Preamp headphone amplifier


I just purchased a set of Sennheiser HD650 headphones and to start will be driving them with my Mark Levinson no.526 preamp built in headphone amplifier.  Does anyone have experience with this or similar headphone amp and is it a good headphone amp or should I look into a dedicated headphone amp?

Thank you. 

lnitm

Congrats! those are probably going to sound pretty sweet. Sennheiser makes great headphones and those are rated at 103dB sensitivity. 

Looks like the No.526 has a low / high setting for the headphone amp output so may see how that sounds to your ears.

Personally I'd want to hear them on a Manley absolute or Cary CAD-300SEI

What types of music do you like?

 

Velocityofhue    Thanks for the reply. I like mostly 60's, 70's , 80's rock not much hard rock unless driving. More like Steely Dan, Boston, Ambrosia,  etc. Lots of music with instruments and harmonies. My current setup is the 526 preamp, Levinson 534 amp and Revel F228be speakers with all Cardas Clear cables so I like hearing the details and nuances of the recording.

Headphone amps in audio amps a largely an afterthought and really bad.  You have nice headphones, so don’t starve them with an insufficient amp.  This is a good one IMHO.  

https://shenzhenaudio.com/products/singxer-sa-1-fully-balanced-class-a-pre-amplifier-headphone-amplifier

I have a pair of Seinhauser HD 600 which are my go to headphones, and have owned the HD 660's, and love them both balanced, with my Hybrid tubed Schiit Mjolnir 2 headphone amp. I have been having fun with tube rolling with this amp. This Headphone Amp/Preamp amplifier has been discontinued but you may find one used at a reasonable price. I see that they now have the Mjolnir 3, which is solid state, but I don't have any experience with this new offering. The size of this unit may also be an issue (it's quite large!).