Post by sidvicious on Feb 5, 2017 16:06:03 GMT -5
Up for testing is the Questyle CM-600I Headphone amplifier, with balanced headphone input, DSD, USB, RCA, balanced output and it can be used as a Preamp-which I didn’t test. This Headphone amplifier has three inputs two unbalanced and one balanced-4pin. I tested this with different music and different headphones and at the same volume level and then changing that volume to come close to the all-around for all headsets. Metal construction with build quality that is top notch.
I ran across a small issue, which is explainable. When using different headphones of different Ohm ratings at the same time, you can affect the overall sound of all of the headphones, depending on the volume level. The Sennheiser and Pioneer’s sounded flat when all three were connected and I used the balanced input for use with the Hifiman HE-400i’s and the Audioquest Nighthawks.
This was painfully obvious when using the Beyer Dynamic Dt 880 pro’s. (250 OHMS) I played them all together and played all the headphones by themselves and they all sounded better that way. The Beyer Dynamic’s even though they played okay, I had the volume above what was deemed normal levels for the other headphones to include almost all the way up, which is understandable considering the 250 Ohm rating.
Music used: for this was Led Zeppelin 1- Good Times, Bad Times, Najee Theme- Feels so Good, Keb Mo-Soon as I get Paid-for some and Paul Hardcastle 2- Bird’s Island.
Equipment Used: Questyle CM600I(loaner), Audioquest Carbon USB-1.5, AudioQuest NRG-2(loaner) and regular power cable. Headphones used Pioneer SAE-1000, Audioquest Nighthawks, Hifiman HE-400i, Meze 99 Classics, Beyer Dynamic Dt 880 pro, Grado 325i and Sennheiser HD-558. Sim Audio Moon 230HD. I let both headphones amps warm up for 2 hours before doing any serious listening. Music Played though my PC, which was copied in lossless wav format.
Pioneer SAE-1000- When used with the Questyle, they surprisingly have nice and tight bass, especially listening to Paul Hard castle, Bird Island from Hard Castle 2. The treble was very good and midrange was better than expected, especially with the horn section three quarters of the way through the song. Volume level at the about a quarter of the way up, requiring me to turn it down. From the Album Najee, Feels so good, the volume is about three quarters to half, bass not as good on this track, until at halfway, which causes you to take the phones off your head. On Led Zeppelin 1-Good Times Bad times, the song starts in the left channels and pretty much stays there, with fill in and reverb from right channel and mid-way through the sound is in the middle of your head, when the guitar solo comes on, nice.
Audioquest Nighthawks- Using Balanced headphone cable. On Led Zeppelin 1-Good times, bad times, the song this time starts in the center, with some accents to that left side. The volume level isn’t even at a quarter turn and it is more than okay. On Paul Hard castle 2, Bird Island the volume is less than a fourth turn and is more than adequate. The instruments are well balanced between left and right with the guitar and the horn-coming from the right and keyboard coming from the left, but a little more balanced. The bass is nice and laid back, you know it’s there. On Najee’s -Feels so good, the volume is at a fourth or less, the sound of all the instruments is balanced, but not as good as the Pioneer SAE-1000’s, but the volume on the Pioneer was a lot louder. I tried a song by Keb Mo-Slow Down, Soon as I get Paid. This song through the Nighthawks, truly show you what they can do, guitars, sound spectacular and his voice is dead center of your head, while the guitar is on the right side.
HiFi Man HE-400I- The volume is less than one quarter and I tried the Keb Mo Track first this time, Soon as I get Paid, The guitar is more pronounce, it sounds like he is strumming it in front of you and it comes through the left side and then the music comes in more on the left and it balances out with music and his voice, which is dead center with reverbs and the rest on the right side with the guitar catching up and moving from left to right, wow.
On Led Zeppelin I- Good times, bad times, the song starts out in both channels, not any great bass here, but the guitar sounds good. I snuck in Babe I’m going to leave you- The music starts on the right side and his voice comes on the left and then goes center with the guitar coming from the right side, very good-This song with his voice is killer through these planars. The bass is the lacking point here. Najee Theme- Feels so good is very punchy and the volume is one turn from half. Treble and Mids are great, bass is here, very punchy, but not much depth. On Paul Hard Castle 2, the Birds Island, this sound starts with both channels and is very punchy and you can hear the bass, and yes on planars.
