I have the Sennheiser HD600, Neumann NDH-30, Audeze LCD-X.
I use these with my SSL2 hp out, and with Qudelix 5K.
I spoke to someone about my impressions and his first question was: which dac/amp? and when I told, he just winked.
So my question is: is the difference this obvious with a more expensive dac/amp combo? Should I spend another 6-800 euro to get one? Do your headphones open up/perform that much better?
(everything i say is my opinion and none of this is a fact)
as an owner of lots of dacs/amps/headphones … is a $400 amp much better than a $100 one? no.
how about $100 and $700 - the amplification part? no…
how about a $200 amp and a $1500 amp - surely, the $1500 amp … amplifies the signal “better” than the $200 one - no… no it doesn’t
when listening to my hipdac, which was $200 - music sounds amazing and perfect… nothing sounds wrong. there is no compromise.
this is the same for music coming out of the apple dongle…
rme adi? which cost 5x as much as my hipdac - everything sounds exactly the same, until you start hitting xbass or fiddling with eq.
my cambridge dacs/amps are also perfect - smsl… perfect - schiit - perfect… etc etc etc.
i don’t have a piece of equipment that is “better” than another from the pure dac and pure amp standpoint - the difference is in the inputs, details, features, smell… touch… etc.
but that’s from my point of view - other people have valid and valuable input on the matter.