I spent part of the day reading up on this stuff and decided on placing an order for some new cans and an amp.
Sennheiser HD 650 and the
Schiit Audio Magni 3
This amp can drive up to 600 ohms in a set of cans! The Sennheiser 650's are 300 ohms. These will be primarily used with my Mac Mini and maybe once in a while my MacBook Pro.
I'm looking forward to getting these and hearing what I've been missing.
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I was working on a post for you! I've been doing it a little bit here and there ... oh geez, OK, so this is the current edit:
@sman789 and
@D.T. I know very little about headphone amps and headphones in general when it comes to getting superior sound from them. What I do know is that I want superior sound when I listen to music.
I have two headphones, a Sony MDRV6 and the BeoPlay H7. The BeoPlay H7 is wireless, but it can also be used with a wire too.
I really like the H7's sound quality and its the best headphone I've ever used, although I haven't used many.
Would one of those headphone amps bring me a better experience than using the headphones on their own? Would an amp be useful with either of the headphones I have? Is there a different headphone and amp combination you'd recommend that woudn't break the bank either?
All great questions with impossibly complex answers ...
Hahaha, seriously though, there are some good starting points, even though all of this is pretty subjective, and FWIW, I'm what you'd call a pretty "frugal audiophile" (if I even qualify for the latter part). Some of this you likely know, just easier to discuss everything, even if it's a little redundant
Digital Source >> DAC >> Amp >> Headphones
So first, the source (assuming digital vs. analog like vinyl). Just like any system that requires all components to be effective, you need a good source for the whole audio experience to be good. Obviously, low sample rate MP3s are probably a weak link right up front (so spending lots more further down the chain won't make much difference).
OK, if it's digital is going to go through a DAC (Digital [to] Analog Converter), and there's a good bit of variation in quality at this stage - I had a long post in the "What are you listening to ..." thread about my pursuit of a high quality CD player, that had a superlative DAC ( wound up with a TEAC).
Devices like an iPhone/iPod/Mac combine the DAC with the amp - however, you can tap into the digital stream before the DAC and use a stand-alone DAC. For example, from a Mac, you can use a DAC connected to a USB port, or on pre-16 models, to the optical (digital) that's housed in the analog audio out port.
Once you have the digital source converted to an analog signal, then it's about the amplification. Again, this is a stage where the quality of the electronics, the specific implementation details can make a big difference.
The MDR-V6 are fantastic for the price. I think the H7 with a wired connection would be pretty outstanding too (there's a lot of mystery with the wireless, so I'm limiting my comments to using them wired).
[doublepost=1530482031][/doublepost]So the Schiit stuff is _awesome_ great choice, it's boutique quality, over-engineered, and you've got a 15 day no questions asked return period.
Senn 650s are fantastic, I would HIGHLY suggest the Senn Massdrop Edition 6XXs for a startling $200, but they are currently between drops on them.
[doublepost=1530482124][/doublepost]The DAC in a MBP is pretty dang good, so if you're taking the post-DAC signal into an external amp, you should have a terrific end-to-end signal, assuming your sources (in iTunes?) are pretty good.
[doublepost=1530482235][/doublepost]If you want to get a little "tube" into the path, the Schiit Vali 2 is also fantastic, it's a hybrid, so it's really a tube-flavored-solid-state, but it definitely provides a little warmness to the sound.
[doublepost=1530482418][/doublepost]Later, if you decide you want to experiment with an external DAC, Schiit makes an incredible-for-the-price DAC, same footprint as the Modi (so they stack nicely), there's a Modi 2, Modi 2 Uber (with added coax and TosLINK in), and the killer Modi 2 Multibit, that uses a completely different DAC architecture that's supposed to be amazing and mirrors the tech used in units costing 10X as much.
Sorry, about my incremental response
[doublepost=1530482453][/doublepost]And yes, 300ohm cans pretty much require an external amp (vs. the amp in a MBP, iPhone, etc.)
Bose Headphones by John Pepp, on Flickr