Meze 99 Classic- Same songs, bass, treble and mids are strong and everything is balanced very well- Volume level is not even near a quarter. Very good tone with these all the way around. If it’s in the music, it’s coming out. Volume never got higher than a fourth. Led Zeppelin sounds fantastic here.
The Beyer Dynamics DT 880 Pros- On Led Zeppelin the volume had to be at half-this is the 250 Ohm headphones. Very Neutral sound, not the best for Rock, at least not Zeppelin, you know you are listening to music. On Najee’s Theme-Feels so good -the volume is over half way and sounds okay with nothing standing out. To get decent volume here you are halfway to full on. On Paul Hard Castle 2, where everything from bass to treble to mids are boosted, it sounds great and the volume is down to three quarters of the way. Horns come across as clean.
Grado 325i -With Paul Hard Castle,Bird’s Island, the horn section and guitar is amazing, bass is punchy. Led Zeppelin the guitar and the vocals are clearer than on any other headphone, bass lacking. On Najee’s Theme- Feels so good- This song sounds surprisingly well, excellent mids and punchy bass, but not deep.
Sennheiser Hd558- Najee’s Theme-Feels so good bass is punchy enough to be believable, the mids are a little recess, but decent. Volume at halfway. Led Zeppelin-Good Times, Bad Times sounds great, not as good as the Meze99. Paul Hard Castle- Bird Island is nice and punchy, deep bass, clear mids and good treble.
Comparison between the SimAudio Moon 230HD and Questyle CM600i. On Led Zeppelin and Keb Mo, voice and instruments sounded better with the SimAudio on the Beyer Dynamic, they just opened up, but volume had to be raised on Najee’s Theme. The Beyer Dynamics sounded veiled on the Questyle.
On the Audioquest Nighthawks, they sounded pretty much the same, slightly better with the balanced cable (no balanced options on the Sim Audio) in the mids and treble on the Questyle with all music.
On the Hifiman HE-100’s the bass response on Hard Castle was punchier and deeper on the SimAudio RCA than the Questyle, Najee album was the same, slightly deeper bass while using the balanced cable that works with these and the Audioquest Nighthawks on the Questyle. Led Zeppelin- Babe I’m leaving You sounds the same on both Headphone amps, with the advantage on the Questyle with balanced cable, no difference on the RCA plug.
On the Sennheiser HD558, Led Zeppelin both Headphone Amps sound the same with all the music. KebMo both headphone amplifiers sound the same. On Hard Castle, they both sound the same with all the music. On the Meze 99 Classic both headphone amplifiers sounded the same with all the music. On the Audio Technica Ath 50 both headphone amplifiers sounded the same with all the music. The Grado 325i-sound the same with both headphone amplifiers.
On the Pioneer SAE-1000, both Headphone Amps sounded the same with all music.
The biggest difference with headphones and amps was the Beyer Dynamic Dt880 pros, which was a night and day difference, sounding much better on the SimAudio Moon than the Questyle. I had a motive in all this other than the testing, I was going to purchase the Questyle because I wanted that balanced input and the balanced outputs.
Summary: The Questyle CM600i is an excellent headphone amplifier at its price point of 1299.00 and the SimAudio Moon 230HD is also excellent headphone amplifier at its price point of 1499.00, which I own, the Questyle wasn’t available at the time of my purchase. The Questyle gets warmer to the touch than the SimAudio Moon 230 HD, which just doesn’t get hot or even warm at this point.
If you have a set of Beyer Dynamic DT880 pro’s the SimAudio sounds better, without having to be turned up as loud and these are 250 ohm headphones. One could be happy with both and if both were available at the same time, I would have bought the Questyle. I didn’t however pay 1499, I got mine for 1199. I could trade my SimAudio in toward the Questyle, but in overall sound quality, it’s not a night and day difference and not one to take a huge loss for.
