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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
arafiq's avatar
arafiq OP
1,662 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
6,623 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
1,662 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.


chrisr's avatar
chrisr
543 posts
 
Doing the same... while my wife and daughter highjack the tv/stereo, I enjoy my cans on my ears. 
So far, I have senneheiser 598 open-back, and Sony 7506 closed-back, alternating depending on mood and music.
I am using a motorola cellphone and tidal Master and hifi quality as a source, but I'll make this better with a schiit vali2 by the end of week.  
I'll just have to find the right tubes for it...
big_greg
6,623 posts
 
I'll just have to find the right tubes for it
How do you know it doesn't already have the right tube if you don't even have it yet?

I haven't heard it either so I could be misjudging the Vali because of its low price, but I wouldn't spend a lot of money on tubes on something that inexpensive. You could easily spend more than the amp cost on tubes and still have a pretty mediocre amp. What do I know though, there are 359 pages on head-fi about tube rolling in that amp so a lot of people have found it worthwhile. I owned a Mjolnir for a while, so I do have experience with their headphone amps. 

If you're on a budget, consider saving up for something better if it doesn't tickle your fancy instead of throwing a bunch of tubes at it to see what sticks. 
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