Schiit Fulla 2 is what I'd go for, like someone else said, clamping pressure is going to be quite bad in the beginning, if you have some books/dvds/games you can put those together at roughly the thickness of your head and put the headphones over them to keep stretching the headband while you don't use them.

 

19 minutes ago, BryceJonathan said:

Also if you do get the headphones I will let you know that the clamping pressure is pretty high when you first get them to the point it is not comfortable. However after about a month of wearing them a lot the get really comfortable.

The clamp is an easy fix, takes 1min to fix it and they are perfect.

 

[EbayPolice]

You guys are amazing!

[dalekphalm]

I picked up the HD 6xx in the last wave. I have had absolutely zero issues with clamping pressure. Was comfortable from day one.

 

Also,

1 hour ago, EbayPolice said:

Hello there i am thinking of purchasing the sennheiser hd 650 however i will need an amp to drive them as well. I would like to hear your suggestions for the best price/performance amp i can get. Btw i own an alienware 17 r3 is there a chance the onboard audio is good enough to drive them without the use of an amp?

I'd suggest just getting them first, and trying them with onboard audio. You may find you don't need an Amp.

 

Furthermore, an Amp won't make them sound "better", at least, not unless the amp "colours" (distorts) the sound into something you find aesthetically pleasing, but that varies per person and is personal preference.

 

If you want "better" sound, you'll first need:

1. A great source. CD Audio (or FLAC), or better, would be preferable

2. a high quality DAC, that is better quality over the device's (eg: laptop) onboard audio

 

So, just buy them, and try them. IF you find the headphones too quiet, buy an Amp. After that, if you want to buy a DAC, you could, but I wouldn't say it's required.

[EbayPolice]

Quote

Unfortunately i was not lucky enough to find the 6xx however i will wait a bit hoping they return. As for the amp i wasn't planning to buy one without testing the headphones first. 

 

[dalekphalm]

2 minutes ago, EbayPolice said:

 

Why did you write your own text inside a quote?

 

Anyway, yeah, keep an eye out. Most likely Massdrop will do another 6xx run sooner or later. They've sold out every single time, so it's a popular item. You could try and find actual HD 650's, but even used, they tend to be pretty expensive. You could also buy the replacement, the HD 660's, which are similar (perhaps identical) to the 650's.

[Max_Settings]

2 hours ago, dalekphalm said:

Why did you write your own text inside a quote?

 

Anyway, yeah, keep an eye out. Most likely Massdrop will do another 6xx run sooner or later. They've sold out every single time, so it's a popular item. You could try and find actual HD 650's, but even used, they tend to be pretty expensive. You could also buy the replacement, the HD 660's, which are similar (perhaps identical) to the 650's.

Massdrop just did their next round of 6XXs a week ago. And the 660S is actually surprisingly different from the 650s, and of course way more money.

[dalekphalm]

Just now, Max_Settings said:

Massdrop just did their next round of 6XXs a week ago. And the 660S is actually surprisingly different from the 650s, and of course way more money.

Oh is it? Hopefully that's a good thing. I'd love to listen to a pair and compare with my 6xx, but I've seen the retail prices of this class of Sennheiser cans and they're too expensive for my tastes lol. I would have stuck with my 598's had Massdrop not had the amazing prices they do.

[Max_Settings]

Just now, dalekphalm said:

Oh is it? Hopefully that's a good thing. I'd love to listen to a pair and compare with my 6xx, but I've seen the retail prices of this class of Sennheiser cans and they're too expensive for my tastes lol. I would have stuck with my 598's had Massdrop not had the amazing prices they do.

It's really amazing how much better the 6XXs are over the 598s, despite them being $40 more. The difference is at least worth $200 in my opinion.

[dalekphalm]

Just now, Max_Settings said:

It's really amazing how much better the 6XXs are over the 598s, despite them being $40 more. The difference is at least worth $200 in my opinion.

Well to be fair, 598 MSRP: $300 CAD, 650 MSRP: $500 CAD. Obviously, the actual prices (and the 6xx) are much less than retail though, but the original pricing really had them at $200 more.

 

But that just shows how kickass the 6xx's are, not how bad the 598's are. Because the 598's really are damn good too, for their price (and they can be had for like $100-$150 CAD on sale now and then).

