Hi there, a mate of mine has just bought the ifi zen DAC and is looking for a headphone upgrade to match.
At the moment, he’s got Audio Technica M40x and Beyer DT770 pro but is looking for a new open back to compliment them. He’s got about a £300 budget and likes quite reference/warm sound.
Thanks,
Felix
edit buying used is fine
HD6xx from Drop is a great paring. Sundara is also pretty good balanced.
I’m worried about the zen not having enough power for the sundara though
Fair. It powered mine pretty well. Again, balanced. Brought up the bass (Xbass on Sundara is pure sex) and warmed them up enough to sound a little richer. Sound stage not affected.
hmm, m40x and 770s both are V signatured… if thats his preference I am not sure a Sennheiser would cut it for him he may find it a bit bland and boring…
I was just thinking maybe the sundara would work for him since the xbass button is there… well that or the DT 880s as the extra bass is lovely
Does your friend have the option to return the Zen Dac and get the Zen Can?
Yes, the Zen Can is amp only, but what an amp! It’s dead silent and could light up the entire neighborhood!
Paired with a Topping E30 it would run just about any headphone you could throw at it.
Unfortunately not no 
Hi, sorry this is out of topic but can you describe how the dt 770 sound? Do you recomend it? I was looking into that for my next bassy headphone but wasn’t sure. For now i got my hip dac and hifiman he400i
Pretty clear, definitely not muddy. As you said a tad bass heavy which can lead one to wanting more pronounced treble
Hi there,
Currently looking to upgrade my HD558 with something nicer. I already have the Zen DAC. Comfort is one of the main point I would say (I wear glasses). The HD558 are really great on that, but I feels that the zen dac is a bit overkill for them.
Is the 6XX still a good upgrade? What about the balanced output, is it worth to get a balanced headset?
My budget is 400$ max.
Thanks