Best Headphone Amp For Sennheiser HD590's?

[jl151080]

I'm looking to get a headphone amp to go with my Sennheiser HD590's. Can anyone recommend any good models?

I understand Graham Slee's models are highly regarded and am considering the 'intro' model, but £333 is rather more than I wanted to pay (ideally I don't want to pay more than £200). Are there any other good models out there?!

For reference, my CD player is a Cambridge Audio 640C V2, and amp is Cambridge Audio 540R V2.

[jl151080]

Can anyone recommend the Creek OBH21? How big is the difference in quality between the OBH21 and OBH21SE?

http://www.audioaffair.co.uk/index.p...&productId=371

[pbirkett]

I wouldnt recommend spending too much, as with all due respect, the HD590s were not one of their finer models. Why do you need an amp anyway, would be my question? The reason I ask is because if I remember right, they were designed to be easy to drive anyway.

Does your cambridge amp not have a headphone socket? How does it sound now? What do you expect to get out of buying an amp? Personally, if you are getting a decent enough sound now, I'd think very carefully about spending a load on a dedicated amp for those phones. If you are after a big improvement, then for the price of a Slee, you could probably get a pair of HD600 and a Darkvoice amp and it would pull a significant lead on a 590, amped or not.

[jl151080]

Originally Posted by pbirkett

I wouldnt recommend spending too much, as with all due respect, the HD590s were not one of their finer models. Why do you need an amp anyway, would be my question? The reason I ask is because if I remember right, they were designed to be easy to drive anyway.

Does your cambridge amp not have a headphone socket? How does it sound now? What do you expect to get out of buying an amp? Personally, if you are getting a decent enough sound now, I'd think very carefully about spending a load on a dedicated amp for those phones. If you are after a big improvement, then for the price of a Slee, you could probably get a pair of HD600 and a Darkvoice amp and it would pull a significant lead on a 590, amped or not.

Thanks for your reply.

I'm not happy with the sound I am getting through the socket on my Cambridge Audio amp. Strangely, I get a much better/clearer sound when I use the HD590's with my Ipod!

I assumed, therefore, that the sound quality would be vastly improved by adding a separate headphone amp to my system?

I'm surprised that you don't think much of the HD590's - they seem to be fairly highly regarded by a lot of people.

[pbirkett]

Originally Posted by jl151080

Thanks for your reply.

I'm not happy with the sound I am getting through the socket on my Cambridge Audio amp. Strangely, I get a much better/clearer sound when I use the HD590's with my Ipod!

I assumed, therefore, that the sound quality would be vastly improved by adding a separate headphone amp to my system?

I'm surprised that you don't think much of the HD590's - they seem to be fairly highly regarded by a lot of people.

Well from what you describe (i.e. its better from your ipod) I would suggest it seems like the Cambridge amp has a high output impedance at the socket. This is normally caused because it uses a simple resistor from the output stage (basically just to limit the power going to the phones or it would blow the headphones). With the 590 being a low impedance phone, it will be quite badly affected by this.

Basically when an output has a high impedance, it adds to the impedance of the headphones themselves and drastically changes the frequency response. The effect it has is usually that it makes it sound a lot warmer, and thus might come across as muddy and slow.

On the other hand your ipod will have a very low output impedance (which is optimal).

In your case, an amp would definitely clean the sound up. However, I still dont recommend you spend a lot, because even relatively cheap amps will do the job perfectly well. I would avoid the Creek stuff though as those amps still have a relatively high output impedance for some reason.

Also its not that the 590s are bad, but they arent good enough to justify £300+ on an amp IMHO.

[jl151080]

Originally Posted by pbirkett

Well from what you describe (i.e. its better from your ipod) I would suggest it seems like the Cambridge amp has a high output impedance at the socket. This is normally caused because it uses a simple resistor from the output stage (basically just to limit the power going to the phones or it would blow the headphones). With the 590 being a low impedance phone, it will be quite badly affected by this.

Basically when an output has a high impedance, it adds to the impedance of the headphones themselves and drastically changes the frequency response. The effect it has is usually that it makes it sound a lot warmer, and thus might come across as muddy and slow.

On the other hand your ipod will have a very low output impedance (which is optimal).

