What kind of budget for a nice DAC + amplifier am i looking at if the Apogee One will sound bad on the HD 800?
I listened to the HD 700 and I"m just sold by how good it sounds....
What were the HD700 using as amplification when you heard it?I listened to the HD 700 and I"m just sold by how good it sounds.
I'm planning on either buying a HD 700 or HD 800, however I don't have a dedicated amp.
Can I use my Apogee One to drive a Sennheiser HD 800. If not, would upgrading to the Duet work?
What were the HD700 using as amplification when you heard it?
You do not want to be compromising on your source components with a headphone like the HD800. Being technically difficult to drive is one thing, but actually finding a well matched source in terms of fidelity is equally important, I'd much rather use a well driven HD600 over a poorly driven HD800. Headphones may be the prime factor in determining the sound quality of a rig, but when you get into the real big leagues it's only going to sound as good as the weakest component will allow. That's not to say you need to invest thousands of dollars into the amps and DAC section, just that you make sure the choice you make is going to do a glorious pair of cans like these justice.
How much would you be willing to spend on the system, all-in?
Is there a reason why you chose the Sennheiser HD700/HD800? I mean, I'm sure an even cheaper headphone would do you just as good. If you only plan on using iTunes for headphone listening, you can even try the Sennheiser RS220 which is a wireless cousin of Sennheiser's HD600. You can hook it up to your Mac via Toslink and then use your iPad to control iTunes via Apple's Remote app.
If not, just try the HD558 with the FiiO E07k, it'll save you a tad bit more money and should still keep you satisfied.
Cheers!
I intend to use these headphones on my Macbook Pro and iPad, so I'm not looking into buying a massive amp that is difficult to move around the house. I prefer a semi-mobile solution.
I have no cap on my budget in mind. But I'm not an audiophile so I don't feel like spending $1000 for just 1% improvement in
If you're not an audiophile then the HD800s are a pretty bizarre choice. As mentioned before the HD800 really benefits from a well chosen amplifier so it's definitely worth the investment. You can't just throw it into any rig and expect it to sound good.
At one end, the Sennheiser HDVA 600 and HDVD 800 amps (DAC/amp combo in the case of the 800) are supposedly tremendous amps designed specifically to be paired with the HD800s. On the other end, I've heard a lot of good things about the ALO Audio Pan Am, and the pairing it makes with the HD800s.
I would seriously consider spending less money than the HD800, like a lot less, if you're just after a quick fix system that you can put together and leave it at that. The HD600 and HD650 are both headphones known to be able to scale up to world class performance whilst also being a lot more forgiving in terms of amplification. You can get phenomenal sound quality out of either of those pairs and about the same cash (or less) spent on source components, three sets that spring to mind are the "Schiit Stack" (Schiit Modi and Magni, $198 total) the Objective O2+ODAC combo ($279) and the FiiO E09K and E17 ($210-$230 total), the latter of which I own myself and pair with the HD600s. I used to have the same sort of upgrade fever but this setup stopped that, even having listened to a well driven HD800 and HD700 since that time.
I'm planning on either buying a HD 700 or HD 800, however I don't have a dedicated amp.
Can I use my Apogee One to drive a Sennheiser HD 800. If not, would upgrading to the Duet work?
The HD800 at 300Ω is meant more for big production equipment which can put out that sort of power, for example a professional live music desk. This doesn't mean you wouldn't be able to use them, just that they wont drive as hard and so won't be as loud as headphones with smaller impedance values.
The Shure SRH 1840 should be spot on.
Thanks for the reply. So if I understand it correctly, my Apogee One will have no problems driving these Shure SRH 1840?
Does the point about open headphones letting in external sound apply to regular traffic noises and all that.