Good headphone amps for Sennheiser HD650

[Thad E Ginathom]

After this thread I have also added this to my shopping list. I could have got one in Singapore with the general shopping and slipped it through the green channel --- of spouse control . I have other ideas for headphone amplification, but this looks so good at the price that it would be an experience to own one anyway

 

[sound and music]

In my case too, its low price was the key factor which prompted me to buy it instantly.

This would be my first class A HP amp so waiting eagerly to lay my hands on it.

Surprisingly, a forum member has shown interest in buying this amp from me in case it is not to my liking. This would save me a lot of hassles related to selling.

BTW, I may soon sell Fiio E11 amp which I bought some 10 days back. If anyone interested, PM me.

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

I haven't lived with anything with a valve in it since I was a child. I avoid them, not because of any theoretical or audio issues, but more because of fragility and practicality. Again, this is not so expensive that I should worry much.

 

[Audiodoc]

You can check my signature of the the amps I have used with the HD650.

phone/ipad outs/E7 underpowered

E11 best small potable solution still slightly underpowered

FiiO E9 / DIY O2 best VFM solution

DIY Clones like Beyerdynamic A1, Slightly bass heavy. Great dynamics.

EHHA Hybrid Amplifier with tube pre stage ans solid state power (check CA EHHA on Head Fi) The best I have.

Standalone DAC like ODAC helps if PC is a source. Check my other threads.

 

[sound and music]

Finally the Bravo amp arrived this morning. Will post a short review soon if I get time this week.

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

Can you remind where you ordered the Bravo, and what price. Browsing a couple of days ago, it seems more expensive that I thought.

I think I have mismanaged/mis-planedmy buying. To listen to my ODAC, I have had to shift the hifi amp to my desk to use as a temporary hp amp.

 

[sound and music]

I paid Rs.7500 including shipping by DHL from Hong Kong. I could have saved some $25 by opting for HK post but preferred DHL to avoid any damage in transit and also hassles (such as visiting local post office and paying custom duties to them in the range of Rs.500-1000). DHL delivered in 3 working days and without charging any custom duty.

The product is also available at Ebay at approx. Rs.7700 (for DHL you pay extra) besides numerous online sellers (such as shenzhen audio store) sell and ship it globally. I have noticed that their prices fluctuate very frequently. So do some research before placing an order.

 

[sound and music]

Once I am back home, will listen to it. I have read reviews that it should be burn-in for atleast 10 hours or so. I will do it for 20 hours over this week.

What if I don't like its sound signature after burn-in? I will sell it off immediately at forums.

The additional feature of this amp is that it could also be used as pre-amp. But in my case, I can't use it as I don't have a power amp.

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

The additional feature of this amp is that it could also be used as pre-amp. But in my case, I can't use it as I don't have a power amp.

On the desktop, that also means it could connect to powered/active speakers. That would be really useful.

(that is how my "temporary hp amp" is connected just now: it is an integrated and its pre-amp-out is connected to the powered speakers)

 

[kratu]

I paid Rs.7500 including shipping by DHL from Hong Kong. I could have saved some $25 by opting for HK post but preferred DHL to avoid any damage in transit and also hassles (such as visiting local post office and paying custom duties to them in the range of Rs.500-1000). DHL delivered in 3 working days and without charging any custom duty.

The product is also available at Ebay at approx. Rs.7700 (for DHL you pay extra) besides numerous online sellers (such as shenzhen audio store) sell and ship it globally. I have noticed that their prices fluctuate very frequently. So do some research before placing an order.

So, what's your take on the amp after the burn-in.

 

[kratu]

Okay, since the start of this thread, I've done fair amount of digging. Here is an update.

I've auditioned couple of amps, one is Schiit Asgard and another is Lehman Audio Black Cube Linear. The latter was in Sennheiser showroom. Sennheiser is using this as a reference amp for their headphone demos (worldwide). So, that tells a lot about the product. It's on the higher side of the spectrum when it comes to price. I liked the sound and will be using it as a reference amp for deciding on further. If I can find similar performance in amps for lesser price, I will go for it. Otherwise, I've to start saving money.

Other amps that are rated (5 Stars) by What HiFi are
Fidelity Audio HPA-100

Fiio E7
Beyerdynamic A1
Chord Electronics Toucan
Lehmann Rhinelander
Graham Slee Voyager
Graham Slee Novo
Pro-Ject Head Box MKII

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

Finally the Bravo amp arrived this morning. Will post a short review soon if I get time this week.

I just got one today. The price seems much higher now, and I bought a used one on e-bay from a guy in Japan!

 

[sound and music]

So, what's your take on the amp after the burn-in.

In brief, I can say that this amp is mid-centric and super tubish - based on my 4 days of usage.

Those of us who have been listening to solid state (SS) amps for a long time, its sound signature is a welcome change. To me, it sounds warm and analogue.

