• WANTED: Happy members who like to discuss audio and other topics related to our interest. Desire to learn and share knowledge of science required. There are many reviews of audio hardware and expert members to help answer your questions. Click here to have your audio equipment measured for free!

Best bang for buck system for driving HD650s

AnalogDE

Active Member
Forum Donor
Joined
Aug 21, 2019
Messages
171
Likes
108
Location
California
Looking for recommendations for driving HD650s, looking for best performance-to-price ratio

Two options:
1) DAC-Amp combo system
2) Separate DAC / AMP

Assume total budget < $500.

Thanks!
 

artismo

Member
Joined
Dec 16, 2018
Messages
58
Likes
36
Location
Japan
Looking for recommendations for driving HD650s, looking for best performance-to-price ratio

Two options:
1) DAC-Amp combo system
2) Separate DAC / AMP

Assume total budget < $500.

Thanks!
So many great options with that open of a budget.

—->D10/D30/D50S and Atom <—-
Micro iDSD Black
DX7s (tier 2, but still a strong DAC with a good amp section built in and balanced outputs)
DX3 Pro
Better—> SabajD5 as mentioned above, better for the price than DX7s

If you want a budget upgrade path-
SU-8 version 2 and Atom (you can go balanced later or accommodate monitors)

Stretch your budget $50 and you can-
SU-8 version 2 and THX 789 (the budget-end-game-hero)

I’m sure I’m overlooking another configuration
 

artismo

Member
Joined
Dec 16, 2018
Messages
58
Likes
36
Location
Japan
Three days...

(If it’s not clear, AliExpress)
 

Attachments

  • 14FB4D38-8A5C-4BDB-B759-138D45BFB056.jpeg
    14FB4D38-8A5C-4BDB-B759-138D45BFB056.jpeg
    374.2 KB · Views: 1,760
Last edited:
OP
AnalogDE

AnalogDE

Active Member
Forum Donor
Joined
Aug 21, 2019
Messages
171
Likes
108
Location
California
Should I switch out my HD650's singled ended cable for a balanced cable? If so, which one should I pick up?
 

Patrick1958

Senior Member
Forum Donor
Joined
Jun 28, 2018
Messages
498
Likes
412
Location
Belgium
Should I switch out my HD650's singled ended cable for a balanced cable? If so, which one should I pick up?
Switching over to an balanced cable will give you more power over the balanced output. Unfortunately those cables don't come cheap. I found the best quality price ratio with a englisch company i found on ebay few years ago. If i remember correctly payed around 110 € for a balanced 3 meter long cable for the Sennheiser HD series. If you are in the UK or europe search for customcans on ebay.
 
OP
AnalogDE

AnalogDE

Active Member
Forum Donor
Joined
Aug 21, 2019
Messages
171
Likes
108
Location
California
Switching over to an balanced cable will give you more power over the balanced output. Unfortunately those cables don't come cheap. I found the best quality price ratio with a englisch company i found on ebay few years ago. If i remember correctly payed around 110 € for a balanced 3 meter long cable for the Sennheiser HD series. If you are in the UK or europe search for customcans on ebay.

Yikes. I'm in the US. I see some cheap looking cabled on amazon for like $30-50 USD.
 
OP
AnalogDE

AnalogDE

Active Member
Forum Donor
Joined
Aug 21, 2019
Messages
171
Likes
108
Location
California
Switching over to an balanced cable will give you more power over the balanced output. Unfortunately those cables don't come cheap. I found the best quality price ratio with a englisch company i found on ebay few years ago. If i remember correctly payed around 110 € for a balanced 3 meter long cable for the Sennheiser HD series. If you are in the UK or europe search for customcans on ebay.

Found it: https://www.ebay.com/itm/ULC-balanc...hash=item1ef9a07783:m:mLthn6ku8jwb8wCj4FsopiQ

Is that the one you got?
 

Julf

Major Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
Mar 1, 2016
Messages
3,004
Likes
3,998
Location
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Switching over to an balanced cable will give you more power over the balanced output

Yes. 3 dB. Maybe better to just turn up the volume by 3 dB, that would be slightly cheaper. :)
 

Julf

Major Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
Mar 1, 2016
Messages
3,004
Likes
3,998
Location
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
And what if the SE output just DOES NOT have enough output and the device also has a Balanced output ?

How often does that happen? How important are those last 3 dB (a barely perceivable difference in volume)?
 

Ron Texas

Master Contributor
Joined
Jun 10, 2018
Messages
6,074
Likes
8,906
Topping DX3 Pro. About $200. Single unit, nice looking, measures and sounds great.
 

Patrick1958

Senior Member
Forum Donor
Joined
Jun 28, 2018
Messages
498
Likes
412
Location
Belgium
How often does that happen? How important are those last 3 dB (a barely perceivable difference in volume)?
It's not about how important those last 3db are, it's about how much power a SE versus a Balanced output can deliver.
As an example read the measurements of the Gustard A20H, the difference between SE and Balanced is much more than 3db. On SE connected with Senn HD650 there just isn't enough power output to drive the headphone in low gain. In high gain the device has to operate at its limits on SE.
On the balanced headphone output there is a copious amount of power available and the device can operate in low gain.
The Gustard A20H is no exception.
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...nd-measurements-of-gustard-a20h-dac-amp.5657/
The advantage of working in low gain are described by Amir in an article on this site.
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...s/study-headphone-amp-gains-low-or-high.5495/
 
OP
AnalogDE

AnalogDE

Active Member
Forum Donor
Joined
Aug 21, 2019
Messages
171
Likes
108
Location
California
Let's make this more interesting... Let's change the budget down to < $250 ... what do you recommend for this price point?
 

Julf

Major Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
Mar 1, 2016
Messages
3,004
Likes
3,998
Location
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
It's not about how important those last 3db are, it's about how much power a SE versus a Balanced output can deliver.

I do stand corrected. it is actually 6 dB. Still - why not get device capable of sufficient output voltage in the first place?
 

Patrick1958

Senior Member
Forum Donor
Joined
Jun 28, 2018
Messages
498
Likes
412
Location
Belgium
I do stand corrected. it is actually 6 dB. Still - why not get device capable of sufficient output voltage in the first place?
And this is where this site comes into play. The numbers for output voltage on the A20H are misrepresented in the specification as shown in Amir's testing. I had this device almost a year prior to Amir's testing.
Important lesson i learned on this site : don't trust manufacturer specifications blindly :oops:
Does this imply i had to sell the A20H and go on a search for a DAC/AMP with remote control (important for me) that does have better SE output voltage. My wallet tells me buying a balanced cable is the better and easier option. :)
 
Top Bottom