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  1. #1
    Herald of the Titans OnlineSamantha's Avatar
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    Sennheiser HD600

    Hello everyone!

    I don't usually make threads but this is kind of important. I'm considering buying a pair of HD600's. Here's the thing though, I'm completely new to the audiophile world. Because of that, I don't have an amp or DAC. The reason I'm considering them is because I have been trying to find a way into that world, and they are currently on sale ($165 off). Would they be a good choice? If you want to know what kind of stuff I listen to, here's a sample of my Spotify playlist:

    https://open.spotify.com/user/tubb15...WvknIflGwAgOda

    Thanks in advance.
    Last edited by OnlineSamantha; 2016-04-26 at 06:42 PM.
    Quote Originally Posted by Trumpresident View Post
    My words exactly. Manufacturing in the US is considerably more expensive than elsewhere, and part of that are savage regulations such as environment protection or minimum wages.
    Quote Originally Posted by Thunderaan View Post
    Saying that Wilson is a racist murderer is the same level of conspiracy as saying Sandy Hook didn't happen and the parents are in on it.
    I don't post that often, and when I do it's often in bursts. I always lurk though.

  2. #2
    The Unstoppable Force Gaidax's Avatar
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    You won't hear anything without amplifier with these... at their impedance you have to use some sort of amplifier or appliance or at least sound card with built-in amplifier.

  3. #3
    Herald of the Titans OnlineSamantha's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Gaidax View Post
    You won't hear anything without amplifier with these... at their impedance you have to use some sort of amplifier or appliance or at least sound card with built-in amplifier.
    Well that's kind of disappointing. Do you have any that you can recommend? I figure if I take the dive now, I might as well.
    Quote Originally Posted by Trumpresident View Post
    My words exactly. Manufacturing in the US is considerably more expensive than elsewhere, and part of that are savage regulations such as environment protection or minimum wages.
    Quote Originally Posted by Thunderaan View Post
    Saying that Wilson is a racist murderer is the same level of conspiracy as saying Sandy Hook didn't happen and the parents are in on it.
    I don't post that often, and when I do it's often in bursts. I always lurk though.

  4. #4
    The Unstoppable Force Gaidax's Avatar
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    Well, depends if you want to stick something into your computer which is generally meh or not. But in case you do want to "stick it in" then Sound Blaster Zx/ZxR should do nicely or Asus equivalent like STXII.

    I know that Sound Blaster ZxR that I have can drive these headphones, it has built-in juiced amplifier, but if you want to be a true audiophile, then you need some external system.

  5. #5
    Herald of the Titans OnlineSamantha's Avatar
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    What about something I can put on my desk? Preferably something in the same price range as that STX II
    Quote Originally Posted by Trumpresident View Post
    My words exactly. Manufacturing in the US is considerably more expensive than elsewhere, and part of that are savage regulations such as environment protection or minimum wages.
    Quote Originally Posted by Thunderaan View Post
    Saying that Wilson is a racist murderer is the same level of conspiracy as saying Sandy Hook didn't happen and the parents are in on it.
    I don't post that often, and when I do it's often in bursts. I always lurk though.

  6. #6
    The Unstoppable Force DeltrusDisc's Avatar
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    Schiit MODI 2 and Magni 2.
    http://schiit.com/

    I have the Modi USB DAC and Asgard 2 AMP. They're awesome. The pair I said above though will run about $200 and do you well.
    "A flower.
    Yes. Upon your return, I will gift you a beautiful flower."

    "Remember. Remember... that we once lived..."

    Quote Originally Posted by mmocd061d7bab8 View Post
    yeh but lava is just very hot water

  7. #7
    Herald of the Titans OnlineSamantha's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by DeltrusDisc View Post
    Schiit MODI 2 and Magni 2.
    http://schiit.com/

    I have the Modi USB DAC and Asgard 2 AMP. They're awesome. The pair I said above though will run about $200 and do you well.
    I sent them an email to see what it would cost to ship them to me, as I live in Europe.

    I'll check back with this thread tomorrow morning, which should be about 9 hours from now. Thanks for the help so far.
    Quote Originally Posted by Trumpresident View Post
    My words exactly. Manufacturing in the US is considerably more expensive than elsewhere, and part of that are savage regulations such as environment protection or minimum wages.
    Quote Originally Posted by Thunderaan View Post
    Saying that Wilson is a racist murderer is the same level of conspiracy as saying Sandy Hook didn't happen and the parents are in on it.
    I don't post that often, and when I do it's often in bursts. I always lurk though.

  8. #8
    Deleted
    I think you are severely overkilling here, these headphones will be wasted if you only listen to spotify and the likes. These services are low bit rate and as such they do not carry enough information for good headphones to actually shine. Unless that was just example of music genres you're enjoying and you've other sources with higher bitrate(preferably flac) I would look at something waaay lower on the quality scale.

  9. #9
    you can`t go wrong with beyerdynamic

  10. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by DeltrusDisc View Post
    Schiit MODI 2 and Magni 2.
    http://schiit.com/

    I have the Modi USB DAC and Asgard 2 AMP. They're awesome. The pair I said above though will run about $200 and do you well.
    I'm curious as they why you choose the Asgard over the Magni. If you could so kindly elaborate
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  11. #11
    The Unstoppable Force DeltrusDisc's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by TaintedOne View Post
    I'm curious as they why you choose the Asgard over the Magni. If you could so kindly elaborate
    The Asgard 2 is a higher level option - plus it has an extra set out of outputs on the back, which I send to my KRK 10S subwoofer, which then goes out to my studio monitors.
    "A flower.
    Yes. Upon your return, I will gift you a beautiful flower."

