Sennheiser Massdrop HD6XX Afternoon Yak Devolved into Shitposts

Simple budget solutions that I personally tried and worked to get great sound from HD650

1. Jotunheim BAL
2. GOV2/GO2A BAL
3. Vali 2

 

I'll add Vali 1 and Valhalla 2.

 

I think we (SBAF) should put up a "Welcome to Randos who just purchased an HD6XX" banner with a link to a definitive list of appropriate SS and Tube amps to buy to power them.

 

Cool. So you liked the 650 with Vali 1 - that's good to hear for me. How does it compare to 650 with Valhalla? I assume Valhalla is superior but what specific differences have you noticed?

 

My skills are poor, but I'll try to answer...

The Vali 1 lends a warm, musical sheen over everything, I think it can make any headphone sound better in that way. It's as if that laid back yet still engaging quality the HD650 has was put into an amp It will still resolve detail better than using no amp, and its soundstage and dynamics won't blow anyone away, but I bet at $99 it will give anything else in its price range a run for the money.

Valhalla 2 is something else entirely, it immerses you sonically and its sense of detail and dimensionality can be breathtaking to the point of fatigue without a good DAC to prevent what was for me, a claustrophobic time. At $349, I'm not entirely sold on its value (EDIT, with Jot now in the mix)- the stock tubes are reputedly tepid. Now, @thegunner100 sold his to me with Amperex OG tubes for $230, an incredible value. The Amperex tubes give the amp that warmth I crave.

These are the only two amps I have owned- please keep that in mind.

 

I'd add:
Bottlehead Crack with Speedball

PonoMusic Player - balanced only
(I'd highly suggest Black finish only. Even if one prefers Yellow, I have read too many reports of the Yellow developing spots in the finish. And those spots are coming from behind the Yellow finish. I have read Pono's response and one of the things that can cause this is holding the player. )

 

Cool. The Valhalla 2 will not be an option for me due to my need to go Back and forth between 110 and 220 but I was just curious. I may get a Vali 2 and do some tube rolling.

 

The Vali 2 was my first choice for an upgrade. The Valhalla 2
I got was just a lot of good luck.

 

Yeah, no what i mean by "not bad" was that there were people recommending the Jotun and also that atleast its not people recommending the O2 for everything anymore.

 

I picked up a used Valhalla 1 for $200 CAD ($220 after shipping) which ends up being about $150 USD. If you can get similarly lucky in the used market, Valhalla could be a nice option as well (even if it is more expensive to tube roll with it compared to the Vali 2).

 

Does it use a wall wart like the Vali 2? If not then it's not an option for me since I need to go back and forth between 100v and 220v

 

Vali 2 has a bit of a unique plug on the end, so if you meant "can you use the same power cable", unfortunately not.

Vali 2 plug: http://puu.sh/s7HKB/64f7d493f4.png

Valhalla 1 plug: http://puu.sh/s7HHi/d23d2b8a8c.png

 

No, only the "small" form factor Schiit stuff uses wall warts

 

No, I meant does it use a wall wart that can be easily switched over to a different 220v wall wart so I can take it to Asia. I can see now that it def does not.

 

Yes you do. Its quite an eye opening experience..... Budget-fi at its best maybe

 

Good suggestion... I am thinking to go for Jot or Vali 2. Does anyone also tried Asgard 2 and recommend with HD6xx? I got impression from reading that Asgard 2 is SS but quite warm and present tubey like sound... Correct me if I am wrong.

 

not a good combo imo. Your other two choices are much better

 

While the Vali 2 is a wonderful little amp, if your main headphone is going to be HD650, the Jot really is an obscenely good match. The HD650 can be a little dark and sleepy, and the Jot blasts through that a bit, especially with a balanced cable (re-terminate the stock one/a spare to do it on the cheap). It's an unusually good combo for the money.

Vali 2 is a delightful amp. However, you're going to hear more detail and extension from the Jot, it's much faster- which the 650 really benefits from.

 

You can read impressions here in the SENNHEISER HD650/M COMPENDIUM.
Follow this path:
Spoiler: Recommended amplifiers: tube vs. solid state?
Spoiler: Additional solid state amplifiers
Then read the links under here: Schiit Asgard 2 (value option championed by @Psalmanazar)

(If there is a way to link directly to posts under Spoilers, I don't know what it is.)

Edit: Why are we posting this stuff under "Sennheiser Massdrop HD6XX Afternoon Yak Devolved into Shitposts"? (I just noticed that. )

 

When you buy a Sennheiser HD6xx, a Jotunheim and a balanced cable should come in the same box. I enjoy mine a lot, but since I am currently lost in a "modded HE-6 through speaker amp" parallel universe they aren't getting much play time. Shame really, but every time I listen to them I say "this is really very nice" then I put them away and crank the HE-6's back up.