Hello. Great forum you have here. I’ve been devouring posts (mostly about the 58x and portable amps), but because I’m neurotic and what answers to my exact questions (and there doesn’t seem to be a ton about 555 on the web), I figured I’d lay out my questions here:
Hd555s are the only open back I’ve owned (and definitely the best headphone I’ve had). I bought them refurbished 8 years ago when I was poorer than I am now, and I’ve used them almost daily since then. Love the sound, but granted my standards were low and I don’t have the benefit comparison. Anyway, how much of an upgrade will 58x be? What about if I don’t have an amp? I’ve seen people call them a sidegrade, and I’ve of course seen the enthusiastic reviews. Just figured I’d fish for wisdom on this issue.
Also, if I wanted a portable amp (love to listen while I do dishes, move around the house) <200 usd, any recs?
And lastly, if I’m buying an amp in that range, should I just move up to the 6xx? I listen to rock and rap mostly. Thanks a million, and sorry if there were bad things about this post.
I think it would be a noticable upgrade in technicalities, with a more refined sound. It might be similar stage wise in width/intimacy, but it will have more depth imo. Slightly different sound signature tilting a bit more neutral, but it still has the Sennheiser warmth and classic house sound to an extent.
It’s not that amp picky, but you can benefit more from an amp, so imo if you can fit one in your budget it would be worthwhile
I personally don’t think it would be a sidegrade imo, I think it would be an upgrade in performance with a slightly different signature
With the 58x if you want something clean and neutral, the xduoo xd05 is a good pick imo. If you are looking for something resolving and capable but a bit smoother and warmer, the ifi idsd nano black label is pretty good imo
So this one depends. I think the 6xx is a more capable headphone, but for the genre you listen to, I actually think the 58x is more suited imo, the 6xx might not have enough low end performance and be a bit too amp picky for use with portables compared to the 58x imo
The amps mentioned above are among my contenders, also curious about the btr5, q5 (big jump up, but I might splurge if it’s worth it), hipdac, zen and maybe like a thousand other things that often seem to get recommended.
I’ll be listening through an iPhone XR, and often wanting to pocket the whole contraption. Adding Bluetooth (to use when maybe eventually lossless audio will work through an iPhone and amp in Bluetooth mode) is attractive (but not close to mandatory since it apparently won’t work with my iPhone and lossless files anyway). I will often be listening with the phone and amp in my pocket, so I would prefer a form factor conducive to that.
So regarding the btr5 and q5, those would be very good picks if you were willing to get a balanced cable for the hd58x imo, as then you can get more performance out of them running balanced. The hipdac is a bit too warm for my tastes on the 58x, can sound a bit sloppy compared to other options imo. And the zen is a desktop amp
Thank you again for the info. I’ve seen a few complaints about interference from phones on the x-duoo (though I think it was a Massdrop offering, not sure if it’s the same model) and that has frightened me. I’m open to a balanced cable, but I’ll have to do some googling, because despite seeing reference to it over and over, I’m still not really sure what it is.