Thanks so much. I totally was hoping for a go ahead with those. The only thing I’m wondering is if there’s anyway to get them soon. On the website it says the end of the month. Do you know if I reserve a spot if I’ll definitely get em then? I’m kinda a lost puppy in this world.
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Thanks for the input. As I said I’m brand new to headphones. I just got a pair of Cambridge Audio Melomania 1 plus, and wow it’s so much better than what I’m used to. I’m just looking to step it up. By the way I’m not familiar with the term “planers.” Never ran into that before.
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Here’s 1 video looking into the anatomy of a planar headphone and here is another describing the differences you may be able to perceive between a dynamic driver headphone. Take a look if you’re interested…
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You’ll want a dac/amp if you’re planning on getting the 6xx. Didn’t sound like you have one from your initial post. The 6xx was my first headphone and I was running it from my Denon avr. It wasn’t great…it got loud enough but didn’t sound the way it did once I got an amp. I had no clue about dacs and headphone amps. Don’t make the same mistake I did and wonder why the hell everybody says it so great. Haha . If you’re not getting a setup right away there’s probably better choices that can run off a pc or whatever youhave. I’m not sure what you have as far as dac/amp, etc
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Yeah I have to get a dap. I used to have an ifii, wish I didn’t get rid of it now. I’ll be looking into it before the 6xx get here. I just ordered them😆 Scratch that I meant DAC
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Yes you will definitely get them. Worse things than a few weeks wait. In order to make them sing you will need an amp with some power ( not necessarily expensive).
What were you thinking about for your source? Have you given thought to an amp? Or DAC?
Like many here I have a 6xx in my current headphones. I think that iFi has some equipment made specifically for the 6xx. @SebastienChiu, can you talk about it?
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Thank you! Sure. What is a good pairing for them? I was just going to use a computer or phone as the source for now. I have a subscription to spotify. That’s the only thing I have.
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@Mick: this is great advice. I’d recommend getting a DAC and an amp from Schiit Audio. The Modi is a solid entry-level DAC for $99.
If you move swifty, you could get a Magni 3 amp to go with it. Schiit is selling it b-stock, meaning it’ll just have a minor cosmetic blemish, for $69. Or you could opt for the b-stock Magni 3+ which is the latest version, with some improvements over the 3, for $89 (again, b-stock).
Another option, for a bit more money, is the Vali 2+ for $149, if you want a tube amp.
Get a cheap rca cable to connect your components (from monoprice, for instance) and you’ll be all set.
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Lots of truth here, but I was trying to stay pretty neutral. There is also the Atom at $99. You all know I’m partial to Schiit equipment but I have not heard their entry level stuff. And I do have an iFi xDSD that I know pairs well with the 6xx. Given that there’s a lot of shared tech with the Zen amp and DAC for the 6xx I really think that is worth looking at also
On my iPhone so I’m not searching for the review I know exists here. As iFi has a rep in our midst, I gave a yell for him.
@Mick, I know it can be confusing with us shouting at once. But you have a bit of time to look over the options. Ask questions. And realize that it’s not likely anyone here will give you bad advice.
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Thanks very much. I just purchased the magni 3 plus for $89. So now I’ve got the 6xx and that 
.
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Well you certainly can’t go wrong with that. What is your source? Where does the music come from?
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Congrats! That’s a great starting point and should stand you in good stead for a nice long while.
@pennstac’s suggestions are great, and he’s right to call me out for not being neutral in recommending Schiit’s gear. Sorry, I should have explained that I specifically recommended the Schiit stuff because of the b-stock deal. I should also have offered you the courtesy of explaining my reasoning. I hope the following helps:
I was recommending getting a separate dac and amp so that you can upgrade them individually and incrementally, should you wish to do so, in the future. I started with the Fulla 2 with the HD 6XX several years ago. When wanted a better amp some 18 months later, I went for the Drop Cavalli Tube Hybrid (not available now) and kept the Fulla 2 as I could still use its DAC with the new amp (the Fulla 2 is an all-in-one unit). Just over a year after that I upgraded the DAC. Each of these upgrades happened after I’d decided to commit further to the hobby and to invest more money in it.
