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WesR
31
Jul 22, 2017
Just received my balanced stock Sennheiser HD650 cable outfitted with an Neutrik connecter. I purchased a schiit Joachim balanced dac/ amp after reading the HD650 sound better when amped properly. My first impression was wow this was not worth the 700+ Canadian I just spent lol, god damn it! It did give them endless power, added a little power and depth in the low end. However it wasn't the drastic difference I was looking for from simply playing them from my mac. They sound great from any source if your wondering. Computer or even your phone. Volume wasn't an issue for me on my computer. It had me wondering, "Why do I need an amp, my computer can power them plenty?!" Anyways, So since I spent all that money on a balanced amp I thought schitt might as well spend a bit more money and see if going balanced will help. Finally my investment paid off! These headphones sound SO amazing now. Like the soundstage and width just opened right up and I don't know how to describe it but the headphones just seem to have more energy/ excitement especially in the low end, becoming more punchy. This is more apparent when listening to dance music. The high end is still that perfect level of creaminess with no harshness. Moral of the story, these headphones will sound amazing out of the box but if you want to get more volume and energy out of them then look into a mid ranged amp because unless you go full out like I did its not worth it. Just note if your used to listening to hyped headphones or closed back headphones you'll need some time to adjust like I did but it's a good change towards long listening sessions or for mixing. In noisy environments I still prefer my closed backs. Anyways.... Sorry for my life story, if they helps one person than it did it's job. All the best Massdrop fam.
tessierpg
Jul 22, 2017
WesRI may suggest the Objective O2 amp. I just received mine this past week from a Massdrop Spring 2017 drop. I paid less than 100$ USD for mine (well maybe 130-140$ CAD with CanadaPost fees and GST/TVQ taxes), a desktop version with optional AC power plug and RCA plugs in the back rather than plain vanilla version with inputs in the front. It is perfect with my Hd6xx and other headphones I own. It is plugged either on my Apple toys (Mac, iPad, iPhone) or on the zone 2 line output of my Onkyo TX-NR646 network/stereo receiver (which has a AKM 32bit inboard DAC, so I do not need an outboard DAC with my headphone amp). This Massdop O2 does it for me, neutral and silent, any other more expensive amp would be overshoot for me. The only suggestion I can give to all:if you can, then buy the O2 from JDS (or from any other manufacturer that respects the original design), or wait until another Massdrop exclusive O2 or ODAC drops. The original Massdrop O2 plain vanilla version was 79$ if I recall. I honestly do not think that spending more for higher end headphone amps is worth it. The O2 has plenty of power, and drives the HD6xx very well. Recommended to all of you that joined the HD6xx drop. It's all you'll ever need.
WesR
31
Jul 22, 2017
tessierpgThe O2 is a perfect example of what someone should get without breaking the bank yet getting great results. And people can even choose if they want to get a DAC included they can get the O2+ODAC. I agree this was an option I looked into as it was a great price but more importantly it's known for its clean and neutral sound. I just decided to go all out as it was an investment for years to come also the Joachim has more input and output options which the average listener may not need. It's a great suggestion people should consider though :)
tessierpg
Jul 22, 2017
WesRDid you buy the AKM 4490 add-on together with the Jot? I'm sure it is a great combo, but is it worth more than 2x the price of the O2+ODAC stack or combo? Do you see a significative difference between unbalanced and balanced output with your 650s? I would maybe consider the Jot + balanced output to my 600/650s but I would prefer if Schitt would offer a multibit DAC add-on to the Jot at a reasonnable all-in price. For now I will stick to my el-cheapo but great sounding Massdrop O2 (without ODAC) and also to my great Audioquest DFR DAC/Amp for portable use with my iPad/iPhone toys running Spotify Premium...
