Question to all Grace owners. What cans do you like with Grace? I love my HD 650’s. They sound fantastic with my FIIO X5>Montblanc Amp portable rig. You can feel the bass. But paired with a 901, 902 or even a DAC1 they’re almost lifeless. Even with the hi gain engaged on the 902 it’s still not even close to the FIIO rig.
My first HQ headphone rig was M901>HD 580. I sold the 901 for the same reason, not enough thump and settled on a DAC1 for quite a few years. Not much better. Somewhere along the line I added the 650’s. It wasn’t until I went with FIIO that I realized what the Senns were capable of.
So I recently added the 902 for a number of reasons. The hi gain setting, analog in, remote control and the dirt cheap price I got it for. I really thought I would hear a huge difference in powering the Senns. Nope. FIIO rig still rules.
A couple tips I picked up from head-fi:
- let the Grace warm up for a few hours or never turn it off.
- use the line out on the Grace into a headphone amp thats better suited to drive the HD650s.
- use the extra headphone output on the Grace into a headphone amp and control volume with both units.
- give up on the 650’s and try some super sensitive closed backs. Like the kind an iPhone will drive.
- use the DAC1(which I still have)fixed balanced analog out>Grace balanced analog in>Headphone output>HD650.
So all you Grace owners, what’s your favorite cans? I want something so I can feel the music, not just hear it.