Davesrose
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Oct 20, 2006
- Posts
- 5,563
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- 395
OK, thought I'd submit to this forum since I just got myself a DAC1. My first high end equipment....and already I know I need a new headphone amp for it!!!!
I decided to go with it, over others, because I heard it was a bit bright sounding (and some have said it's as cold as a winters day). Well I thought that maybe that would be good synergy for my Sennheisers. Before hand, I had my HeadRoom MicroAmp plugged directly into my CD player. Talk about shear amazement when I first plugged in the DAC1 and started listening through it's headphone outputs!!!! My HD595s really shine straight out of it. One interesting thing I notice is that you don't need crossfeed with this DAC. It must be doing its own....and REALLY well too. I tested this effect out with one of those pop tracks that start off in one channel. Sure enough, the DAC was bleeding it to the other channel. One thing I'm surprised about is how well its headphone amp drives my HD595s (the owners manual says that it's compliant for headphones up to 60 ohms......so my HD600s (and future 650s) would probably do better with a higher voltage headphone amp). I can't see how this DAC is cold! It's extremely well balanced, and delivers ample bass, detail, and amazing highs. Plus it brings out a dramatic soundstage. So much so, that now I know I need to find a better headphone amp for my HD600s!!! When the output is to the MicroAmp, I've noticed the tonality does shrink....also that amazing soundstage. Don't know if the only way to keep that is to go into a balanced system. I guess we know where my Christmas money is going to be going!!!!!
Guess I'd better submit to the amp section to ask about what hp amp will run well with the DAC1.......something tells me a tube amp might be in order!!!
I decided to go with it, over others, because I heard it was a bit bright sounding (and some have said it's as cold as a winters day). Well I thought that maybe that would be good synergy for my Sennheisers. Before hand, I had my HeadRoom MicroAmp plugged directly into my CD player. Talk about shear amazement when I first plugged in the DAC1 and started listening through it's headphone outputs!!!! My HD595s really shine straight out of it. One interesting thing I notice is that you don't need crossfeed with this DAC. It must be doing its own....and REALLY well too. I tested this effect out with one of those pop tracks that start off in one channel. Sure enough, the DAC was bleeding it to the other channel. One thing I'm surprised about is how well its headphone amp drives my HD595s (the owners manual says that it's compliant for headphones up to 60 ohms......so my HD600s (and future 650s) would probably do better with a higher voltage headphone amp). I can't see how this DAC is cold! It's extremely well balanced, and delivers ample bass, detail, and amazing highs. Plus it brings out a dramatic soundstage. So much so, that now I know I need to find a better headphone amp for my HD600s!!! When the output is to the MicroAmp, I've noticed the tonality does shrink....also that amazing soundstage. Don't know if the only way to keep that is to go into a balanced system. I guess we know where my Christmas money is going to be going!!!!!
Guess I'd better submit to the amp section to ask about what hp amp will run well with the DAC1.......something tells me a tube amp might be in order!!!