Cokeman
1971
Jul 23, 2017
WesRYep Balanced is so worth it on these. I ordered an Aune X7S for mine
WesR
31
Jul 24, 2017
CokemanTo answer your question Tessierpg, yes it is defiantly worth the price if you also have a pair of nice speakers or monitors that take balanced XLR inputs and if down the road you decide to go balanced and I mean truely balanced like the Jot is (if you get the upgrade for only 100, which was a no brainer) then for a few extra hundred you get a solid unit with a few additional options. However if you don't need these options then hell there is no point in forking out the extra money for stuff you wont utilize right? And no its not a significant difference but its a noticeable improvement in the soundstage and low end, which means a lot to me because I predominately listen to electronic music. Personally I ordered the Aune X1 because its has a proprietary power source that from what I've read delivers a very clean sound. It also wasn't designed to be portable like the O2 so you know none of its size is being wasted. However they cancelled my order so I was like oh YAH f*ck it, now I'm getting the Jot. Cokeman I looked into the Aune X7S and was so close to getting it instead because that class A amplifier was sucking me in! You will not be disappointed with that unit. I just didn't want to buy a separate DAC :P where I would have ended up spending about the same amount. It should also be noticed that you'll see a great improvement in sound just by getting an amp and not having an external DAC isn't the end of the world. Start with an amp if your tight on money. Thanks for your input boys!
Cokeman
1971
Jul 24, 2017
WesRI looked at the X1S, it really is a DAC with an ok AMP. However it is not very powerful. I went with the X7S because it has a ton more power than the X1S so it can push around 99% of headphones, where the X1S will only push around 90%. Probably going to buy a JDS Labs OL DAC.
WesR
31
Jul 24, 2017
CokemanYeah power is something I will never have to worry about with the Jot either which is nice. Yes that seems like a great choice. You might want to do some research if you already have a balanced cable for your headphones and the X7s is balanced you might want to get a balanced DAC so you have a truly balanced system. Will it make a difference I don't know sorry but since your already 2/3 there, its something I would consider.
Cokeman
1971
Jul 24, 2017
WesRI am planning to run balanced, I'm making my own cable. Now actually I don't need nor can use a balanced DAC with the X7S. The X7S is technically not a true balanced AMP. A true balanced AMP like the Jot would have 2 XLR inputs that would come from 2 XLR outputs from a balanced DAC. The X7S only has RCA inputs. This is because the X7S has some special wiring or something inside that takes an unbalanced signal from RCA and converts it into a balanced output. This was a huge selling point for me because a balanced DAC costs a lot more than a non balanced one. This way I can have balanced output without having to drop $500 on a Jot.
WesR
31
Jul 24, 2017
CokemanNice, yeah I feel you. Its a powerhouse regardless so enjoy Cokeman!
Cokeman
1971
Jul 24, 2017
WesRI will. I mean it's not the powerhouse the Jot is, but enjoy that too man. You did get the integrated DAC option didn't you? That's a must for the Jot.
kogan
3
Jul 24, 2017
WesRThanks for sharing, i am looking for a good 4 pin XLR cable for HD650 that does not cost a fortune. Did you mean Jotunheim, btw?
nanoSwiss
8
Jul 24, 2017
WesRNot Joachim, its the Jotunheim named after the homeland of the Jötnar, the giants in Norse mythology. Thats your trivia for today ;)
Cokeman
1971
Jul 24, 2017
koganYes we were talking about the Schiit Jotunheim. Now the best way to get a cheap HD 650 cable is to make your own, that's what I am doing. What you do is you go to Sennheiser's website and they sell 2 cables for the HD 650. They are both the exact same cable, one has a 1/4in and the other has a 4pin XLR. The one with the 1/4in costs $11 and the one with the 4pin costs $240. So what you do is buy that $11 1/4in cable and buy a 4pin XLR connector from Amazon for $5. Then you cut the 1/4in off that cable and you solder on the 4pin XLR connector, and you have yourself a 4pin pin balanced cable for under $20.
Mario.Paul
339
Jul 24, 2017
CokemanI am so saving this comment for later. I wonder why the 4 pin cable costs so much.
Cokeman
1971
Jul 25, 2017
Mario.PaulWell aftermarket ones that range from $50-$100 is because of labor and are usually made of high quality stuff like paracord and thick gauge wire. In the case of Sennheiser's cable they expect you to pair their $240 4 pin cable with their HDVD800 DAC/AMP, which is $2200, so they figure that $240 for a cable is nothing. (BTW it actually says that's what they expect you to do in the product description of the cable)
Jackula
1743
Jul 27, 2017
WesRYou'll find the improvement isn't so much the XLR connection but the extra power being delivered to your headphones via XLR. Single-ended output on the Jotunheim does not give enough power per channel to allow the HD650 to truly shine. When there isn't enough power, there will be distortion and the most obvious way distortion can manifest is on the soundstage and slam.
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