For those of you who haven’t made the purchase and are looking you can’t go wrong with either, but I would recommend the Questyle because of the feature set and lower price. The ultimate headphone amplifier in this case for me would be the SimAudio Moon 430HD, which is just in another league than either of these two, but the 230HD is supposed to have 60-75 percent of the sound quality, but it’s 4399 (430HD). Don't be surprised to see me doing a review of the SimAudio 430HD soon!!!.
I ran across a small issue, which is explainable. When using different headphones of different Ohm ratings at the same time, you can affect the overall sound of all of the headphones, depending on the volume level. The Sennheiser and Pioneer’s sounded flat when all three were connected and I used the balanced input for use with the Hifiman HE-400i’s and the Audioquest Nighthawks.
This was painfully obvious when using the Beyer Dynamic Dt 880 pro’s. (250 OHMS) I played them all together and played all the headphones by themselves and they all sounded better that way. The Beyer Dynamic’s even though they played okay, I had the volume above what was deemed normal levels for the other headphones to include almost all the way up, which is understandable considering the 250 Ohm rating.
Music used: for this was Led Zeppelin 1- Good Times, Bad Times, Najee Theme- Feels so Good, Keb Mo-Soon as I get Paid-for some and Paul Hardcastle 2- Bird’s Island.
Equipment Used: Questyle CM600I(loaner), Audioquest Carbon USB-1.5, AudioQuest NRG-2(loaner) and regular power cable. Headphones used Pioneer SAE-1000, Audioquest Nighthawks, Hifiman HE-400i, Meze 99 Classics, Beyer Dynamic Dt 880 pro, Grado 325i and Sennheiser HD-558. Sim Audio Moon 230HD. I let both headphones amps warm up for 2 hours before doing any serious listening. Music Played though my PC, which was copied in lossless wav format.
Pioneer SAE-1000- When used with the Questyle, they surprisingly have nice and tight bass, especially listening to Paul Hard castle, Bird Island from Hard Castle 2. The treble was very good and midrange was better than expected, especially with the horn section three quarters of the way through the song. Volume level at the about a quarter of the way up, requiring me to turn it down. From the Album Najee, Feels so good, the volume is about three quarters to half, bass not as good on this track, until at halfway, which causes you to take the phones off your head. On Led Zeppelin 1-Good Times Bad times, the song starts in the left channels and pretty much stays there, with fill in and reverb from right channel and mid-way through the sound is in the middle of your head, when the guitar solo comes on, nice.
Audioquest Nighthawks- Using Balanced headphone cable. On Led Zeppelin 1-Good times, bad times, the song this time starts in the center, with some accents to that left side. The volume level isn’t even at a quarter turn and it is more than okay. On Paul Hard castle 2, Bird Island the volume is less than a fourth turn and is more than adequate. The instruments are well balanced between left and right with the guitar and the horn-coming from the right and keyboard coming from the left, but a little more balanced. The bass is nice and laid back, you know it’s there. On Najee’s -Feels so good, the volume is at a fourth or less, the sound of all the instruments is balanced, but not as good as the Pioneer SAE-1000’s, but the volume on the Pioneer was a lot louder. I tried a song by Keb Mo-Slow Down, Soon as I get Paid. This song through the Nighthawks, truly show you what they can do, guitars, sound spectacular and his voice is dead center of your head, while the guitar is on the right side.
HiFi Man HE-400I- The volume is less than one quarter and I tried the Keb Mo Track first this time, Soon as I get Paid, The guitar is more pronounce, it sounds like he is strumming it in front of you and it comes through the left side and then the music comes in more on the left and it balances out with music and his voice, which is dead center with reverbs and the rest on the right side with the guitar catching up and moving from left to right, wow.
On Led Zeppelin I- Good times, bad times, the song starts out in both channels, not any great bass here, but the guitar sounds good. I snuck in Babe I’m going to leave you- The music starts on the right side and his voice comes on the left and then goes center with the guitar coming from the right side, very good-This song with his voice is killer through these planars. The bass is the lacking point here. Najee Theme- Feels so good is very punchy and the volume is one turn from half. Treble and Mids are great, bass is here, very punchy, but not much depth. On Paul Hard Castle 2, the Birds Island, this sound starts with both channels and is very punchy and you can hear the bass, and yes on planars.
