Unless you have a good headphone amp I wouldn’t do the HD600 or HD650. I have had a pair of HD650s for years and thought they sounded like trash, but just recently bought a nice headphone amp and they are WAY better with the amp. I imagine the HD600 is similar since they are made by the same company and have the same impedance.
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I’ve got a question on headphone amps for the DT 1990.
I’m currently using the MOTU UL MK5 (and very happy with it!).
Just curious if the MOTU will drive the DT 1990’s to their full potential. I think the answer is yes, but happy to be corrected by someone who knows more 
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Good question, and I would be curious to know as well. The headphone amp in my MOTU 828es is my favorite I have used so far in an interface, so I wonder how the Ultralite MK5 stacks up?
When I researching the MOTU UL MK5, I found this to be encouraging. My read was that I wouldn’t need a headphone AMP (or DAC) as it had it covered, but then again I’m no expert.
I think a solid audio interface will probably get you where you need to be… BUUUUTT in the audiophile world there are a ton of dedicated headphone amps that I think are a bit better. The way I think about it, an audio interface has a lot of jobs (IO, clocking, monitor control, talkback, dsp, etc) and happens to have a headphone amp built in for convenience. On midrange interfaces and up, they’re even pretty good, but they are still mostly there as a checkbox because it would just look weird to release a mainstream audio interface that doesn’t have headphone outs. You’d lose more sales by not having headphone outs than you would gain in cut costs, so interfaces have headphone amps that are good enough.
That said, something like a Schiit Magni (around $100) a THX AAA-789 (around $350) or a Topping A90 ($500 to $600) do make a difference with headphones of that caliber IMO. I personally use the THX amp I mentioned. Math just dictates that these companies are spending more on higher quality components than interface companies. Audiophiles keep going well beyond that pricepoint, but I think something like a Magni or THX amp could be warranted if you feel you’re not getting everything you’d like out of your interface and you monitor through headphones often.
Feel free to ignore all that and just use your interface, I really mean it when I say it’s probably fine.
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Hmmm…I’m not sure what all those numbers mean, but that chart sure is pretty!
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Green is good, yellow is ok, and red is poor is about as deep as I got into it
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Deal!
I’ve got the DT 900 Pro X’s… I went for them over Senn HD650s because I didn’t want to have to get an amp to drive them.
I really like them, they’re really neutral in the bass end, and open sounding.
They’re quite surgical… so I like using them at the latter end of mixes when I want to know what’s going on.
Up to that point, I like using HD25s.
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Thanks! That’s good to know.
I compared the headphone out of my Apogee One to the MOTU and there was a difference.
The MOTU sounded more full at the same volume levels (esp the low end). That’s what made me wonder if there was another level, and if I was truly driving the headphones to their potential.
Please note that I don’t need it to sound better, and I’m thrilled with the quality I’m getting with the DT 1990 + MOTU UL MK5. But curiosity… you know
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Yeah, The MOTU was the first built-in headphone amp that really wowed me. I don’t know how much juice the Mk5 headphone output has compared to the 828es, but they both use SABRE DAC’s which sound great.
One of the best decisions I ever made was to buy an SPL Phonitor Mini. I think it has been superseded now.
Never had to worry about driving headphones again.
Looking online I think the replacement is the SPL Matrix. £330ish.
Lot of money but if you want to drop a large amount on headphones its worth it.
for the high end:
The Hifiman Arya (1800€) are the most detailled and neutral headphones Ive heard yet. The Fostex th909 (1800€) are in the same ballpark, but pronounce the heights much more (so if you are an older semester, this can compensate your hearing loss a bit), both are very good to find the right parameters for compressors and reverbs.
for mixing purposes, the new neumann ndh30 630€) are very usefull, because they dont pronounce the heights too much, its more like listening to a good pair of calibrated monitors, so your mix doesnt get dull as with many other headphones. add the software dear reality dearvr monitor, and you get a good speaker simulation with compensation for the ndh30.
for everyday mixing use, the sennheiser hd 600/650/660 are good open working horses. the hd 600 (300€) is the cheapest of the bunch, but needs an audio interface with an headphone amp, the hd660 (450€) can also be used on a laptop connector, the sound differences are quite subtle between the 3 models.
if you are mixing in Atmos with logic, the airpods max (420€) are a good choice, as they recognise as your head turning in the soundfield. but the sound a bit dull, on ios you can compensate this a bit with the hearing aids in the ios setup. though its not possible yet to use them with mimi for an audiogram.
if you need a cheap working horse for recodings in the studio, the beyerdynamic dt770 (120€)are a prooven choice, or the sennheiser hd25 (150€), if youre on the go.
sonarworks compensation is a mixed bag, especially when you forget to turn it off while bouncing a song. for neutral headphones like the sennheiser hd6xx series, its not necessary, the high end models from hifiman and fostex arent supported yet.
the worst expensive headphones Ive listened to were the HEDD phones: very bulky and uncomfortable and a very dull liveless sound.
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I did a bunch of research on headphone amps and ended up choosing the topping a30pro over the ones you mentioned. It has approximately the same measurements and same or better sound quality as the a90 (according to reviewers). It is also smaller and puts out more power through the 1/4" SE output than the a90 as well. It actually puts out the same power using either the SE or balanced outputs which is great in the studio as none of my headphones have a balanced 4-pin xlr cable. Most headphone amps put out more power through the balanced output than the SE output (which is usually an after thought and can have worse specs for noise, etc.). And it has balanced inputs along with the RCA inputs which is a must in a studio. And it is also around $350.
All fair points. My headphones are so sensitive I prefer to run them single-ended so that I can have more control in the quiet part of my amp. I’m only ever on the first gain level during production, I do the occasional check on gain level two, and level three is just scary loud. And even then, I never have the volume up over half on any gain level. Pretty much all the amps over about $300 now were literally unthinkable like 5 years ago, IMO it’s hard to go wrong with any of them once you find the gain staging, form factor, and connections you’re looking for.
About that mic preamp for Sennheiser HDs: I am using a Focusrite and its headphone out. Works fine with my Sony XM. Would that work for the HDs as well?
Going straight into headphone out of my synths wouldn’t work?
I also have the Focals you’re using, they are good but just a bit too bass intense, maybe 3 to 5 db
Probably not. I just looked up the specs for the 2i2 and I assume that it’s the same amp for the whole lineup. It is rated to run headphones up to 200 ohms, and all the high end Sennheisers are 300 ohms or more from what I recall. Your synths are not going to be rated to drive anything like that. You could look into Hifiman HE-400s on the planar side, I’ve used those on a focusrite interface and synths in the past, and I use AKG Q701s on my synths these days. I haven’t bought headphones in a lot of years now, so I’m not really sure what else is out there, that’s just what I’ve personally had success with.
I also have Grados, but I cannot recommend those for music production, they’re only for when I want to listen to something and I don’t feel like getting any work done later.
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This is the second time I’ve read about this… about the sound