d3vi0uz Posted February 2, 2018 Share Posted February 2, 2018 Upgrade is a bit of misnomer, but what would be the next set of headphones to get after enjoying Sennheiser HD 598 SR? I'm a big Sennheiser fan, starting with the HD 280 Pros (I loved the clamping force because of the excellent sound attenuation), then 380 Pro, and now the 598 SR. What I like: Accurate sound reproduction; if any coloration I prefer it in the highs and upper mids What I listen to: Everything. Right now, I'm listening to Animals - House of the Rising Sun and the next track is Dr. Dre - Forgot About Dre. And the track I just finished is Chopin - Ballad No. 1, Opus 23, in G Minor I don't have an amp nor DAC (playing straight from my computer line out). I was a DJ for about 10 years and produced music as well as played alto sax, so I've been exposed to pro audio gear ($8,000 worth of studio monitors, processors, and live sound sold long ago...) Also, I appreciate the ability to isolate/separate the different instruments and visualize them in my head, so sound stage is important to me. What say ye? Link to comment
davide256 Posted February 2, 2018 Share Posted February 2, 2018 Headphone sounds like the wrong place to start. While I'm not a fan of the 598, its "good enough". Whats not good enough is playing direct from PC (electrical noise hell). I'd suggest looking for a network streamer/ headphone amp combo so you can get that D/A digital conversion into a more quiet electrical environment. For least cost you could run Minimserver (free) on your existing WIndows PC, buy streamer player hardware (Raspberry Pi 3 with Hifiberry pro DAC board, case, PS costs ~$130) and install music player of your choice (Volumio, etc). Then head over to the Schiit web site to buy a headphone amp, their models start at $99. Lots of threads around on putting together a Raspberry Pi player, and there are better options if after you try this you want more. Regards, Dave Audio system Link to comment
WAM Posted February 2, 2018 Share Posted February 2, 2018 +1. You you should pay a visit to Headfi.org and InnerFidelity, lots of info over there on this subject (there are far more decent sites, but these two are a good place to start). Link to comment
Popular Post dalethorn Posted February 3, 2018 Popular Post Share Posted February 3, 2018 23 hours ago, d3vi0uz said: Upgrade is a bit of misnomer, but what would be the next set of headphones to get after enjoying Sennheiser HD 598 SR? I'm a big Sennheiser fan, starting with the HD 280 Pros (I loved the clamping force because of the excellent sound attenuation), then 380 Pro, and now the 598 SR. What I like: Accurate sound reproduction; if any coloration I prefer it in the highs and upper mids. What I listen to: Everything. Right now, I'm listening to Animals - House of the Rising Sun and the next track is Dr. Dre - Forgot About Dre. And the track I just finished is Chopin - Ballad No. 1, Opus 23, in G Minor. I don't have an amp nor DAC (playing straight from my computer line out). I was a DJ for about 10 years and produced music as well as played alto sax, so I've been exposed to pro audio gear ($8,000 worth of studio monitors, processors, and live sound sold long ago...) Also, I appreciate the ability to isolate/separate the different instruments and visualize them in my head, so sound stage is important to me. What say ye? The new HD660 might be a good bet. And while you're at it, the $200 AQ DragonFly Red would take care of the electronics for the time being. christopher3393 and buonassi 2 Link to comment
Mshenay Posted February 4, 2018 Share Posted February 4, 2018 On 2/1/2018 at 11:55 PM, d3vi0uz said: Upgrade is a bit of misnomer, but what would be the next set of headphones to get after enjoying Sennheiser HD 598 SR? I'm a big Sennheiser fan, starting with the HD 280 Pros (I loved the clamping force because of the excellent sound attenuation), then 380 Pro, and now the 598 SR. What I like: Accurate sound reproduction; if any coloration I prefer it in the highs and upper mids What I listen to: Everything. Right now, I'm listening to Animals - House of the Rising Sun and the next track is Dr. Dre - Forgot About Dre. And the track I just finished is Chopin - Ballad No. 1, Opus 23, in G Minor I don't have an amp nor DAC (playing straight from my computer line out). I was a DJ for about 10 years and produced music as well as played alto sax, so I've been exposed to pro audio gear ($8,000 worth of studio monitors, processors, and live sound sold long ago...) Also, I appreciate the ability to isolate/separate the different instruments and visualize them in my head, so sound stage is important to me. What say ye? I'm more active on HF and other headphone sites so maybe I can be of some help! As of right now I'm really diggin the Burson Play. Quite nice USB Dac/Amp. I usually dislike USB implementations but the Play is surprising me, it's very very clean. As for headphones, the Play's basic model is $299 and I'd grab an HD 600 and call it a day. The streamer route is another excellent option too, though I've not gone that route my self just yet. I imagine if your willing to put in the extra work to get a streamer working it'll likely be more cost effective. Though there are literally dozens of other options aside from just the Play, the $200 schiit stack is well received, the JDS Labs Element isn't bad either, and neither is a good old ODac/O2 amp combo as well buonassi 1 Link to comment
