Sennheiser HD-6xx headphones with home amplifier?

**AqD** · July 17, 2012, 06:18 AM

Hello!

I tried Sennheiser HD-600 today and found the sound much better than my old HD-598 and RS-170, but the spec says impedance is over 300 ohms, which usually implies the requirement of headphone amplifier....

Problem is, I already have a home stereo amplifier, entry-level AMC 306d (only 30watt output), and I cannot afford good headphone amplifier until the end of this year! Would my current amplifier be enough to drive the HD-600 or even 650? Or should I give up for now and wait until I can buy both?

(I don't really want a specialized headphone amplifier unless it's absolutely necessary...)

Here is the spec of HD-600:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read:

And the spec of my amplifier AMC 306d:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read:

And the sound source of mine is Sound Blaster X-Fi Pro (USB).

Please help if you have experiences with those headphones, or you know how I should calculate the required spec for amplifier for the headphones. The specs look like alien language to me and I cannot find simple guides on it (other than to buy or not buy amp

).

**Top-Tier-Tech** · July 18, 2012, 12:04 AM

Not to directly answer your question but...

I have Sennheiser HD 595 headphones myself. Personally I chose a HT OMEGA Claro Halo soundcard for my PC and it has some pretty big benefits. This is only two computer soundcards with a built-in headphone amplifier and it is rated for use with up to 600 ohm cans. It drives the 595s beautifully. Sennheiser is known for bass that doesn't exactly pack a punch so it is also nice to be able to fine-tune the equalizer to taste. It's like a whole new set of cans once they are tweaked right. I'm sure you can do the same thing by running audio from your soundcard to an external amp though but a single solution without cables and extra adapters is better. My Yamaha RX-V867 audio receiver also has a 1/4" plug and yet it doesn't sound as nice as the HT Omega even before tweaking frequencies.

Certain devices sound bad with even 50 ohm cans, much less 600, but if the question is will your stereo amplifier make the HD 600 sound good then I'm going to say that would be unlikely. My Yamaha receiver was originally released for $800 so I would expect it to have better components on the headphone jack (not that specifications for that are any easier to find then yours) and that just doesn't compare to the soundcard with the integrated amp, especially being that the HD 600s are 600 ohm I wouldn't expect them to right without an amp rated for em. And yet some people plug HD 650s into their iPods so it can be done. You could get the HD 600 now and get an amp later on... would be something to look forward to knowing they will only sound better someday. Personally I can't imagine the HD 600s sounding much better than your HD 598s if both were amped properly... other than impedance they aren't really that much different. I'd almost recommend you stick with your current headphones and get the HT OMEGA Claro Halo. They would sound so much better than on your cheap stereo amp.

That's my 2 cents anyway!

-Chad

**mrmouth** · July 18, 2012, 05:16 AM

The HD600 is easy to drive. You really do not need anything more than what you have, and a soundcard the one mentioned above would also be enough.

A good friend of mine had these and experienced the band cracking that a lot of other people have. Just be gentle with them.

**AqD** · July 18, 2012, 05:53 AM

Thanks, I just bought it back!

The sound is not as good as I heard in the store (with their amp) though. For most of my CDs It feels just like HD-598 here.... I can't really buy a sound card because there is no PC, only laptop.... 'll buy a real amp later

**Top-Tier-Tech** · July 18, 2012, 08:26 AM

Did they play their own demo audio or were you able to sample something you are familiar with at the store? Things can be made to sound better than they are with careful selections of the content played in addition to the amp used. I still think your 598s properly amped by something would have made you happier with the sound for less money... ah well.

**AqD** · July 18, 2012, 12:43 PM

Originally Posted by Top-Tier-Tech

Did they play their own demo audio or were you able to sample something you are familiar with at the store? Things can be made to sound better than they are with careful selections of the content played in addition to the amp used. I still think your 598s properly amped by something would have made you happier with the sound for less money... ah well.

They played a CD of some music which I'm familiar with, maybe SCD not CD.
PS: I did notice that when playing classical music there is no difference between 600 and 598...

@mrmouth: There were more details and depth, definitely much better than HD-598. However, my own music are in lossless WMA format, ripped from regular CDs, and my sound card doesn't even provide 6.35mm jack, so maybe they're the problems.

They also told me HD-598 doesn't need amp (only 50 ohms) and it's the best I could get without amp. It was actually more expensive than hd-600 when I bought it last year

Anyway it's used by my friend now so I don't want to get it back.

I just searched and nobody seems to be selling either of the above cards here... If I'm to buy a cheap headphone amp (less than $200), what should I choose?

**Jaketh** · July 19, 2012, 12:49 PM

Originally Posted by aqd

I just searched and nobody seems to be selling either of the above cards here... If I'm to buy a cheap headphone amp (less than $200), what should I choose?

My friend has stated multiple times that this is the best amp for the money you can get

**AqD** · July 20, 2012, 08:02 AM

Originally Posted by Jaketh

My friend has stated multiple times that this is the best amp for the money you can get

Thanks. I have tried and it really lacks the quality shown by the $400 piece (DA&T U2) which those store staffs recommend.

So I decided to raise my budget to $400, next month. Sad but it is necessary

**mrmouth** · July 18, 2012, 10:18 AM

Yeah unless you are a huge fan of mids that the HD600 bring, then the 598 would not be a huge difference. Of course sound stage isnt as good either, but you'd have to really nitpick.

The HD600's while easy to drive, were a schizo pair of cans. Some amps really muddied them up while some mp3 players sounded better than some mid-level amps. Kind of crazy.