p.s. to all kind and helpful A'gon-izers posting to this thread (which is HIGHLY appreciated, by the way): I didn't hear about this Stax steal "possibility" until today (12/23/05), AFTER starting this thread, and it may or may NOT be true (seeing is believing). So that's why this Stax question is added to the thread just now.
What headphone amp to buy-Sennheiser HD 600?
Well, thanks to the kindness and patience of my fellow A'gon-izers, the hook-up "problem" for the headphone amp I have is solved. The amp is a Ramsey SHA 1. The phones are Sennheiser HD 600. I had remembered that amp sounding great. Now I'm spoiled by the new speakers I have, and even though the signal path to the amp is thru the Dodson DAC, I still think it sounds........not so great. Decent I suppose, but harsh on the upper end, yet without the mitigating detail, and you know, just.....unsatisfactory.
OK, OK, so here's the question(s): What's a great, fairly cheap (like, at LEAST less than a grand) headphone amp? Sonically, I want EVERYTHING!!!! (Except soundstage, that has never happened for me with any headphones, ever, I'm pretty sure not even with the expensive Stax I heard a few years ago).
It MUST have: Tight, deep, fast, smooth, tonally correct, musical bass, shimmering, non-fatiguing, emminently smooth yet ultra detailed highs, great midbass punch with no boom or softness whatsoever, midrange that is totally natural, smooth, detailed, and lacking any hint whatsoever of grain or electronic amplification artifact in the upper registers. It should sound great on ALL program material, from classical to rock to bluegrass to new age to jazz, anything and everything.
Other than those relatively modest criteria, there are no other performance demands. :)))
So, fire away!
OK, OK, so here's the question(s): What's a great, fairly cheap (like, at LEAST less than a grand) headphone amp? Sonically, I want EVERYTHING!!!! (Except soundstage, that has never happened for me with any headphones, ever, I'm pretty sure not even with the expensive Stax I heard a few years ago).
It MUST have: Tight, deep, fast, smooth, tonally correct, musical bass, shimmering, non-fatiguing, emminently smooth yet ultra detailed highs, great midbass punch with no boom or softness whatsoever, midrange that is totally natural, smooth, detailed, and lacking any hint whatsoever of grain or electronic amplification artifact in the upper registers. It should sound great on ALL program material, from classical to rock to bluegrass to new age to jazz, anything and everything.
Other than those relatively modest criteria, there are no other performance demands. :)))
So, fire away!
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- 98 posts total
I found that the Stax phones which are circum-aural (they totally go over your ears and "seal" to your head to make my ears and head sweat! YMMV. The 650s are better than the 600s and the aftermarket cords are a real value. If you do end up with the Stax (which sound lovely), and want an extension headphone cable, drop me a line. |
Give P.S Audio a listen.Normally I would say "TUBES" given they need almost none and one can roll them to there hearts content.But reading the Stereophile review of the new Intergrated and seeing there web site if you have then nearby give then a shot.Sounds like some pretty cutting edge tech going into more than there power conditioners.If theye made a table I might do a linn,Naim,Rega,thing with them and go with a one brand system since it's voiced together.but might go with the cebter and stick to Sony/VPI and something as the ultimate transducer at the speaker end. Happy Holidays Chazzbo |
I do like Headfi.org as a resource too. My only reservation about it, and this is a gross generalization (I hope), but in reading many posts there it seems to be a much younger crowd, and or a crowd that has different musical tastes than my own. I'm sure there are exceptions, but I don't read them much. It seems to be a much smaller crowd than Audiogon, which is understandable given the narrowed scope of the subject. The types of music used as resources for Headphone reviews there are often nothing I'd listen to much myself. Just to be sure, I just went over there and right away found this recent thread on what folks there used as source material to test out their new cans. There are currently 47 responses, so it is a pretty wide sampling, yet the general trend is toward music I rarely listen to (rap, electronica, pop, the occasional typical audiophile recordings...Krall, DSOM, blah, blah...but mostly much more dynamic, poppy, rock electronic stuff). Is this a fare reflection of headphone use in general at this level, or just those who choose to spend time writing about it on online forums do you think? BTW, I mean no offense at all to those who have different musical tastes, they simply are not mine. Speakers/Headphones that sound great with Electronica, Pop and Rap are not necessarily going to sound superior with Accoustic, Folk, Vocals, for example. Bottom line is, like with what I read here, I take what I read with a large grain of salt and do try to read as much as I can elsewhere as well. I still would not hesitate to recommend Headfi.org as a good resource. But it is a different crowd in general than those I see posting here. I'm sure there's crossover, but I get a strong impression that it the two camps are quite different nonetheless. Marco |
- 98 posts total