d3vi0uz Posted February 4, 2018 Author Share Posted February 4, 2018 11 minutes ago, Mshenay said: I'm more active on HF and other headphone sites so maybe I can be of some help! As of right now I'm really diggin the Burson Play. Quite nice USB Dac/Amp. I usually dislike USB implementations but the Play is surprising me, it's very very clean. As for headphones, the Play's basic model is $299 and I'd grab an HD 600 and call it a day. The streamer route is another excellent option too, though I've not gone that route my self just yet. I imagine if your willing to put in the extra work to get a streamer working it'll likely be more cost effective. Though there are literally dozens of other options aside from just the Play, the $200 schiit stack is well received, the JDS Labs Element isn't bad either, and neither is a good old ODac/O2 amp combo as well Is the JDS ODAC 02 better than the Schiit Modi+Magni? Once configured how I want it (1/4" jack, power on the rear, etc) the price difference is about $130 more than the Schiit stack. Link to comment
Mshenay Posted February 4, 2018 Share Posted February 4, 2018 4 minutes ago, d3vi0uz said: Is the JDS ODAC 02 better than the Schiit Modi+Magni? Once configured how I want it (1/4" jack, power on the rear, etc) the price difference is about $130 more than the Schiit stack. I can't say that it is or isn't, haven't heard either at the same time in a very long time Though I doubt it's $130 more!!! Still check around for some second hand sales both here, on reddit and on head fi, if it's a second hand JDS Labs I can vouch for the build quality! Link to comment
d3vi0uz Posted February 4, 2018 Author Share Posted February 4, 2018 3 minutes ago, Mshenay said: I can't say that it is or isn't, haven't heard either at the same time in a very long time Though I doubt it's $130 more!!! Still check around for some second hand sales both here, on reddit and on head fi, if it's a second hand JDS Labs I can vouch for the build quality! It is $130 more than a Schiit Modi 2 and Magni 3 ($200) once you get the same outputs. See screenshot... Link to comment
Mshenay Posted February 4, 2018 Share Posted February 4, 2018 Well B-Stock can get you closer to $282 but still that's not super duper competitive hi fi shark is a great place to search for second hand gear, But I'll do some diggin for you, here's an o2/oDac from Mayflower right at $200, heck he even has an HE 4XX one of the best headphones given the price like ever... THERE get that lol spend $350 an run away christopher3393 1 Link to comment
d3vi0uz Posted February 4, 2018 Author Share Posted February 4, 2018 1 minute ago, Mshenay said: Well B-Stock can get you closer to $282 but still that's not super duper competitive hi fi shark is a great place to search for second hand gear, But I'll do some diggin for you, here's an o2/oDac from Mayflower right at $200, heck he even has an HE 4XX one of the best headphones given the price like ever... THERE get that lol spend $350 an run away Thanks for your input! Link to comment
Mshenay Posted February 4, 2018 Share Posted February 4, 2018 Np just remember nothing I've suggested is the BEST thing ever. Just my thoughts, though honestly that reddit poster is selling a nice mix of entry level stuff. Link to comment
Mshenay Posted February 4, 2018 Share Posted February 4, 2018 Even better here's a JDS Labs o2/oDac with rear Power and RCA's for less! Link to comment
d3vi0uz Posted February 4, 2018 Author Share Posted February 4, 2018 1 minute ago, Mshenay said: Even better here's a JDS Labs o2/oDac with rear Power and RCA's for less! 4 minutes ago, Mshenay said: Np just remember nothing I've suggested is the BEST thing ever. Just my thoughts, though honestly that reddit poster is selling a nice mix of entry level stuff. Too bad that JDS O2 ODAC doesn't have the RCA outs! Thanks for all the suggestions! Link to comment
buonassi Posted February 25, 2018 Share Posted February 25, 2018 On 2/3/2018 at 10:53 PM, d3vi0uz said: Is the JDS ODAC 02 better than the Schiit Modi+Magni? Once configured how I want it (1/4" jack, power on the rear, etc) the price difference is about $130 more than the Schiit stack. Honestly, since Schiit came out with their new 5th gen USB chip, you really can't beat the modi. I only wish they allowed you to change the filters of the AK4490 they have in there. Link to comment
Musicophile Posted February 26, 2018 Share Posted February 26, 2018 +1000 on the Dragonfly Red. It is doing a great job driving my travel setup of a Beyer T90, and even does a decent job driving my HD800s (not surprisingly, the HDVA600 is better though). And it is ultra-mobile, and can even be used with mobile devices. The Sennheiser 598 really is quite good (I had the 595 for years), it would certainly benefit from dedicated Amp/Dac. The headphone output of computers Is really typically quite horrible. Check out my blog at musicophilesblog.com - From Keith Jarrett to Johannes Brahms Link to comment
buonassi Posted February 27, 2018 Share Posted February 27, 2018 I've recently acquired the dragonfly red, and ditto what @Musicophile and @dalethorn suggest. This little wonder is fantastic. It drives my elear with tight authority, though I haven't hooked it up to my HD600 yet to see how well it controls it. I honestly believe one of the reasons the red sounds so darn good is due to its true minimum phase reconstruction filter (vs the standard linear phase smear that's par for the course). Link to comment
mav52 Posted February 27, 2018 Share Posted February 27, 2018 An upgrade path can be expensive, what type of budget The Truth Is Out There Link to comment
buonassi Posted February 28, 2018 Share Posted February 28, 2018 HD600 is hard to beat for sound, comfort (once you bend the headband). So many have come along and tried to dethrone it, but it's awesome.... and gets even better if you decide to upgrade your amp. Link to comment
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