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Sennheiser HD660S amp/dac suggestions

Janala

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Anyone in here with Sennheiser HD660S, what dac/amp do you use?
I have the Fiio Q3 at the moment and would like to upgrade to one with more power.
 
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J

Janala

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Why do you need more power?
I’ve just got the feeling that the Q3 is not powerful enough for the 150ohm HD660S that’s why I’m asking. Will I hear significant difference in sound quality with a more powerful dac/amp?
 

Leporello

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I’ve just got the feeling that the Q3 is not powerful enough for the 150ohm HD660S that’s why I’m asking. Will I hear significant difference in sound quality with a more powerful dac/amp?
Why do you have that feeling? Is the sound too soft or distorted? My 300 ohm HD600s sound just fine from a laptop or tablet headphone out. Even an Iphone dongle is ok.
 

staticV3

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Here's how much power you need for the 660S:
Screenshot_20230112-103051_Chrome.png

Here's how much SPL you can get with the Q3 and the 660S:

USB in->3.5mm out: 116.5dB SPL
USB in->Bal out: 119.5dB SPL
3.5mm in->Bal out: 124dB SPL

Suffice to say, the Q3 is more than powerful enough to drive the 660S.
@Janala you won't get better sound even if you hook your 660S up to a Topping LA90.

Having more amplifier headroom doesn't increase the sound quality. Only the potential for sound quantity.
 
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Janala

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Here's how much power you need for the 660S:
View attachment 256662

Here's how much SPL you can get with the Q3 and the 660S:

USB in->3.5mm out: 116.5dB SPL
USB in->Bal out: 119.5dB SPL
3.5mm in->Bal out: 124dB SPL

Suffice to say, the Q3 is more than powerful enough to drive the 660S.
@Janala you won't get better sound even if you hook your 660S up to a Topping LA90.

Having more amplifier headroom doesn't increase the sound quality. Only the potential for sound quantity.
Ok that sounds perfect. But I assume I need a better dac for achieving better sound?
 

Dust-by-Monday

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Just got the FiiO Q3 (MQA Edition) for my HD660s yesterday and it sounds great. Don't know if I really notice any quality difference vs my Apple Dongle, but I like having a volume knob. On high gain, it only takes until maybe 50% to get as loud at 75% on my iPhone, so that's not too bad. On low gain, it's about the same as my Apple Dongle.

All in all, I think Crinacle was right about not needing an amp for 90% of headphones. However, I'm not going to return it. I like the different connection options it has.

Also, the bass boost switch ruins the sound IMO.
 

Get a hearing test

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Anyone in here with Sennheiser HD660S, what dac/amp do you use?
I have the Fiio Q3 at the moment and would like to upgrade to one with more power.
Try hd600 from what ive read sparingly 660s sounds like weirdly EQ'd or modded hd600. May be wrong. If the sound isnt flat and separation dont seem crunched on the same plane then whatever you have is good enough for your headphones.
 
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