Headphone amp for Sennheiser HD-590? (1 Viewer)

[ReggieW]

Is anyone out there using one? Just curious, because I have to crank the volume to -10 on my Denon 1802 to get them to a reasonable/partly loud volume. My old Sony's would do this at about -20, so I think the Senn's just require more power than the Sony's to power them. The 590's sound outstanding btw, aside from the volume issue. I would appreciate any opinions.

Reg

 

[Chu Gai]

Reg, if you're Sony's were a closed ear design, that might be part of the explanation. Doesn't take much power to drive headphones, 'cept for dem electrostatics, but consider taking your headphone to a friend's receiver and see if it does the same thing. btw, did you buy those new or refurbished?

 

[Dan Cabral]

Reg, I've got a pair of HD-600's, and I'm looking for an amp myself. Best bang-for-the-buck seems to be the Creek OBH-11. I've seen it online for as low as $179. There's an SE model that's got some more juice, but normally runs for around $350.

However, hooking my cans up to my receiver's headphone jack, I do not have to crank the volume. Got my dad a pair of HD-580's, and tested them out today. Other than needing some break-in, they sounded fine at normal volume levels as well.

The thing with the Sennheisers is that they're not closed ear design, as Chu Gai hinted at, so they'll let it in lot of ambient room noise. If you're in a loud environment, you might have to crank it to be able to hear it clearly, but it should still be audible at moderate volumes.

 

[ReggieW]

Thanks,

My headphones were bought new - I would never buy refurbished cans. I have only had them a few days, so they will probably require more break in time. You are correct in that the Sony's I owned were of the closed ear design, so this is probaly where the differences in the volume settings occur. It is probably just me having to get used to a new set of cans. I have had the Sony's for ten years, so the Sennheiser experience is a totally new one.

Reg

 

[Dan Cabral]

FWIW, I found the Creak OBH-11 the cheapest at www.hififarm.com. Never bought anything from them, so this isn't an indorsement of them, just where I saw the lowest price.