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Beginning of a new journey...

I had never been a headphone guy, up until very recently. My main rig in my home office is built around Harbeth P3esr, Rogue Audio Cronus Magnum II, Cambridge Audio Azur 851D, and Bluesound Node 2i. I'm extremely satisfied with the performance of this system, and cannot ever imagine parting ways with the P3esr's. They tick all the right boxes for me.

Having said that, my headphone journey started with my wife buying me a Bose Soundlink pair of headphones about a month ago. I put those on, and the first word that came to mind was 'meh'. I tried them with and without amplification, but the result was always the same. Meh! I concluded that maybe headphones were not for me. But then a friend of mine told me that Mass Drop (now just Drop) were running a special on the Sennheiser HD6XX headphones. With the first-timer discount, and free shipping, the cans were going to run me $175 + tax. I figured why not. I am in love with the Harbeth midrange and smooth sound, so 6XX's sounded like the right choice.

Now, I also have a Naim Unituque (V1) that was in my system before I upgraded to the Cronus Magnum. The display light had started to fade and eventually went out completely. So much for Naim quality! Anyways, I was hoping that the Naim would be a good match for the HD6XX's. But nope! Not at all. The sound was anemic, slightly better than running them straight from my iPhone, but not that much better. The bass was almost non-existent. I guess headphone amplification was an afterthought on the Unitiqute. I wasn't sure if it were the 6XX's, or just that the synergy with Naim was not optimal.

On a whim, I hooked the cans to the Cronus Magnum's headphone out, and immediately they came alive. The bass was much tighter, the midrange, vocals, treble -- everything was noticeably better. I can see why these headphones have achieved such a legendary status in the world of affordable hifi equipment. They definitely scale with better equipment, unlike the Bose. So now, I need some advice regarding a good headphone amp. Given the limited room on my desk, I would prefer something with a smaller form factor, and a single box solution with preamp/amp/dac. It will be a bonus if the unit can have a built in streamer, but not a must. I want to stay between $500-800, new or used. I'm sensitive to high frequencies, so tubes will be my preference but don't want to rule out smooth sounding SS amps.

Any advise is greatly appreciated!
128x128arafiq
big_greg
6,639 posts
 
Most headphone access plugs are cheap/poorly designed op amps. To get the most out of phones...you need a dedicated amp.
Pretty sure he was asking about getting a dedicated amp.

I don’t have a specific recommendation as most of my headphone amps are out of that price range, but Drop has a number of headphone amps under $1K that come up. https://drop.com/top-list/Amps/type--Headphone/max-price--1000

Head-fi is a good resource for reviews as is innerfidelity. I’ve heard a lot of good things about Woo Audio’s tubed headphone amps, but not sure if they have anything in your budget.

If you’re patient, you might pick up a used Auralic Taurus in your budget range, that’s a great amp (not tubed though), but very smooth, detailed and just a little on the warm side.


soix
9,530 posts
 
Recently I read some reviews of the Cavalli CTH hybrid amp on Drop that seems to synergize particularly well with the HD6XX ‘phones. It’s only $175 but may be all you need to make your Senns really sing. The Schiit Vali 2 is another good option but is probably a little more on the neutral or less warm side versus the CTH. Hope this helps, and best of luck in your continuing journey. .
arafiq's avatar
arafiq OP
1,681 posts
 
Great suggestions. The Auralic Taurus sounds very promising. I see a used one on this site for a little over my range, but might be worth a try. I checked the drop website for amps/dacs but it seems that anything that catches my interest is sold out/through and won’t be available for a few months.

There have been a few updates since I created this thread. I ended up ordering the Hifiman Ananda’s from Amazon (arriving this Friday). Of course they are three times the price of the HD6XX but I want to see if the price difference is worth it. I will A/B the two for a week or so and then make a call as to which one to keep. Supposedly, the Anandas are an easier drive, so they might work with the Naim unit.

Another option is to use the Naim as a DAC only option, and hook it up to a purpose built headphone amp like the Cavalli CTH hybrid.

big_greg
6,639 posts
 
The HD6XX are surprisingly good headphones at their price point.  They are probably the most comfortable headphones I own and they sound really good.  I have better sounding headphones, but they are many times the price of the HD6XX.  They definitely benefit from a good headphone amp.  There are also a lot of mods available for them - cables, earpads, etc.  I don't remember which ones I got, but I put some thicker earpads on and it increased the comfort level.  
arafiq's avatar
arafiq OP
1,681 posts
 
@big_greg: Couldn't agree with you more. I've been listening to the HD6XXs for the last two days, and I'm blown away by the performance. In comparison, the Bose Soundlink retails for $230, and IMO there simply is no comparison. The Senns punch way, way above their price point. There have been so many wow moments, so many nuances in familiar music that I never knew existed. It's easy to see why these phones have so many admirers. 

So far I'm really enjoying the presentation, but a few things that I wish these cans had in a higher degree of abundance are more meat in the bass department, a wider soundstage, and maybe a bit more authority and heft. Otherwise, midrange, vocals, especially vocals, instrument separation and imaging are outstanding. Now since these are my first quality headphones I don't really have a reference point, so take it with a grain of salt. Once I get the Ananda's I will run both headphones through the paces and make a decision. Anandas have some big shoes to fill in.


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