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MXRC
261
Apr 17, 2017
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Heefty
1387
Apr 18, 2017
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MXRCThe purpose of an amp is not just to boost the amplitude but also to deliver sufficient power to maintain that amplitude.
You cannot get reasonable sound quality from HD650 without a fairly potent amp. I wouldn't recommend anything weaker than the venerable O2 which is still too weak imo. Yes, you can make them loud enough with a mobile device, but they will sound horrible because the output amp in the device is too weak to force the needed current through the headphone to get to the voltage it is trying to drive.
As with all things audio, sufficient drive capacity is still going to mean subjective differences in sound, as are the $350 headphones at the source of the question here. If you can't tell that you need a decent amp to drive the HD650, you probably can't tell the difference between the HD650 and the HD202 and are better off spending that extra $330 on something where you will really get some value from.
You cannot get reasonable sound quality from HD650 without a fairly potent amp. I wouldn't recommend anything weaker than the venerable O2 which is still too weak imo. Yes, you can make them loud enough with a mobile device, but they will sound horrible because the output amp in the device is too weak to force the needed current through the headphone to get to the voltage it is trying to drive.
As with all things audio, sufficient drive capacity is still going to mean subjective differences in sound, as are the $350 headphones at the source of the question here. If you can't tell that you need a decent amp to drive the HD650, you probably can't tell the difference between the HD650 and the HD202 and are better off spending that extra $330 on something where you will really get some value from.
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Solid Sate Amps are great for amplifying without colouring the sound. If you just need a boost in amplitude, these are the way to go. Most just do the job of amplification and nothing else. These tend to have a colder sound although with anything, it's not always the case.
Tube amps tend to colour sound more than solid state. It usually makes audio signal sound warmer with a slight increase in the mid and low-mid for amps with vintage style tubes. The cool thing about tube amps is, you can easily switch out the tubes to get a different sound, making them a lot more versatile. You can achieve a very analytic cold sound with these amps and the right tubes (usually Russian tubes are more articulate and cold sounding).
Between those two technologies, the only other things to consider is price point and the inclusion of a DAC. I suggest getting a tube amp and then play around with switching tubes out for different sounds. It's the more expandable than a solid state amp.