Hey guys, just wondering if I need an AMP at all. I was set on buying A "Little Dot 1+" but I noticed my motherboard can support up to 600 omh headphones anyway so is it really necessary to get an AMP too? I'd just like to hear your thoughts. Cheers! https://www.asus.com/ca-en/Motherboards/MAXIMUS_VII_FORMULA/
JosephHarbinMedicalOrderlyI would add the caveat that it may work, but you may not be too excited (even disappointed) about the results... I had originally driven my HD600 with a TEAC HA-P50 portable headphone amp/DAC (http://www.teac.com/product/ha-p50/), which worked well enough, but lacked a dynamic punch. I like the flexibility of the TEAC, which has also been on Massdrop before, or similar items like the xDuoo or Fiio units.
To really get the most out of these headphones, though, you'll want a decent solid state or tube amp to drive them well enough to make them really come alive. I'm a firm believer in balanced headphone amplifiers (https://www.headphone.com/pages/balanced-headphones-guide) with these headphones as well, as I think it makes a noticeable improvement in the bass response and the clarity of the high end as well as expanding the sound stage image.
The fact that the Sennheiser have a replaceable cable wired separately to each driver makes them easy to convert to balanced drive by replacing the cable with something like the "ZY" balanced cable (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00A2QJLY8/ref=cm_sw_su_dp) that has been on Massdrop previously, or from Amazon.com. I've paired mine with a Schiit Jotunheim w/DAC card (http://schiit.com/products/jotunheim), and I love it!
Do it in stages if you have to pace your spending, but I believe that you will be very happy with the end result. You've already ordered a world-class headphone. Pick up a headphone amp/DAC when you can, then spring for the balanced cable. I wrote a blog post on this at: http://www.tombaugh.org/good-schiit-rocky-mountain-audio-fest