If you are into vocal jazz and ghazals, you may love its tonal coloration. I have mostly used it with my Swan MK200 II active speakers as pre-amp and I have been really pleased with its sound signature.

At this price, I doubt whether one can get a better alternative (a combo of class A HP amp and pre-amp) if one is primarily looking for a tubish tone.

 

[kratu]

In brief, I can say that this amp is mid-centric and super tubish - based on my 4 days of usage.

Those of us who have been listening to solid state (SS) amps for a long time, its sound signature is a welcome change. To me, it sounds warm and analogue.

If you are into vocal jazz and ghazals, you may love its tonal coloration. I have mostly used it with my Swan MK200 II active speakers as pre-amp and I have been really pleased with its sound signature.

At this price, I doubt whether one can get a better alternative (a combo of class A HP amp and pre-amp) if one is primarily looking for a tubish tone.

Good for you. I guess the best thing with this gear is to modulate the tone with various tubes as vivek did.

As for me, I've realised that pairing tube amplifier with Sennheiser HD650 would not be an ideal solution. This is because they both have a warm signature; and pairing them might cause the sound to be damp. SS amps would be a better option for these; and Lehmann Black Cube Linear efficiently melts the "dark veil" from these headphones.

 

[techboy]

Does Bravo Ocean have auto adjust bias?

How to adjust the bias otherwise?

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

I confess that I have not heard of such a thing, so I do not know.

I got off to a bad start with my second-hand Bravo Ocean. It would not play for more than 30-60 minutes without distortion and loss of at least one channel. I had thought it was a complete waste of money.

I have now made it some feet. This keeps it 5mm off the desktop and gets some air flowing. However, after all that, I was disappointed to find it dead on one channel when I next turned it on.

I remembered something on the net about someone finding that the RCAs did not work for them, so I switched to a 3.5mm input and ...it plays. Well, it did, who knows about next time!

Might be said that it is not the most reliable piece of equipment. Worth bearing in mind, considering that it is likely to be bought from far away.

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

After a few more listening sessions, during which the amplifier (with feet and using 3.5mm input) has continued to function, I can, despite not being very analytical about such things, post a word or two more about its sound...

I find bass and lower mids to be luscious and delicious. I can't say accurate, because it is seductive and leaves me not caring about accuracy! It is so seductive that I listened to one particular rock album (Quicksilver Messenger Service: Happy Trails) every day for quite a few days.

However, I find upper mids (inc some vocal) a bit rough or piercing, making me reach out to lower the volume control, or even making my ears uncomfortable. That is fatiguing listening.

Of course, I'm not using the headphone as specified in the thread, and hope my comments on the amp are still useful.

I wonder if others found that the sound changed over time (insofar as one can judge such a thing, I do believe ears do quite a lot of the burning in)? Mine is a second-hand unit, so it has already been glowing a while, but I don't think it was used very much.

 

[kratu]

And at the grand finale, I've finally acquired a tube amplifier Little Dot Mk IV from a friendly FM. My initial review is quite simple ... "I really like it".

Someone forewarned against pairing my Sennheiser HD650 with a tube amplifier; reasoning being that the headphone already has a warm sound signature. On auditioning it; I didn't find it to be dampening the sound; on the contrary, it extracts the potential of these headphones while retaining it's own signature of warmth. The "dark veil" isn't there at all; and I can pick up minute details; The treble is refined and bass is the way it should be. I'm not sure if I'd be commenting on the headphone itself or the amp since I've just auditioned it with three other amps.

This chap has put up a better review
Review of Little-Dot MKIVse
(Note: The review is for the SE: Special Edition of Little Dot Mk IV)

And, I really like the warm glow in late night/wee-hour listening sessions.

 

[vivek.saikia]

However, I find upper mids (inc some vocal) a bit rough or piercing, making me reach out to lower the volume control, or even making my ears uncomfortable. That is fatiguing listening.

Hi Thad E Ginathom,
You will surely gain from upgrading the MOSFET IRF510 to IRL510.
I was experiencing the same harshness in the upper region and chose to do this mod and after the MOSFET upgrade and the capacitor upgrade, the sound became more juicier. The bass and mids became more tighter and the harshness in the highs totally vanished.
I was using the HiFiMan HM601 as the source, which was running on V0.05 firmware.
I upgraded the firmware of the player to V0.011 few months back and I noticed the new firmware added some harshness to the sound. Now I am running V0.012 firmware and the harshness is totally gone and the sound now is just phenomenal!! Case in point, the source plays a huge role in determining the final sound signature. As this amp has a very high gain, even a small artifacts are amplified multiple times, so a good source is very very important.

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

My source is PC USB -> ODAC.

Thank you for your suggestion, but, at least at this time, I'd be skill-limited to, say, tube changing.

I have other hp-amp plans. This Bravo Audio Ocean was a stopgap experiment. Even so, I might go on using it for a certain kinds of listening to certain kinds of music