help needed for new headphone system
It's time to focus on my headphone setup and need some help in figuring out how to proceed. It's for an apartment. Budget? It's flexible but let's start at $3-4k. I have Sennheiser HD650s that I paired with Schiit Modi and Magni, fed from a laptop or phone. The sound was too muted so I sold the Schiitstack and got a Qudelix which, to my surprise, was much better. I liked the ability to move around and the equalizer was helpful. It was Bluetooth, of course. Now I want to upgrade. I focused initially on the headphones and spent some time at Axpona listening to Meze and Audeze, mid-range offerings. In that setting I was unable to reach any conclusions and was left scratching my head.
I could add a Bluesound streamer with lps to replace the computer. I'm tempted to get another Schiitstack, maybe based on a Bifrost dac. Too many options.
I like to listen to female and male vocalists, blues, some vintage rock and Argentine tango. Nothing to loud. Not too analytical. I'm a fan of the BBC sound with Stirling LS3/6 speakers in my main system with Bacch4Mac processing. A little help with how to narrow this process down would be much appreciated.
@treepmeyer go to a CANJAM or a shop to demo stuff. Strangers with different hearing abilities and sensibilities will just give you recommends of what they own or like. I'd rather you go listen. Also the Qudelix can be used wired, I have one with my IEM. And frankly getting an "upgrade" to your Sennheiser will be hard. You're better of testing parametric EQ presets and trying to EQ to your individual pHRTF |
The ABSOLUTE best "BBC" sound I have ever heard from headphones are those using Bio Cellulose drivers like the ZMF "Atrium & Auteur"..These drivers create a sound that is warm,lush,organic & dripping with ambiance..Be warned though,they take hundreds of hours use to come into true voice & they pair best with neutral source gear..They can become far too dark & obscure fine detail when driven by warm amplifiers & shine with great Class A Solid State like SPL,Denafrips etc... |
Given your tastes I think a tube amp may be your best bet. Woo is obviously a great choice, and this Quicksilver amp gets great reviews and is considered quite a bargain at $1198 and also well worth a look. For a DAC I’d look at the Denafrips Ares 15th or the Holo Cyan 2 R2R DACs — both around $1200. I know with the Ares you can get their Iris DDC and run i2S and get a significant performance boost either now or down the road for not much $$$ (I did this with my DAC and am super happy). I think you’re on the right track with the Node and LPS (LHY, Teddy Pardo, SBooster). For cables I and many here have used LavriCables that offer high performance/$ — they just get out of the way and let the electronics do their thing. For headphones, and again given your tastes, I thought Meze, ZMF, and Audeze would be good choices as they are a little more midrange centric. Anyway, just some thoughts FWIW, and best of luck. |
You really do want to try to audition gear in your own home if at all possible. I'm with you in that I don't get much out of listening at audio shows. Too much background noise and too many people around. Find a dealer with a good return policy if you can, or at least with a showroom where you can sit and listen to your own music in a good environment. I also agree with the above poster who recommended ZMF headphones. I have the HD600, HD650, and HD800, they are all good in their own ways. I find that I listen to the ZMF Caldera and Atrium Closed much more often than the Senns though. |
I have the Quicksilver Headphone amp and like it a lot. I use it with Klipsch HP3 and Grado rs1e. Great amp. It was not getting much use, I was on the fence whether to sell my HP gear but zi set it back up recently with a laptop. I've been using it a lot lately. I used to use it with a RME dac but unfortunately I sold that. That was a great pairing. I have used the QS with 25 Ohm, 32 Ohm, 300 Ohm, and 600 Ohm cans and it drove them all easily. |
