Budget Amp For Sennheiser HD600

[JoseL]

Hi,

I am looking for a amp, of any topology (but prefer tubes), $200 or less, that is the best match in terms of both sound quality and driving power for the HD600s.

I mostly listen to jazz piano trios, vocal jazz, blues, classic/hard rock, world, latin, reggae, some electronica/chill/trip hop, and folk music.

I have a short list of amps that includes the Objective 2 (O2), Schiit Magni2/Magni2 Uber and the Schiit Vali 2, but I am looking for other options.

In your experience, is there an amp, $200 or less, that does justice to the HD600s? 

Please advice and thanks in advance.

JoseL

 

[dalethorn]

14 hours ago, JoseL said:

Hi,

I am looking for a amp, of any topology (but prefer tubes), $200 or less, that is the best match in terms of both sound quality and driving power for the HD600s.

I mostly listen to jazz piano trios, vocal jazz, blues, classic/hard rock, world, latin, reggae, some electronica/chill/trip hop, and folk music.

I have a short list of amps that includes the Objective 2 (O2), Schiit Magni2/Magni2 Uber and the Schiit Vali 2, but I am looking for other options.

In your experience, is there an amp, $200 or less, that does justice to the HD600s? 

Please advice and thanks in advance.

JoseL

 

I had the Bravo Ocean - excellent amp.  To keep it relatively cool I ran it sitting on top of my Macbook, using the Macbook as a heat sink.

[firedog]

Schiit Vali 2 - $169. If you really want tubes at that price.

[miguelito]

Just an amp? Or amp+DAC? The DragonFly Red works pretty well with the HD600. 

[Michael-Elijah Audio]

Bottlehead Crack for sure....

[JoseL]

On 4/30/2017 at 4:08 AM, firedog said:

Schiit Vali 2 - $169. If you really want tubes at that price.

Thanks firedog.

I have the Vali 2 on my list but I am not sure if its power output (270mW@300 ohms) is enough to drive the HD600s. Is it?

[JoseL]

On 5/1/2017 at 9:09 AM, Michael-Elijah Audio said:

Bottlehead Crack for sure....

Yup, I know, but out of my budget ☹️

Thanks.

[JoseL]

On 4/30/2017 at 5:23 AM, miguelito said:

Just an amp? Or amp+DAC? The DragonFly Red works pretty well with the HD600. 

I only need the amp. Thanks.

[JoseL]

On 4/29/2017 at 10:18 PM, dalethorn said:

I had the Bravo Ocean - excellent amp.  To keep it relatively cool I ran it sitting on top of my Macbook, using the Macbook as a heat sink.

Thank you! I will check it out.

[jcn3]

any way to wait a bit, save $200 and get a schiit jotunheim?  plenty of power, great quality, and can serve as a full-function pre-amp.  won't need to upgrade from there for a long time . . . 

[stuck limo]

On 5/2/2017 at 8:15 PM, JoseL said:

Thanks firedog.

I have the Vali 2 on my list but I am not sure if its power output (270mW@300 ohms) is enough to drive the HD600s. Is it?

 

There should be zero issue driving the 600 out of that. I had the Vali 1 and it drove them wonderfully.

[JoseL]

8 minutes ago, stuck limo said:

 

There should be zero issue driving the 600 out of that. I had the Vali 1 and it drove them wonderfully.

Thanks! That is great to know because I just had ordered one!

[GUTB]

I would really recommend just selling them and investing in better headphones...

[davide256]

Better to buy an iFI or an AQ dragonfly at that price point since they are portable and can drive something like the 600 without a problem. The iFi Nano to my surprise turned out to  be a decent asynch USB converter for a DAC that doesn't have asynch USB. Don't expect a linear frequency response if you buy a $200 tube headphone amp

[stuck limo]

21 hours ago, GUTB said:

I would really recommend just selling them and investing in better headphones...

 

Dude, how have you not been banned yet?

[GUTB]

1 minute ago, stuck limo said:

 

Dude, how have you not been banned yet?

 

Get off the class warfare kick. Those headphones are extremely un-euphoric. 

[stuck limo]

17 minutes ago, GUTB said:

 

Get off the class warfare kick. Those headphones are extremely un-euphoric. 

 

That's great then! I'm not looking for euphoric sound, that's why I listen to them! They were worth every penny! They're my go-to phones and what I listen to when I want to relax. I adore mine and recommend them to everyone who will listen to me. They're a classic, a staple, a benchmark, a highly sought after aspiration by music lovers everywhere.

[GUTB]

24 minutes ago, stuck limo said:

 

That's great then! I'm not looking for euphoric sound, that's why I listen to them! They were worth every penny! They're my go-to phones and what I listen to when I want to relax. I adore mine and recommend them to everyone who will listen to me. They're a classic, a staple, a benchmark, a highly sought after aspiration by music lovers everywhere.

 

According to Reddit, Massdrop and SABF I'm sure that is very true.

 

However, from my own experience, they are mid-fi performers except extremely boring. Why listen to boring headphones when there are other mid-fi performers that won't make you want to stop listening to music altogether? Instead of throwing good money on an amp after bad headphones, it would be better to upgrade the headphones, and get a good amp match for those instead.

[stuck limo]

23 minutes ago, GUTB said:

 

According to Reddit, Massdrop and SABF I'm sure that is very true.

 

However, from my own experience, they are mid-fi performers except extremely boring. Why listen to boring headphones when there are other mid-fi performers that won't make you want to stop listening to music altogether? Instead of throwing good money on an amp after bad headphones, it would be better to upgrade the headphones, and get a good amp match for those instead.

 

Fair enough. Not my experience, but as they say, YMMV.

[wwaldmanfan]

2 minutes ago, GUTB said:

 

According to Reddit, Massdrop and SABF I'm sure that is very true.

 

However, from my own experience, they are mid-fi performers except extremely boring. Why listen to boring headphones when there are other mid-fi performers that won't make you want to stop listening to music altogether? Instead of throwing good money on an amp after bad headphones, it would be better to upgrade the headphones, and get a good amp match for those instead.

 

I have Sennheiser HD 600 headphones. You sound like you really know what you are talking about, so I guess they stink. What should I buy instead? And what amp should I get that would be good with the ones that you like?

[GUTB]

7 minutes ago, wwaldmanfan said:

 

I have Sennheiser HD 600 headphones. You sound like you really know what you are talking about, so I guess they stink. What should I buy instead? And what amp should I get that would be good with the ones that you like?

 

TH-900 paired with a Matrix M-Stage HPA-3U or HPA-3B.

 

HE-6 + speaker adapter + Music Angel XDSE.

 

[davide256]

12 hours ago, wwaldmanfan said:

 

I have Sennheiser HD 600 headphones. You sound like you really know what you are talking about, so I guess they stink. What should I buy instead? And what amp should I get that would be good with the ones that you like?

 

You will likely have more success here in finding reviews for a reliable next buy here as we all have price points for what we are willing to spend. Doesn't sound like $3k is your budget

http://www.dailyaudiophile.com/

 

headfi can be helpful but keep in mind that most reviewing probably have basic systems, pays to look for reviews with like quality systems