I should point out that I still have the Fulla 2; I also added a Magni 3 (b-stock) to my collection because it works well with planar headphones. The Magni 3 does a great job with the HD 6XX as an entry-level amp. People keep their HD 6XX for a lifetime and sometimes pair them with super high-end amps because they scale so well, meaning that they keep improving in sound quality as you move up to higher tier components.
You can add a DAC to your collection down the line if you’re looking for another improvement in sound.
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As of now I’m planning to use a computer or phone. I have some flac files stored, and I also stream spotify. I’m planning to get tidal when I get things going. I’m really gonna need a dac soon though, or I’d be running a funky rca headphone cable🤣
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Yeah, well @pennstac won’t be criticizing too much as he has a Schiit stack not 12 inches from his elbow and his HD-6XX (and a Koss Porta-Pro) sitting right next to it. I don’t find the Schiit stuff to be very well, mobile. When I take the 6xx with me, I usually pack the iFi xDSD. I used that as a DAC only into the Schiit Lyr3 for a while too. When I want to be even more portable, I go from the iPhone to a Dragonfly Cobalt to something. It’s OKAY with the 6xx but doesn’t have the power to do it justice. It’s fine with my old Sennheiser HD-580, or more frequently with the Grado RS-1e.
I was just a bit concerned because we hadn’t gotten @Mick 's use case. Is he in one spot, or moving around. Does he use the phone or a computer (Just got an alert about both).
So we gotta find him the right DAC.
NOTE: I see he says computer and phone. …
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No that’s exactly my plan. Upgrade over time. It’s what I’ve always done with home and car systems. My wife hates me for it too. Gotta be careful
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You need to look through the TIDAL v QOBUZ discussions here. I loved me the Tidal when it came out. QOBUZ did not have that much of a catalog. Tidal masters were very nice at first, less so now. I just made the shift from Tidal to Qobuz (Tidal runs out after a 3 year run on May 12.).
I did find that streaming FLAC redbook (44.1/16bit) is very good. Radio Paradise does that for free. If you are SET on TIDAL, then you will want a DAC that does MQA. That would NOT be Schiit. There was a time that this MQA was important. It is nice to see the little purple light come on and know that you have reproduced something as designed. About a year later, you will start wondering what that something is. And that’s where the S&%T hits the fan. Suffice it to say that after paying careful attention to this for about 18 months I now, like Rhett Butler, don’t give a damn.
Yeah okay. I’m glad you said something because the amp and cans are fairly straightforward. I don’t know (or understand) too much about dacs. I’m definitely don’t have my mind set on anything for a source at the moment. I’m not up with all the audio lingo, so I’m not sure what to do about the dac. I know I’ll eventually want the highest quality signal I can achieve in my budget but for now I’m open to anything.
Good. It took me a few years to get my head around why I even wanted a DAC. I came from traditional audio hobby. I still love me some speakers and a turntable. Yes, the amp and cans are fairly straightforward. The DAC is probably the least sensitive of the 3 components.
Think carefully about how much you want to move around. That’s why we sometimes have a DAC we use to be portable and one that we use for sit-down listening. Anything that does not carry it’s own power or plug in and is driven off of your phone will show some limitations with the HD-6xx. The Dragonfly Red or Cobalt, for example are DACs with AMPs that almost, but not quite power the HD-6xx. They are certainly good enough for casual use, but you would NOT want to use them to power your new Magni as they don’t have a proper line out.
For less portable use, and if you DON’T need MQA for Tidal, then the entry level Schiit is fine as are a bunch of other choices. If you DO need MQA and Tidal, you want to make sure that you get something that supports MQA.
What you find with Tidal Masters is that SOMETIMES the engineers and the group took the time to be extra careful with the sound and mastering. That is the one advantage that TIDAL MASTERS / MQA have over non-MQA formats. I’ve found - as have many here - that a proper high-res stream or file is probably better - or certainly as good as MQA. And there are fewer limitations on it - like it’s easy to use EQ.
Recently it has come to many’s attention that a lot of the MQA masters are actually upsampled 44.1 files. Not quite what we expected. Someone can point you to the revealing video.
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This will help get you started on a DAC: Massdrop 101: What Is A DAC? | Drop
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Thank you @Tchoupitoulas. I recovered from the web freeze and completed my response above, so if you’re reading in order, you might have only gotten paragraph 1.
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