Headphone rig help

[rallynut]

congrats jai,great cans for a dedicated headphone rig.wish i could help reg choices for the amp,truth is i dont know too much.enjoy the hunt !!!cheers

 

[anm]

great! Congrats buddy!

I purchased hd650 blind after lot of reading online. Lot of help from shaizada. Though he suggested hd600 I somehow thought I should go all the way to 650 - and it does sound great.
Even I am looking for a great headphone amp. One is supposed to be built this month, fingers crossed. Lot of people recommended RSA protector but it is quite an amount, even if it is priced right, to me it looks overpriced. Now I am lusting for toucan after reading the reviews.

regards

PS: Didn't you get to audition the denons (2000 or 5000) at his place? And how much did you pay for hd650?

I finally went to Prisitine Note yesterday to demo the headphones. I had taken two headphones along (Audio Technica AD700, Grado SR-60i) and heard three more there: Audio Technica M-50, AKG K702 and Sennheiser HD650. Sources used for the demo were the Maverick D1 DAC and Essence STX sound card. Amps used were the built in amps of these two and an Edge headphone amplifier.

I first spent a few minutes listening to the two headphone I was familiar with to set a reference point. After that I heard the AKG K702 and lst Sennheiser HD650. Came back to the M50 at the end to reestablish the reference point.

My brief listening impressions were as follows:

All three cans allowed me to hear things which are only audible with top class speakers in a well damped and silent room otherwise. They are all great cans and anyone looking to set up a headphone rig should demo all three.

1. Audio Technica M50: closed headphones . Very clean and neutral sound but with what seemed like a slight bump in the bass frequencies. If I hadnt heard the other two, I would have been perfectly happy taking these home.

2. AKG K702: Very open sound. Great separation. Didnt seem as outright detailed as the M50's. Nice midrange and highs, base that was present and extended but unobtrusive. My only issue with them was a slight hint of brightness that I felt would not go well with the source I have in mind.

3. Sennheiser HD650: Great set of cans. Slightly more relaxed highs than tha AKG and the bass seemed a bit better (subjective and hard to describe). What really stole the show here was the midrange - vocals to me sounded absolutely beautiful.

To reestablish the benchmark, I came back to the M50's after the 650's. They are perhaps better for someone looking for a simler setup (they are eary to drive) and are possibly the better bang-for-the-buck. However, to me the price difference was justified given the amount of time I plan to spend listening to the headphone setup and my listening preferences. I settled on the HD650's and picked up a pair. Now the search for a suitable amp will start. Any suggestions on amps in the sub US$300 range from HD650 owners?

A word about the experience at Pristine Note. This is a great place to go to if you are looking for headphones. Gautam, who owns it, is a knowledgable and helpful person. This is not his primary business and it is clear that he does this more out of passion than for commercial reasons. The music collection, both CDs and on the pc, is exceptionally large. If visiting, you should also have a listen to his DIY speakers.

 

[jai1611]

@Anm, I have a cheap and cheerful DIY type amp that does the job reasonably well for now. I was taking a look at the Matrix M-Stage. Seems to be well reviewed. I'd rather look around for options in India first though. What are you getting built and where?

I didnt audition the Denons. The HD650 price I paid was around the ebay India price.

 

[anm]

Mine is a contri build along with another forum member gurubhai. He is doing all the leg work and I have just pooled in the money. This is an ehha build. I hope it would be ready by month end - can't wait to lay my hands on it.

 

[hydra]

I finally went to Prisitine Note yesterday to demo the headphones ... <snip>
... If visiting, you should also have a listen to his DIY speakers.

Very informative review, Jai. And congrats on the purchase.

As for the HP amp, happy hunting!