An AMP for the HD650s - Overclock.net

bebster · 08-06-09

Hi all,

I just parted with AU$500 (US$420) to buy a pair of HD650s that I saw on ebay from a seller that I know. They are brand new and I am sure that I will be happy with them.

My question is, I currently have Winamp (playing good FLACs) > Asux Xonar STX > Headphones. Should I buy an external headphone amp and use that to amp the 650s? Or is the STX's built in amp good enough?

Cheers,

p.s. [shameless plug] I am selling my brand new from warranty HD555s on ebay to try and recuperate some of the costs. So if you are in the market for a pair have a look for them on ebay.

tUDJ · 08-06-09

An external amp for sure, and you might want to remove the ebay link before a mod does it for you

bebster · 08-06-09

Quote:

Originally Posted by tUDJ

An external amp for sure, and you might want to remove the ebay link before a mod does it for you

xD I replaced it with an ever so slightly more subtle plug.

Do you have a particular amp that you would recommend?

tUDJ · 08-06-09

Quote:

Originally Posted by bebster

xD I replaced it with an ever so slightly more subtle plug.

Do you have a particular amp that you would recommend?

You'd have to less us know how much you are wanting to spend before anyone can recommend an amp, they range from $50 to more than you would've ever thought possible.

For the 650's I'd be looking at spending $200 as a minimum. I'm having a DIY built for me (oh the irony) by a member here on OCN (Soloz2), it's costing around $500 and will be used with some HD600.

There are so many amps out there though, take a look at http://www.head-fi.org/forums/ to get started.

**Aura** · 08-06-09

Quote:

Originally Posted by bebster

Do you have a particular amp that you would recommend?

There are a few variables that need to be considered before recommendations can be of use. What is your budget? The amp will be solely for headphones? Tubes or solid- state?

bebster · 08-06-09

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aura

There are a few variables that need to be considered before recommendations can be of use. What is your budget? The amp will be solely for headphones? Tubes or solid- state?

I have never purchased an amp before, so I have no bias towards either tube or solid state amps, although from my (fairly limited) understanding of physics solid state amps would give a more accurate sound reproduction.

As for budget, ideally I would like something that costs less than AU$300(US$250) which is all the money that I have at the moment (being a uni student = never having money for anything). Although theoretically I can afford $AU500 if I wait a while to get the amp.

Cheers

Edit:

Quote:

Originally Posted by tUDJ

There are so many amps out there though, take a look at http://www.head-fi.org/forums/ to get started.

Yeah, I have taken a look at head-fi, but most of what is said about the various amps goes straight over my head. Also, there seems to be a ridiculous number or different amps available and most of them are custom built - so it gets even more complicated! I would rather just have a few people make recommendations here that I can go out and research later than trawl through 1000s of pages on different amps just to find the right one.

bumsoil · 08-06-09

Quote:

Originally Posted by bebster

I have never purchased an amp before, so I have no bias towards either tube or solid state amps, although from my (fairly limited) understanding of physics solid state amps would give a more accurate sound reproduction.

AHHHHHHH but tubes sound so good

if i were you i would go for tubes

bebster · 08-06-09

Quote:

Originally Posted by bumsoil

AHHHHHHH but tubes sound so good

if i were you i would go for tubes

I wish there was a proper audio shop near my house where I could go and have a listen to some of the different things and get a feel for what I like. Unfortunately there isn't (to my knowledge), so I have to rely on the word of people from the internet. Do me proud internet people!

bumsoil · 08-06-09

Quote:

Originally Posted by bebster

I wish there was a proper audio shop near my house where I could go and have a listen to some of the different things and get a feel for what I like. Unfortunately there isn't (to my knowledge), so I have to rely on the word of people from the internet. Do me proud internet people!

tube amps have a tendency to sound more natural and warm, they don't just amplify the sounds then almost bring them to life, and add something extra.

solid state amps amplify the sound and can be more brutal (just fine for high volume hard rock and games) but if you want to listen to music like classical, or more mellow music(bands like tool shine through a tube amp, because they are a mix of metal and other things) nothing beats a good tube amp.

bebster · 08-06-09

Are there any particular tube amps that you could recommed?

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An AMP for the HD650s

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