Reddit mentions of Genuine National JDSLABS Objective2 Black Edition By NwAvGuy Headphone Amplifier JDS LABS (Made in USA)

These? https://en-us.sennheiser.com/best-audio-headphones-high-end-stereo-hifi-hd-600

If you haven't dived into the world of ultra-high end headphones yet, I'd recommend against anything with that high of an impedance (300 ohms, in this case, actually the same impedance as the HD 800s), unless you're going to do a lot of research, and probably spend additional money on an amp. There's definitely no way they'd work on a cell phone or anything portable, without an amp, and I'm not 100% sure if the little portable AA battery amps would drive them properly. They may or may not work with a computer, 300 ohms is kind of right on the line of what a computer can potentially handle. Depends on your sound card, desired volume, etc. Other sound equipment, yeah, that's something you need buckets of research to figure out (or just buy an amp).

I ended up going with lower impedance headphones rather than try to figure out amps, personally. Specifically, the older version of these: https://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-HD-598-SR-Open-Back/dp/B06WRMZZ45/ Those are basically the best it gets without needing to worry about an amp. 50 ohms, while most cheap headphones are about 16-32. The 598s I can recommend very highly, they sound a bit better than my "THX certified" Klipsch Promedia speakers, for sure (not that I have any complaints about those either, for the price they're excellent). The only possible complaint about the 598s is that the sub-bass is almost non-existant, so no dubstep (sounds like that's a non-issue!). Regular bass, however, like string bass, cello, etc., sounds excellent.

edit: They may also be a tiny bit quiet on devices where you already have to crank the volume to 100% on regular headphones, but a little AA battery amp should be fine.

Edit edit: On the other hand, if you do want to go for the HD 600s, this amp appears to be highly recommended for its price: https://www.amazon.com/Objective2-Headphone-Amplifier-JDS-LABS/dp/B00E0DMCO0

I got this one here. All that was included was the physical amp itself. No cords, no AC-AC adapter.

There seems to be confusion in the Amazon comments over whether they offer the adapter as well. I did not receive it. Feels bad man

edit: also my HD600s didn't come with a female to male cord. This says it should include "1 adapter to 1/4 inch" in the box. All that was in the box were the physical HD600s.

Am I being abnormally stupid, or am I getting punked here?

Project Carbon Espirit is $600. Did you consider a Rega Planar 1 or 2?

Pass on the $300 AT-LPW40WN.

• Check out the better Fluance RT85 Reference Turntable with Ortofon 2M Blue Cartridge $500. Optical sensor servo speed controlled motor for low wow and flutter and speed variation. Auto-stop with on or off switch. Solid wood plinth. Black or no charge upgrade Walnut finish. However you have to wait for it to be back in stock.
  
• Or in stock with an aluminum platter is the Fluance RT83 Reference Turntable with Ortofon 2M Red Cartridge $350. Same motor and specs as the RT85. Fluance plans to sell an around $100 acrylic platter like U-turn does as a separate add on for the RT83, probably when the RT85 is back in stock.
  
  The AT-LP120XUSB $250 is a lower budget copy of the much much better Technics 1200. If you want a new direct drive, the step up from the LP120 is the Audio-Technica AT-LP5 $400.
  
  Belt-Drive vs. Direct-Drive Turntables | Audio Advice
  
  Phono pre-amps and headphone amps:
  
  
• What is a Phono Preamp? | Audio Advice
  
• Phono Pre-amp: U-Turn Pluto $100, Pro-Ject Phono Box DC $100, NAD PP 2e $120 factory refurbished, Schitt Mani $130, or the much loved Cambridge Solo $180.
  
• Headphone amp: Bravo Audio V2 $65, JDS Labs Atom $100, Schiit Magni 3 $100, Liquid Spark $100, JDS Labs Objective2 $140. Credit: List from Zeos.

Check on the earcup. It should say 250 pro if it's the 250ohm version.. the box could've just been a mistake, but the earcup decides all.

also because it's 250ohm, you'll need an amp to get the good stuff out of them. There are a ton of "budget" amps in that range, so here are a few that I recommend. Schiit Magni ,Objective 2 , and if you can spend the extra 50$get the Scarlet so you can get a good microphone input later down on in the line.

Thanks. I do get better sound out of my 598 headphones from the Sound Blast Z than I did on the onboard of my Asus Z87-A, especially at high volume. But the "upgrade" wasn't as drastic as I would have liked for the he. When I move to an ITX board, I am really leaning towards using a 100-150 dollar USB DAC instead of a traditional "Sound Card".

edit: Any experience with this? https://www.amazon.com/Objective2-headphone-amplifier-JDS-LABS/dp/B00E0DMCO0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1485980191&sr=8-1&keywords=JDS+objective

It has headphone out, microphone in, it's from the JDS Objective line, and in my price range.

Edit 2: That doesn't appear to be a USB DAC. It is a headphone amp only.

1. Budget: Depending on the solution - probably no more than 400 euro for a headphone amplifier, or 650 euro for a receiver/amp if that's the ideal solution.
   
2. Looking for: A headphone amplifier, or an AV Receiver that has decent headphone support. Possibly a solid DAC for said headphones.
   
3. Using the gear: I have a desk in the apartment I'm staying. I have a laptop with a single HDMI output port that I currently have connected to my monitor, although I think I could get a HDMI splitter and connect my monitor and HDMI into an AV receiver.
   
4. Gear that I own: I recently purchased the Senn. HD650s. I currently own a FiiO 17K Alpen 2 that I used along with my current headphones (Senn. HD 429 West's) especially when travelling.
   
5. Source input: Laptop: variety of music on the device (FLAC, MP3, Ogg) as well as watching movies/playing games. HDMI out is an option I think, although I can use the FiiO 17K that I own if that's a good solution.
   
6. Willing to buy used?: No. Preferably I'd like to buy from Amazon.de, since I've recently moved to Germany and don't have a way to go collect items from shops - so Amazon.de or some other fast online delivery service.
   
7. Additional information: I do plan on purchasing some speakers in the next few months, so that's why I suggested the AV Receiver route as a potential option, but only if the sound quality is still excellent. I've heard Yamaha, for example, has some decent headphone support (although not sure if I can get a model which is good).
   
   As I said in #6 above, I'd really appreciate it if people could link things I could get online (pref on Amazon.de). Really don't know this city well enough.
   
   If I go the DAC/Amplifier route, I've been looking at the follow:
   
   

• https://www.amazon.de/Oehlbach-Kopfh%C3%B6rerverst%C3%A4rker-integriertem-DAWandler-schwarz/dp/B00MIZR18Y/ref=pd_sim_sbs_267_2?ie=UTF8&dpID=31nUGsyFrGL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR160%2C160_&psc=1&refRID=ZDHYESK7S2Z8DD5WBJ95
  
• https://www.amazon.de/nationalen-JDSLABS-Objective2-rerverst-NwAvGuy/dp/B00E0DMCO0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1466607884&sr=8-1&keywords=jds+labs+objective2
  
• https://www.amazon.de/Audioengine-D1-Bit-Premium-USB/dp/B006IPH5H2/ref=pd_sim_sbs_267_2?ie=UTF8&dpID=41J2yqjIuOL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR160%2C160_&psc=1&refRID=7FDXYNCRTCTMV41FYAQ3