[Max_Settings]

2 minutes ago, dalekphalm said:

Well to be fair, 598 MSRP: $300 CAD, 650 MSRP: $500 CAD. Obviously, the actual prices (and the 6xx) are much less than retail though, but the original pricing really had them at $200 more.

 

But that just shows how kickass the 6xx's are, not how bad the 598's are. Because the 598's really are damn good too, for their price (and they can be had for like $100-$150 CAD on sale now and then).

Yeah, but what I'm saying is that at regular pricing $150~ for 598s and $200 for HD6XXs that $50 difference is more than a $50 difference. That jump is the best price to performance jump in the entire headphone game. That's like paying $50 more to go from a 1050 ti to a 1080. (hypothetical)

[dalekphalm]

1 minute ago, Max_Settings said:

Yeah, but what I'm saying is that at regular pricing $150~ for 598s and $200 for HD6XXs that $50 difference is more than a $50 difference. That jump is the best price to performance jump in the entire headphone game. That's like paying $50 more to go from a 1050 ti to a 1080. (hypothetical)

Oh - just to clarify, 6xx's are not $200 CAD. They're closer to $300 CAD including shipping and currency conversion.

 

Whereas I can buy HD 598's on Amazon for $160 CAD w/ free shipping. The pricing in the US might well be very different, but here in Canada, they cost about double, and that's also considering that the 6xx's are limited run batches, so you can't just buy them anytime you want.

 

If I want to buy them right away, I have to get 650's from Amazon for $450 CAD.

[Max_Settings]

Just now, dalekphalm said:

Oh - just to clarify, 6xx's are not $200 CAD. They're closer to $300 CAD including shipping and currency conversion.

 

Whereas I can buy HD 598's on Amazon for $160 CAD w/ free shipping. The pricing in the US might well be very different, but here in Canada, they cost about double, and that's also considering that the 6xx's are limited run batches, so you can't just buy them anytime you want.

 

If I want to buy them right away, I have to get 650's from Amazon for $450 CAD.

Yeah, they are still worth double though. 650s run about $300 in the U.S.

[dalekphalm]

Just now, Max_Settings said:

Yeah, they are still worth double though. 650s run about $300 in the U.S.

Agreed - but not everyone can afford $300 headphones (let alone $450). I would not have bought the 650's at $450 CAD, even though I know they'd still be worth it. It's simply too much money.

 

But at $160 CAD, or even sub $200 CAD? The 598's are damn hard to beat, if that's your budget.

[Max_Settings]

1 minute ago, dalekphalm said:

Agreed - but not everyone can afford $300 headphones (let alone $450). I would not have bought the 650's at $450 CAD, even though I know they'd still be worth it. It's simply too much money.

 

But at $160 CAD, or even sub $200 CAD? The 598's are damn hard to beat, if that's your budget.

In CAD, yeah they are up there. In USD the K7XXs destroy them though and technically under $200.

[dalekphalm]

4 minutes ago, Max_Settings said:

In CAD, yeah they are up there. In USD the K7XXs destroy them though and technically under $200.

Fair enough - but again, K7xx's are massdrop limited run headphones. If Massdrop isn't running a drop on them, then you're out of luck. The K7xx's are also the same price as the 6xx's, and I'd personally much rather get 6xx's over K7xx's.

[Max_Settings]

No K7XXs are on Massdrop 100% if the time and ship in one day. But yes the 6XXs are better, but like you said not on 100% if the time.

[dalekphalm]

Just now, Max_Settings said:

No K7XXs are on Massdrop 100% if the time and ship in one day. But yes the 6XXs are better, but like you said not on 100% if the time.

Oh I see - that's fair. But still, for a Canadian, K7xx's are essentially $300 CAD. HD 598's are almost half the price, and when 598's go on sale, they are sometimes as cheap as $100 CAD. They're a great cheaper option that gets you into entry level audiophile headphones, and out of "cheap shitty" headphones.

[Max_Settings]

1 minute ago, dalekphalm said:

Oh I see - that's fair. But still, for a Canadian, K7xx's are essentially $300 CAD. HD 598's are almost half the price, and when 598's go on sale, they are sometimes as cheap as $100 CAD. They're a great cheaper option that gets you into entry level audiophile headphones, and out of "cheap shitty" headphones.

Yeah I’m not denying that. I’m talking in USD. You are right if we are talking CAD I’m right if we are talking USD.

[seduce_me]

No, the amp matters as much as the source, maybe even more.