Sennheiser HD 650 AND Bose Companion 5 OR Apogee Duet

[Jaro65]

I could use a bit of advice.

I just bought an Apogee Duet to drive my Sennheiser HD650 cans. The Duet didn't arrive yet and now I'm thinking if it would be possible to drive the 650s through a headphone jack on Bose Companion 5? If I can, then I would return the Duet and get the Companion 5, since I've been looking at the speakers as well (though I'm still undecided there).

I tried to search the forum and I even googled this, but only found one older reference to someone using his 650s with Companion 5. Apparently the result wasn't too bad.

Anyone has any experience with this?

Thank you!

 

[lixuelai]

I doubt the Bose built in amp is good enough for the HD650.

p.s. A lot of people use the Duet purely as a DAC and connect it to a dedicated headphone amp.

 

[chiefroastbeef]

If you have cans like the 650 (I had them 4 years ago), I'd go the Duet route, then get an amp that can drive the 650. It really is up to you, but everyone will tell you that you won't hear the 650's full potential until you hook up a decent amp to it.

 

[calderone]

If you are using the Duet only as a DAC, take a look at LittleDot.

http://littledot.net/forum/viewforum.php?f=9&sid=ec42f6521284348854e563d524fcdd02

I switched from a Duet to the DACII and it is much better. You get more flexibility in terms of inputs. For a little more than the price of the Duet you can grab and amp and DAC. I personally use a DACII and MKVII+ for my K701s.

You can buy them on eBay from http://shop.ebay.com/davidzhezhe/m.html. They are on break for the Chinese New Year. They will be back up on February 23.

 

[Jaro65]

If you are using the Duet only as a DAC, take a look at LittleDot.

http://littledot.net/forum/viewforum.php?f=9&sid=ec42f6521284348854e563d524fcdd02

I switched from a Duet to the DACII and it is much better. You get more flexibility in terms of inputs. For a little more than the price of the Duet you can grab and amp and DAC. I personally use a DACII and MKVII+ for my K701s.

You can buy them on eBay from http://shop.ebay.com/davidzhezhe/m.html. They are on break for the Chinese New Year. They will be back up on February 23.

The Little Dot DAC II looks like a pretty flexible unit. Are you saying though that in your opinion its DAC is better than the unit in Duet? Also, yhy do you still need the MKVII+ unit? The DAC II is listed as containing both the pre-stage and output stage headphone amps.

 

[MacMojo1]

iBasso Mamba is a great little amp with a built-in USB DAC. Rave reviews can be found everywhere. That's what I chose to use with my AKG 701's.

www.ibasso.com

 

[Jaro65]

iBasso Mamba is a great little amp with a built-in USB DAC. Rave reviews can be found everywhere. That's what I chose to use with my AKG 701's.

www.ibasso.com

The funny thing is, I looked at iBasso just a couple of days ago and I liked their D3 Python unit. It was sold out though. The web site also shows that they'll be closed from 10Feb-20Feb due to Chinese New Year, so they're unlikely to restock. I didn't realize this was also a Chinese company (the Little Dot unit that was recommended elsewhere in this thread is also from China).

Your Mamba looks great. The only thing for me it that I refuse to use anything but rechargeable batteries, so a 9V battery solution is not optimal for me.

 

[calderone]

The Little Dot DAC II looks like a pretty flexible unit. Are you saying though that in your opinion its DAC is better than the unit in Duet? Also, yhy do you still need the MKVII+ unit? The DAC II is listed as containing both the pre-stage and output stage headphone amps.

Yes, subjectively I find the DACII to perform better than the MKVII+.

I don't *need* the MKVII+, but the amp in it drives my K701s to the next level. I just use the DAC to get a clean digital signal away from my source and into my amp. The DAC is great, but add in the amp and it is just wonderful.

Also, I was originally going to buy a DACI, but the price difference drove me to the DACII. The DACI didn't have a headphone amp built-in.

I had the MKV for sometime and it was great as well.