Headphone Amp for Sennheiser HD 598

[seymoorebutts]

Looking to get a pair of Sennheiser HD 598 headphones in the near future, wondering what sort headphone amp I should get to accompany them? Just getting into good sound really, decided that I want the rest of my music in flac. format. Using a Nexus 5 which actually supports flac. which is why I am interested in an amp, wondering what a good place to start is.

*And I'm not looking to spend crazy money on an amp*

 

[americanaudiophile]

Check out this forum:
http/www.head-fi.org/
The Teac HA-501 that they review is excellent if it fits your budget.

 

[seymoorebutts]

I should have specified, looking for a portable amp.

 

[ssddx]

i would say something like the e11 wold be great. not a bad price either.
http/fiio.com.cn/products/index.aspx?ID=100000038781911

smaller but more expensive is the e12 and would also work
http/fiio.com.cn/products/index.aspx?ID=100000038732625&MenuID=105026001

but you could probably work with the e6 if you wanted something cheaper and smaller.
http/fiio.com.cn/products/index.aspx?MenuID=105026001

what you pick depends on how big you want it to be and what you expect out of it.

 

[seymoorebutts]

Will purchasing an amp for the Sennheiser's improve the music quality over playing it straight from my Nexus 5 to the headphones?

 

[ssddx]

that depends on if your nexus5 is able to power the headphones without an amp.

if it can drive the headphones then no, you arent likely to gain much. with an amp the headphones might hit harder and sound a bit better but nothing crazy.

if it can not drive the headphones or if the volume is too low even when you set the phone to max volume then you would need the amplifier just to use them and it would be a very big difference between no amp and having an amp.

now... if you used one of the usb dac+amp models from fiio (like the e17 or e18) you might definitely get better sound depending on if your phone has a decent dac and amp in it or not. it would pull the signal through the usb instead of out the 3.5mm then convert that digital signal to analog itself and amp it. this is what the so called audiophiles are doing nowdays anyways with the android phones and good headphones.

i use a pair of m50s with my old droid incredible and i'm perfectly fine without using any other devices since my phone powers the 38ohm headphones fine and it goes up to higher volumes than my ears can stand. the quality is also good.

but... your arrangement can be different. i would test the headphones out without an amp first and then make a judgement call afterwards.

 

[seymoorebutts]

I think if I were to get an amp/DAC it would be some type of FiiO. If I do decide to get one, where is the balance that I would be getting best price/performance ratio? Like which model would you suggest is best? Will I continue to get better performance as I go up the line in models, or will my setup not really see a benefit after a certain point, possibly from technical limitations?

 

[ssddx]

that depends on how bad the internal dac and amp is on your phone and how well they handle your headphone without any external devices.

do they work/are you happy with performance without any additional equipment?

i've got a pair of m50s that i use without an amp and they sound perfectly fine to me on my phone. i would try to establish a baseline (no additional equipment) idea of how your headphones sound with your phone before deciding on what to buy extra.

if they didnt work without an amp, or if the volumes are too low or if you just wanted a little boost in performance then going cheap and getting a portable fiio amplifier could help and might be worthwhile. if volumes are fine but you just wanted a little extra power/low end then a cheap fiio amp might also grant that (though the sennheisers arent known for low end bass).

if your phone has all sorts of distortion, buzzing, or other audio anomolies from the dac and/or amp then going with an external dac/amp like the e18 might definitely be worthwhile. if you dont have such issues then i'd only go for it if you are a complete audiophile as its probably not worthwhile.

while the more expensive the product the more options you have that doesnt mean its going to sound much better to you. much will depend on the source content and your headphones. if you were using some 250ohm dt880's playing lossless media then yeah an e18 might give you an edge but if you're on a 50ohm hd598 playing mp3's and internet radio likely you wont see a huge difference (depending on quality of your phone internals) its a really hard call without listening to it firsthand.

you need to let me know how your headphones are sounding without any equipment (test using lossless media files) before i can say what would be best). also see if the total volume output is high enough for your likings. remember to test with a variety of songs including ones which hit super low notes and super high notes since that will stress your internal amp to its limits which can give you an idea if its going to be acting up on you or not. electronica normally works out good here but so does classical.

 

[seymoorebutts]

I think if I were to get an amp/DAC it would be some type of FiiO. If I do decide to get one, where is the balance that I would be getting best price/performance ratio? Like which model would you suggest is best? Will I continue to get better performance as I go up the line in models, or will my setup not really see a benefit after a certain point, possibly from technical limitations?

 

[seymoorebutts]

I think I'll get the Sennheisers first, and then find a place to test an amp/DAC and see if there is any benefit