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A question about headphones

I've decided I would like to give the headphone experience a try because I am an early morning person and I would like my wife to enjoy her sleep.  She is definitely not an early bird.

I have a McIntosh C48 preamp and it has a headphone jack on front.  I have plugged my BT transmitter into this and paired with my Bose noise -cancelling headphones but can't say its anything to write home about.  Do I need a headphone amplifier and where do I connect the amplifier to my rig?

I like headphones that fully encapsulate my ear.  I can't see that open-back headphones appeal to me.  I am about 20' away from my rig and although I would consider a cable, what's the consensus on BT headphones or a combo BT / cabled?

I live in Canada and I was thinking to make a start, I would not want to sink more that $500 into headphones until I am convinced this is the route to go.  I still don't know about the headphone amp and its cost - if I need it.

I don't post much here but I follow this forum daily ad appreciate all opinions and feedback.  Thanks in advance everyone.

128x128r042wal
vinylzone
288 posts
 

Your bluetooth dongle should probably be plugged into a line out on your preamp.  I've had very poor results plugging transmitters into headphone jacks.

marco1's avatar
marco1
518 posts
 

Hate to already be recommending other headphones but if you like bass and early rock and roll pair up some Audeze lcd2 classic's with your Lyr2.  I can tell you from personal experience you'll be very, very happy.  Also go to headfi for a wealth of information regarding Lyr tube rolling.  You'll be amazed how different tubes can greatly impact the SQ of that amp.  Like speaker systems everything can affect what you hear but don't discount the impact an upgraded HP cable will also have, even on headphones in the price range you're currently in.  So many (new) different rabbit holes you can go down now with you new addition :-)  Have fun.

r042wal's avatar
r042wal OP
69 posts
 

Thanks for the tips marco1.  I have two pair of extra tubes that came with the amp, different makes.  I think the previous owner was doing exactly what you suggested.  :-)

thyname's avatar
thyname
3,107 posts
 

Apparently, these are the best Bluetooth headphones ever made, but, at a steep price of $1,600:

 

https://www.ta-hifi.de/en/headphones/solitaire-t/

mastering92
870 posts
 

@r042wal

Not all headphone outs are made equal. It’s not just about high output impedance. Some headphone outs are afterthoughts in a design process...others are dedicated if you look at the internals.

For example, a series of resistors on a dedicated mainboard connected to ground inside the amp with another wire and a ribbon computer-like cable connected closed to where the main filter caps are is optimized to handle almost any headphone impedance / sensitivity rating expressed in dB.

Some integrated amplifiers also have dedicated volume pots with a series of their own capacitors - made to drive headphones of nearly any impedance. Always check with the manufacturer regarding output power into ohms. (both channels driven or a certain number + a certain number.

For example, quite a few Sony vintage amplifiers only had 25mw into 8 ohms. However, they surely sounded better than the audio output of a smartphone when paired with a good source.

My suggestion for bluetooth would be Audio Technica. If you look at their previous flagship models, such as the ATH-DSR9BT, (used to have it) sold it a while back, you will find that the audio quality is above just good.

With this said, listen to .wav files or .flac with that audio technica headphone, because the tech they use can almost double the data-rate in kbps compared to 320 kbps for .mp3s (1411 kbps for CDs is just right imo).

What kind of sound signature/music do you enjoy the most?

Maybe I could recommend you something great.

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