2. misc-audio
  3. 173276-169159

Advice on new headphone system please

     I'm buying a new headphone system.  I have a few combos I'm throwing at the community that are being contemplated.  These units will be new except for the Cambridge Audio CXU universal disc player I already own.  The system will be primarily used for red book listening.  I will be streaming with the Cambridge and a computer also along with copying a relatively large cd collection to high quality file.  A discreet streamer is in the near future.  Pre-owned systems are also an option.  This would save money which is always a plus.  These are the few systems I'm looking at.

     1)  Bryston BHA 1 headphone amp, Sennheiser HDV 820 headphones and either the Bryston BDA 2 DAC or the Cambridge Audio Dac Magic 200.  The Bryston DAC is on sale here.

     2)  The same system with the Rogue Audio RH5 headphone amp. 

     3)  I'm also looking at the Burson Conductor 3 Reference headphone amp, dac preamp.  I like seperates better though. 

     I take care of my mother, so closed back headphones are necessary.  I'm open to headphone suggestions.  I'm not crazy about planars yet will consider all suggestions.  Planars may be better with the tube Rogue.

     Interconnects are also needed.  The few I have are low quality.  I'm not into exotic cables.  Please advise on a set of decent RCA, Coaxial and balanced interconnects. A coaxial cable will be used from the cd player to the DAC, A decent set of balanced cables will be used from the DAC to the headphone amp.  A decent RCA is needed in order to use the DAC in the CXU.  I'd like to use this option too. I'm using the cables that come with the headphones for now as the headphones are expensive enough.  Still suggestions for balanced headphone cables are appreciated.

     Thank you for your time.     

     

paulg1966
yyzsantabarbara
4,593 posts
 

!) I got fatigue from the Bryston BHA1. I sold it and got the Benchmark HPA4. I used the Meze Empy with both. This is a warm and relaxing headphone. The hardness on the BHA1 that gave me fatigue was not there with the HPA4. Though the HPA4 is not warm at all so a bright or neutral headphone may not work for someone that likes some warmth..

3) I went through a few DACs in the last 18 months. The very best one by far is the Musetec 005. There are 2 threads on A’gon talking and arguing about it. This is an end game DAC for me. You may like the Gustard X26 Pro which is half the price and warmer. I sold that to get the 005.

I recommend the RAAL SR1a to everyone but for you that will not work since other people will hear the sound. More so than regular open headphones.

A’gon is not really headphone central. Check out Head-fi.org and my fav reviewer soundnews.net for deep dives into headphones..

 

I should add that I sold the HPA4 and Meze because the RAAL SR1a was so much better, and this headphone needs a special amp or regular 2 channel amps/

 

 

 

 

ghdprentice
6,534 posts
 

I spent well over ten years developing and upgrading my headphone system to where it is now. There were many learning moments along the way for me (you can see my primary headphone system by clicking on my ID). A couple things, although headphone systems are very personal.

 

Be really carefull of overly detailed electronics. The headphones are right in your ear… high frequency noice and distortion go right into them. If your system is fatiguing, even in a small way, this is your problem. Over time I moved to all tube headphone amps after too many fatiguing solid state amps. Many headphones need lots of power… I chose Woo for my amps… I have used three for thousands of hours.

 

Look for high quality natural sounding DAC and streamer. A PC can work… but at some point in improving sound a dedicated streamer is necessary to get really great sound. They are built from the ground up to be quiet and high fidelity. Yes, they matter. It may not be intuitive, but they can make a big difference with appropriate other components.

 

big_greg
6,568 posts
 

Headphones come in a multitude of sonic flavors. Some are warm, some are very detailed, some emphasize bass, midrange, or treble. What's your budget? What flavor do you prefer? If you don't provide more information all you're going to get is "This is what I have and like and it's what you should buy.", which to me isn't very helpful. 

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