    "Remember. Remember... that we once lived..."

    Quote Originally Posted by mmocd061d7bab8 View Post
    yeh but lava is just very hot water

  12. #12
    Schiit modi (DAC) + magni (amp) stack or the O2 amp/dac combo are good choices

  13. #13
    Herald of the Titans OnlineSamantha's Avatar
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    The problem with the Schiit audio is that the shipping rates are outrageous. $75 to ship them to me, and it would take about a month to do it.
    Quote Originally Posted by Trumpresident View Post
    My words exactly. Manufacturing in the US is considerably more expensive than elsewhere, and part of that are savage regulations such as environment protection or minimum wages.
    Quote Originally Posted by Thunderaan View Post
    Saying that Wilson is a racist murderer is the same level of conspiracy as saying Sandy Hook didn't happen and the parents are in on it.
    I don't post that often, and when I do it's often in bursts. I always lurk though.

  14. #14
    https://www.jdslabs.com/mobile/produ...ac-combo-revb/
    This is a good combo that can be found on various other places too if it turns out shipping doesn't work for you.

    But I must echo user @larix here. Using these with a very suboptimal source like Spotify will be a waste. To make these stretch their wings, I would also recommend quality flac (which doesn't necessarily mean only flac, but what you usually associate with it in terms of digital media) or optical media.
    Spotify compresses music too much and uses their own equalizer whether you want them to or not.
    That and the fact that they force updates whether you want them or not is why they won't ever be on my computer.
     

  15. #15
    The Lightbringer Radio's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Vomlix View Post
    The problem with the Schiit audio is that the shipping rates are outrageous. $75 to ship them to me, and it would take about a month to do it.
    I just bought my own modi 2 + magni 2 uber last week and they only took 4 days to make it to Australia for $64USD via Fedex Priority. Much cheaper than buying them from local resellers at least.

    - - - Updated - - -

    Quote Originally Posted by DeltrusDisc View Post
    The Asgard 2 is a higher level option - plus it has an extra set out of outputs on the back, which I send to my KRK 10S subwoofer, which then goes out to my studio monitors.
    The Uber version of the Magni 2 also has the same pre-amp outputs.

    - - - Updated - - -

    In fact... using a random Cologne postcode (assuming OP is german):



    Fedex International Priority in 1-3 days for $36.42USD.

  16. #16
    Herald of the Titans OnlineSamantha's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Radio View Post
    I just bought my own modi 2 + magni 2 uber last week and they only took 4 days to make it to Australia for $64USD via Fedex Priority. Much cheaper than buying them from local resellers at least.

    - - - Updated - - -



    The Uber version of the Magni 2 also has the same pre-amp outputs.

    - - - Updated - - -

    In fact... using a random Cologne postcode (assuming OP is german):

    Snip

    Fedex International Priority in 1-3 days for $36.42USD.
    Yeah, the shipping rates on their site aren't that high, but there's an import tax where I live (Denmark). That's 25% of the value of the product, plus on international shipping orders I can't declare the goods myself, and that triggers an automatic fine of 160 DKK ($24). So the math goes:

    ($23.52 + $99) * 1.25 + $24.35 = $177.5

    So it's actually a little more than $75.

    - - - Updated - - -

    How about something like the TEAC HA-P50? It's a DAC/amp, 24-bit resolution and supports 600 ohm headphones. The reason I'm asking is because Massdrop is currently running a drop on it for $181.24 including shipping.
    Quote Originally Posted by Trumpresident View Post
    My words exactly. Manufacturing in the US is considerably more expensive than elsewhere, and part of that are savage regulations such as environment protection or minimum wages.
    Quote Originally Posted by Thunderaan View Post
    Saying that Wilson is a racist murderer is the same level of conspiracy as saying Sandy Hook didn't happen and the parents are in on it.
    I don't post that often, and when I do it's often in bursts. I always lurk though.

  17. #17
    I'm pretty sure there are good ones that don't require you to have them sent from halfway across the globe, have a look here http://www.head-fi.org/products/category/amp-dacs

  18. #18
    Deleted
    A Fiio E10 will do wonders, lot cheaper then the Schitt option though arguably the Schitt is the better shit.

  19. #19
    The Unstoppable Force DeltrusDisc's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Radio View Post
    The Uber version of the Magni 2 also has the same pre-amp outputs.
    There was no Magni 2 when I got my Asgard 2.
    "A flower.
    Yes. Upon your return, I will gift you a beautiful flower."

    "Remember. Remember... that we once lived..."

    Quote Originally Posted by mmocd061d7bab8 View Post
    yeh but lava is just very hot water

  20. #20
    Deleted
    I have the HD600 myself. You can't run them without an amp. I run them with an Asus Xonar Essence One - it's an external DAC and headphone amp that sits on my desk. Not only can it drive the HD600, it also works as a dedicated sound card, and it's often reviewed as the best DAC you can get on a PC. Highly recommended.

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