Do You Use An External Amp For Your Headphones?

Bottlehead Crack +Speedball and Sennheiser HD600's. Love it.

 

Senn HD 600 + Schiit Valhalla. My first headphone rig, I've had this setup about a year now. Reading threads here on this forum got me interested and so I decided to take the plunge . Glad I did, it was a revelation. Perfectly satisfied right now.

 

I just received the Schiit Magni today (my first external headphone amp) and I'm auditioning it now. I have it connected to the 'tape out' of my Marantz 2252. My headphones are Sennheiser HD 598. I'm not used to having no tone control but I'll try it like this for a while. Soundwise, it seems a little bright and I miss the bass and warmth of the Marantz headphone circuit. I haven't read anything negstive about the Schiit lacking bass. Can anyone offer any differing opinions?

 

The Schiit Magni isn't going to be warm sounding like vintage amps like the Marantz. I wouldn't consider the Magni to be bright, but the lack of warmth that you're used to could make it sound brighter than you're used to.

There's also the issue of output impedance. The Marantz has a high output impedance which is going to affect the sound of the HD598. Here's a PDF of the measurements for the HD598. You can see that the HD598 has an impedance bump at 90 Hz. The higher output impedance of the Marantz will cause the HD598 to have a bump in the bass around 90 Hz compared to the Magni. That bass bump is due to the high output impedance of the amp interacting with the impedance bump of the HD598. There are equations that will tell you how much of a frequency bump you'll get due to the impedance. I'd have to go look up those equations and relearn what numbers to plug in.

Here's the measurements for the HD598: http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/SennheiserHD598.pdf

The flatter bass sound you hear from the HD598 with the Magni is how the HD598 are supposed to sound. The bass bump you're getting due to the high output impedance of the Marantz is altering the intended sound of the HD598.

 

Yes, Schiit Asgard 2 with my AKG K712 PRO.

Bill

 

Dragonfly 1, 1.2 and Headroom Airhead.

 

HD600 + Schitt Asgard 2

or

HD600 + Grace m903

That Grace (also is a DAC) just makes those HD600s sound amazing. So amazing that I'm now itching for a pair of Audeze LCD-X cans. Next month...

 

Yes, I use a severely hot-rodded Bottlehead Crack with a Tung-Sol 5998 and RCA Clear-Top 12AU7 (or Amperex Made In Holland Bugle Boy, depending on synergy). Yes, for me, with my headphones (HD-600), an external amp makes a tremendous difference.

 

Sennheiser HD 580 and Head-Direct EF1

 

Always. Mix and match depending on my mood and the music. At the moment mostly Violectric HPA200 with either LC2 or ATHW1000X in bedroom and Yamamoto HA02 with ATH2000/W1000 in music room.

 

Me too!

 

Must be an NH thing.

 

I use a Benchmark DAC1 it has a excellent headphone amp

 

I wish. I had to sell the finest headphone amp I've heard. A Pete Millet Hybrid amp upgraded with NOS caps. With HD650s, magic happened. I haven't found another amp I've liked better, and I can't find another Millet Hybrid~!

 

I use a Leckerton Audio UHA-6S MkII with a pair of Sony MDR-7506's...
For a portable, the Leckerton is great...

 

Matrix M-Stage with the Class-A mod through Denon AH-D2000 cans. Killer sound and outstanding synergy with this combo. The M-Stage is a real giant killer, IMHO highly recommended.

 

Skip the separate amp and get the best on the market today. Chord Hugo!!

 

Grado SR325is plugged directly into my Sansui 2000X works for me so, no.

 

I have the M50 , they sound even better with this

 

Shiit Vali Tube Amp with Shiit Modi DAC.

 

Someday, would love to find an old vintage Xana Moth.

 

HD-600 and an Antique Sound Lab MGHead-DT. Great sound, but I've had it for 10+ years. Time to build a Bottlehead!

 

Sennheiser HD 800 into a Woo Audio WA6.

 

Grado 325i Headphones with a Graham Slee Solo Headphone Amp..

 

I like your style. There's probably not many Moth Audio Xana amps around to come up for sale.

Do you have an Eddie Current amp, or have you had one?