Need Some advise apparently, looking at these comments, I'm not unsure, will just getting a 'good' headphone amp be enough for these Senns? or will I need a combo DAC/Amp or DAC+Amp for them to not sound like shit...
Right now if I'm at my computer I'm using a Creative X-Fi with the amp front panel (the original X-Fi run, with the more powerful chips and better music focused DAC processing, not 'real' audiophile I know, but for a gaming PC still better than onboard) and just a cheapo FiiO headphone amp to give my current Sennheiser HD 518s more umph. So my question is for the 6XXs do I just need a better Amp? or do I really need/want a new DAC/Amp instead to stand between my X-Fi and the 6XXs?
If so, what is the best, least expensive option in the general wisdom of y'all for these, vs. what is the (not top end/highest end) more preferred option for powering these puppies? (trying to plan squirreling away money for whatever I end up getting before Dec and need to generate a rough idea here pretty quick)
GCE1701DYou've already got a solid dac, and if you have enough volume IMO you dont need a new amp. I plan on running them straight from my mac pro trashcan, which can deliver about 2v output.
GCE1701DWhether you need an upgrade is up to you. You can spend a lot on an amp and only get marginal improvements. Sure the HD6XX needs plenty of power to sound their best, but that doesn't mean they won't sound good on a FiiO - they are not amp picky and will give good performance regardless of amp. Give them a go on the FiiO, my money's on you'll like them straight away, you can always choose to upgrade another time and the HD6XX will scale incredibly well.