2. headphones
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Need to build a headphone system

I'm looking for advice.  I need a headphone system for an apartment.  I am  overwhelmed both by the variety of headphones and amps out there and the difficulty of auditioning them.  My budget is about 8.5K for amp and cans.  I listen to lots of chamber music, solo instrumental and other small group stuff, so I appreciate detail and responsiveness.  But I shy away from analytic - my main system amp has beautiful glowing tubes.  Although I stream a lot, I also listen to a lot of vinyl.  I wear oticon behind the ear hearing aids.  Music sounds noticeably darker and less detailed when I take them out.  So certainly not in-ear!  Any expertise on listening with aids is greatly appreciated.  

label19
yyzsantabarbara
4,822 posts
 

The best place for RAAL info is head-fi.com, where Danny and Alex the 2 principles of RAAL-Requiste help out.

Raal Ribbon Headphones - SRH1A | Headphone Reviews and Discussion - Head-Fi.org

RAAL-requisite CA-1a Circum-Aural Ribbon Headphone is here! @HeadAmp | Headphone Reviews and Discussion - Head-Fi.org

 

 

soix
9,456 posts
 

I’ve been to Audio46.  It’s pretty small — not surprising being in NYC — but they have good stuff and the people are nice and accommodating if you wanna listen to stuff.  And their prices are competitive if u wanna buy.  Great HeadFi resource to have and you should definitely go.  Just make sure they have something you’d like to listen to available to demo if there’s something specific you’re looking for.  Of course street parking is a challenge so be prepared to pay for garage parking.  

harris4crna's avatar
harris4crna
124 posts
 

I visited JS Audio in Bethesda, MD and they had a RAAL system. I live in the Washington DC area. I have not explored elsewhere. To bad you did not go to CanJam NY couple months back.

After my posting last night, I believe the RAAL system may be what you are looking for. It’s basically putting 2 ribbon monitors on your head. Coming from a 2 channel environment its an easy transition. Keep us posted.

rlawry
479 posts
 

I bought some Kennerton headphones a couple of years ago from Audio 46 and the transaction went well with no issues.  They do have a pretty impressive list of headphones from modest offerings to some of the most expensive, so it might be a good place to try some on your target list.

calieng
144 posts
 

Sennheiser HD800S headphone comes to mind for that particular music you like but also because of the fairly light weight and large earcups that would accommodate hearing aids better than most other headphones. Also the Hifiman HE1000SE previously mentioned may have large enough earcups and is very detailed sounding as well.

For amps you may consider Cayin HA-6A tube amp for its detailed sound with some tube warmth. It has a variety of outputs and settings to tailor the music. For something more lush maybe the Woo Audio WA22 tube amp.

 

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