I previously had the HD600 that I paired with Cayin HA-1A MK2 Tube amplifier. But a few months back I sold everything desktop I own to take a break. Recently the Senn HD650 has been on sale in my country, got it brand new for like 320$. Now I am looking to buy a decent DAC/amp for the 650.
This time I don’t want to invest too much for desktop gears looking at a max price of 250-300$ for the amp. DAC I can use my N6ii for the time being, later on, I can grab an E50 or something.
If you are only looking for an amp, if you wanted to go solid state I’d look into a lake people g103s for something more neutral or a schiit Asgard 3 for a bit more warmth and richness. Tube wise you don’t have that many options imo, although an eufonika h7 could be pretty compelling. For all of these you would just use your n6ii as a dac
Thanks for your reply mate!! I am looking for solid-state mostly this time. This is for my casual listening and occasional gaming. I don’t want Tubes for that scenario. Looking at G103s.
Nice nice then, the 103s is great stuff, should serve you well. Later on if you were looking for a somewhat similar tier dac to pair with it, the allo revolution dac works quite well although depending on the module in your n6ii not sure if it could really be considered an upgrade and might be more a sidegrade (unless you got a nicer psu along with it like the shanti or nirvana)
This is readily available in my country too. I am just worried if it is lean sounding or something. Previously i also had E30+L30 stack and with that the HD600 had a bad lean sound.
The ifi stuff typically isn’t lean, it’s a warmer more rich and forward sort of signature (just make sure to grab a balanced cable if you go with the zen). The e30 + l30 is damn lean however (and very lifeless and flat too)
Personally I favor the g103 more because I think it’s more impressive spatially, offers more resolving power, is more dynamic specifically in micro, offers more speed and separation, and is a bit more balanced overall. But the ifi does have more weight and body (sometimes a bit too much for my tastes), and a more energetic signature. But it’s not exactly a fair comparison since the zen dac does have both a dac and amp vs a standalone amp
Wait you are recommending me to get a Zen DAC V2? that is like 150$ approx here. The separate amp that is Zen Can is like 200$. Which one shall i get if i plan on getting only one among the two for now.
Actually importing currently is not easy in my country, the taxes are too much. Plus AMPs are usually heavy so attracts more.
An update here. I first bought a solid-state amp designed by a custom developer here(DIY). It was excellent with the HD650. But then at an audio meet, I got to try the Dark Voice 336SE, I couldn’t believe my ears, the 650 sounded splendid.
Very next day, I went to a local dealer in my country and bought myself a unit of Dark Voice 336SE.