# Dragonfly Red vs OPPO HA-2 for driving 300 Ohms headphones



## TheEldestBoy

Hi All,
  
 Posters have touched _somewhat_ on this in previous threads, but I wanted to highlight the specific question in hopes of getting some more insight.
  
 Has anyone out there tried both the DFR and the OPPO HA-2 for driving a set of 300 Ohms cans (I'm thinking of the Sennheiser HD 600 and the HD 650 here)?  
  
 Did you find the OPPO HA-2 to have a significantly more powerful amp?

Did the OPPO HA-2 seem to drive the cans with more "oomph", "power", "authoroity", etc?
Did the OPPO HA-2 drive the cans to a louder volume?
  
 Or, did the DFR's AMP do just as good a job of driving the cans?


----------



## disastermouse

I'm debating both of these for my OPPO PM-3. Instinct tells me that the Oppo products should pair well, but I like the size of the Dragonfly Red and have heard rave reviews. The thing is, the Dragonfly is massively overpowered by my home system (Bifrost MB and Polaris amp) and would only be used for portable. 

The other things is the Oppo's favor are the Bass Boost and the gain switch. On the other hand, I see myself as more likely to run the Dragonfly more because of its size.


----------



## elgefe

In using the DFR, the HA-2, and the FiiO Mont Blanc amp, to MY ears, the DFR and the Mont Blanc each have more oomph and power than the HA-2.  I tried them all ithe the PM-3's and the 650's.  I've also tried them with my Beyer T90's.
  
 The HA-2 went back.  I love both the DFR and Mont Blanc.  I use them both at different times, and love the sound and power on both.  If I'm in my living room or back yard, I use the DFR for portability sake (though the Mont Blanc's pretty darn portable really).  If I'm in my office, I tend to lean more towards the Mont Blanc for my iPhone and use my Magni/Modi combo for listening on the T-90s from my Mac.


----------



## TheEldestBoy

elgefe said:


> In using the DFR, the HA-2, and the FiiO Mont Blanc amp, to MY ears, the DFR and the Mont Blanc each have more oomph and power than the HA-2.  I tried them all ithe the PM-3's and the 650's.  I've also tried them with my Beyer T90's.
> 
> The HA-2 went back.  I love both the DFR and Mont Blanc.  I use them both at different times, and love the sound and power on both.  If I'm in my living room or back yard, I use the DFR for portability sake (though the Mont Blanc's pretty darn portable really).  If I'm in my office, I tend to lean more towards the Mont Blanc for my iPhone and use my Magni/Modi combo for listening on the T-90s from my Mac.


 
  
 I'm thinking of pairing the DFR and the HD650's.
  
 Music files being the same, would you say that the Schiit stack sounds much better than the DFR with the HD650's.  I understand that the Schitt stack will drive the 650's to a louder volume, but I don't listen very loud anyway.


----------



## brent75

disastermouse said:


> I'm debating both of these for my OPPO PM-3. Instinct tells me that the Oppo products should pair well, but I like the size of the Dragonfly Red and have heard rave reviews. The thing is, the Dragonfly is massively overpowered by my home system (Bifrost MB and Polaris amp) and would only be used for portable.
> 
> The other things is the Oppo's favor are the Bass Boost and the gain switch. On the other hand, I see myself as more likely to run the Dragonfly more because of its size.


 
 Not sure about the Senny 600s or 650s, but I've owned the PM-3, the HA-2 and the DFR. To me, I  definitely prefer the DFR to the HA-2 for several reasons. I like its sound better (it's fuller, not as harsh up top and a bit more low end)...smaller/more discrete (I don't like strapping 2 things and making a brick)...it doesn't require a charge so it's ALWAYS plug and play (no discovering that you have a dead battery)...it thus far has never "lost" its lightning connection (the HA-2 did several times for me)...and if that wasn't enough, it's $100 cheaper.


----------



## disastermouse

brent75 said:


> Not sure about the Senny 600s or 650s, but I've owned the PM-3, the HA-2 and the DFR. To me, I  definitely prefer the DFR to the HA-2 for several reasons. I like its sound better (it's fuller, not as harsh up top and a bit more low end)...smaller/more discrete (I don't like strapping 2 things and making a brick)...it doesn't require a charge so it's ALWAYS plug and play (no discovering that you have a dead battery)...it thus far has never "lost" its lightning connection (the HA-2 did several times for me)...and if that wasn't enough, it's $100 cheaper.



The connection errors was useful to know. I hate those issues even though I know that they're usually Apple's fault and not necessarily the 3rd party.


----------



## pkcpga

I owned the dfr with my hd800 and hd600 the dfr is too bright and thin sounding to me. It does not have enough low end or power for either for myself. I also had issues with two separate reds and ultimately returned both and stuck with my larger chord mojo. The ha2 has more control with bass than the dfr but to me it was still a bit bright and underpowered. If you can afford it the mojo definitely out sines them both. Burson is coming out with a portable air model that's been getting good reviews. Peachtree has a portable DAC that sounded not quit as detailed as the dfr but warmer, better low end, better separation and power.


----------



## arthurl

I owned both Red and the HA-2, to me the HA-2 sound was better overall with tighter bass. However there were compatibility issues/noise coming off with my iPhone 6 so I had to return 4 units of HA-2 / HA-2SE without much luck. Switched to the Red and have seen no problems since.


----------