In your case, an amp would definitely clean the sound up. However, I still dont recommend you spend a lot, because even relatively cheap amps will do the job perfectly well. I would avoid the Creek stuff though as those amps still have a relatively high output impedance for some reason.

Also its not that the 590s are bad, but they arent good enough to justify £300+ on an amp IMHO.

Many thanks! I don't know much about this stuff and I've been wondering why the headphones sound better through my Ipod for some time! Would having high impedance phones rectify this? Do you know if the Sennheiser HD650's would sound similarly 'muddy' through the amp? I've considered upgrading to them in the past.

Are there any headphone amps you would recommend? I've done some searching, and I'm not sure what model would suit the HD590s (as well as benefit an upgrade in headphones in the future).

Thanks for your advice!

[Mickus]

Fancy being a Guinea pig? Graham Slee have just introduced a new headphone amp which sits between the Voyager portable amp & the Solo. It's called the 'Novo Discrete' and is priced at £200+Vat (£235).

Details here:
http://www.audiocontrol.co.uk/graham...adphoneamp.htm

Some user reviews here:
http://www.gspaudio-community.active...ts.asp?TID=222

Available in Kit form too...

It would be interesting how this stacks up against similar priced amps...

[pbirkett]

Originally Posted by jl151080

Many thanks! I don't know much about this stuff and I've been wondering why the headphones sound better through my Ipod for some time! Would having high impedance phones rectify this? Do you know if the Sennheiser HD650's would sound similarly 'muddy' through the amp? I've considered upgrading to them in the past.

Are there any headphone amps you would recommend? I've done some searching, and I'm not sure what model would suit the HD590s (as well as benefit an upgrade in headphones in the future).

Thanks for your advice!

I wouldnt get the HD650, as they have a very warm sound to begin with, and although they will be less affected by the issue in overall terms, the end result will be very similar I feel, and I dont think you would be happy with the end result - in fact to my ears the HD650 is rather fussy and difficult to get a truly good sound out of anyway - I didnt like it.

As for suggestions, I wouldnt spend too much, a few that caught my eye on ebay...

Little Dot

Darkvoice 336i

Little Dot II - This one looks very nice for the money.

Little Dot MkV

Just to get you started...

[jl151080]

Originally Posted by Mickus

Fancy being a Guinea pig? Graham Slee have just introduced a new headphone amp which sits between the Voyager portable amp & the Solo. It's called the 'Novo Discrete' and is priced at £200+Vat (£235).

Details here:
http://www.audiocontrol.co.uk/graham...adphoneamp.htm

Some user reviews here:
http://www.gspaudio-community.active...ts.asp?TID=222

Available in Kit form too...

It would be interesting how this stacks up against similar priced amps...

Sounds interesting, although from what pbirkett has said, it's not worth me spending so much on an amp.

[jl151080]

Originally Posted by pbirkett

I wouldnt get the HD650, as they have a very warm sound to begin with, and although they will be less affected by the issue in overall terms, the end result will be very similar I feel, and I dont think you would be happy with the end result - in fact to my ears the HD650 is rather fussy and difficult to get a truly good sound out of anyway - I didnt like it.

As for suggestions, I wouldnt spend too much, a few that caught my eye on ebay...

Little Dot

Darkvoice 336i

Little Dot II - This one looks very nice for the money.

Little Dot MkV

Just to get you started...

Many thanks! I'll check them out.

[jl151080]

Out of interest, I went into my local Sevenoaks hifi store today, and the only headphone amp they can order in is the Project Headphone Box II for £85. However, I've read feedback on this forum for this amp that wasn't positive.

As the HD590's are low impedance headphones, are there any similar/better 'phones that are of a higher impedance?

[pbirkett]

If you are happy enough with the sound of the 590 why change? What makes you think high impedance phones would solve your problems?

IMO, I wouldnt buy the Project either. You can do much better for your money.

[jl151080]

Originally Posted by pbirkett

If you are happy enough with the sound of the 590 why change? What makes you think high impedance phones would solve your problems?

IMO, I wouldnt buy the Project either. You can do much better for your money.

I know nothing about impedance. I just assumed that, since the problem at the moment seems to be because the amp is high impedance and the headphones are low impedance, having high impedance headphones with a high impedance amp would eradicate the problem.