Meze 99 Classic- Same songs, bass, treble and mids are strong and everything is balanced very well- Volume level is not even near a quarter. Very good tone with these all the way around. If it’s in the music, it’s coming out. Volume never got higher than a fourth. Led Zeppelin sounds fantastic here.
The Beyer Dynamics DT 880 Pros- On Led Zeppelin the volume had to be at half-this is the 250 Ohm headphones. Very Neutral sound, not the best for Rock, at least not Zeppelin, you know you are listening to music. On Najee’s Theme-Feels so good -the volume is over half way and sounds okay with nothing standing out. To get decent volume here you are halfway to full on. On Paul Hard Castle 2, where everything from bass to treble to mids are boosted, it sounds great and the volume is down to three quarters of the way. Horns come across as clean.
Grado 325i -With Paul Hard Castle,Bird’s Island, the horn section and guitar is amazing, bass is punchy. Led Zeppelin the guitar and the vocals are clearer than on any other headphone, bass lacking. On Najee’s Theme- Feels so good- This song sounds surprisingly well, excellent mids and punchy bass, but not deep.
Sennheiser Hd558- Najee’s Theme-Feels so good bass is punchy enough to be believable, the mids are a little recess, but decent. Volume at halfway. Led Zeppelin-Good Times, Bad Times sounds great, not as good as the Meze99. Paul Hard Castle- Bird Island is nice and punchy, deep bass, clear mids and good treble.
Comparison between the SimAudio Moon 230HD and Questyle CM600i. On Led Zeppelin and Keb Mo, voice and instruments sounded better with the SimAudio on the Beyer Dynamic, they just opened up, but volume had to be raised on Najee’s Theme. The Beyer Dynamics sounded veiled on the Questyle.
On the Audioquest Nighthawks, they sounded pretty much the same, slightly better with the balanced cable (no balanced options on the Sim Audio) in the mids and treble on the Questyle with all music.
On the Hifiman HE-100’s the bass response on Hard Castle was punchier and deeper on the SimAudio RCA than the Questyle, Najee album was the same, slightly deeper bass while using the balanced cable that works with these and the Audioquest Nighthawks on the Questyle. Led Zeppelin- Babe I’m leaving You sounds the same on both Headphone amps, with the advantage on the Questyle with balanced cable, no difference on the RCA plug.
On the Sennheiser HD558, Led Zeppelin both Headphone Amps sound the same with all the music. KebMo both headphone amplifiers sound the same. On Hard Castle, they both sound the same with all the music. On the Meze 99 Classic both headphone amplifiers sounded the same with all the music. On the Audio Technica Ath 50 both headphone amplifiers sounded the same with all the music. The Grado 325i-sound the same with both headphone amplifiers.
On the Pioneer SAE-1000, both Headphone Amps sounded the same with all music.
The biggest difference with headphones and amps was the Beyer Dynamic Dt880 pros, which was a night and day difference, sounding much better on the SimAudio Moon than the Questyle. I had a motive in all this other than the testing, I was going to purchase the Questyle because I wanted that balanced input and the balanced outputs.
Summary: The Questyle CM600i is an excellent headphone amplifier at its price point of 1299.00 and the SimAudio Moon 230HD is also excellent headphone amplifier at its price point of 1499.00, which I own, the Questyle wasn’t available at the time of my purchase. The Questyle gets warmer to the touch than the SimAudio Moon 230 HD, which just doesn’t get hot or even warm at this point.
If you have a set of Beyer Dynamic DT880 pro’s the SimAudio sounds better, without having to be turned up as loud and these are 250 ohm headphones. One could be happy with both and if both were available at the same time, I would have bought the Questyle. I didn’t however pay 1499, I got mine for 1199. I could trade my SimAudio in toward the Questyle, but in overall sound quality, it’s not a night and day difference and not one to take a huge loss for.
For those of you who haven’t made the purchase and are looking you can’t go wrong with either, but I would recommend the Questyle because of the feature set and lower price. The ultimate headphone amplifier in this case for me would be the SimAudio Moon 430HD, which is just in another league than either of these two, but the 230HD is supposed to have 60-75 percent of the sound quality, but it’s 4399 (430HD). Don't be surprised to see me doing a review of the SimAudio 430HD soon!!!.
