Amp for HD 650?

S

StaticSurge

Gawd
Joined
Jul 25, 2006
Messages
735
I'm going to be getting my 650s in the mail tomorrow (hopefully :D ) and was wondering if I could find a half decent amp for them for $300 or less (maybe a bit more..) to hold me over until I can afford something really nice. Does anyone have any experience or feedback of amps that might work in my situation and pricepoint?
 
Why don't you try the darn things before you get an amp. ^_^ (And, it's free that way!)

That way you can save up and get a good amp someday.
 
I was in your predicament a few months ago, the HeadAmp Gilmore Lite is an excellent, neutral $299 headphone amp, imho. It's simple, feels sturdy, and I don't really ever need to crank it up past halfway for my own Senn 650's.

I think you will find people are generally very happy with this little amp.

PS - they're handmade by some guy in the States, so give him a week or so after the order to build it.

http://www.headamp.com/home_amps/lite/index.htm
 
Justin makes those Headamp gears... he makes them good and solid.

I had the Gilmore Lite with my former 650s and they sounded good. A bit on the forward side with that particular amp. A little warmer and much better sounding overall (in terms of coherence) with the GS-1 though. I would also look at some M3 amps or a used set of Singlepower PPX amps.

Good luck with your search. ;)
 
towert7 said:
Why don't you try the darn things before you get an amp. ^_^ (And, it's free that way!)

That way you can save up and get a good amp someday.
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Oh I'll try them for sure.. I just didn't think I had anything that would have been decent enough to power them. All I've got currently is my X-Fi and my Marantz receiver and I pretty much figured that from all the comments I've read that you haven't really heard the 650s until you've heard them amped. As for amps thanks for the comments guys, those HeadAmps look really nice, especially the Gilmore and right in my price range. As for waiting for an amp when I said "saving" I really meant waiting and focusing on other hobbies and bills. I could go out and get an over the top one right now other than the wife factor :p but like I said other priorities and want something to hold me for a while
 
StaticSurge said:
Oh I'll try them for sure.. I just didn't think I had anything that would have been decent enough to power them. All I've got currently is my X-Fi and my Marantz receiver and I pretty much figured that from all the comments I've read that you haven't really heard the 650s until you've heard them amped. As for amps thanks for the comments guys, those HeadAmps look really nice, especially the Gilmore and right in my price range. As for waiting for an amp when I said "saving" I really meant waiting and focusing on other hobbies and bills. I could go out and get an over the top one right now other than the wife factor :p but like I said other priorities and want something to hold me for a while
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Take your time man.... the ball's in your court that way. Listen to them and in a few months or years, get the amp. Patience builds character anyway.

:)
 
Sam said:
Pimeta/with and Elpac ps..New or used in your price range.
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Or you could always build one yourself for about $180.
http://tangentsoft.net/audio/pimeta/

Richie said:
You can find a used PPA for around that price.
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Or you could always build one yourself for about $200.
http://tangentsoft.net/audio/ppa/amp2/

Joey said:
I would also look at some M3 amps
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Or you could always build one yourself for about $250
http://www.amb.org/audio/mmm/

And last but not least:
You could always build a Dynalo for about $150 as well.
http://www.djgardner.com/headphone/gilmore/ :p
 
I've been reading really good things about the Heed CanAmp over at HeadFi and it drives the HD650's well. It sells for $400.00 but I read if you are a member of Headfi you may get it for $340.00. I think this is the amp I am going to buy. I would rather have the Mapletree but don't want to spend $600.00.

http://www.blackbirdaudio.com/
 
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