2. amps-preamps
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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!
mdhoover
mdhoover OP
695 posts
 
"Tube buffer or headphone amp?"
-Alo
I suppose it would have to be both. But I just bought the Stax setup and want to see how that sounds after it gets back from being fixed. I'm still not sure whether or not I'll keep the Sennheisers and the Ramsey SHA 1.
-Bill
mdhoover OP
695 posts
 
Quick update:
The Stax headset has returned from Yamasinc, and has been rebuilt to original Lambda Pro Signature status. They look beautiful. Price for newer model 404 would have been almost identical, but I opted for the restoration based on what Swampwalker had said about having heard both units, what they had sounded like before I broke them with the vacuum cleaner (yes indeed, quite an idiotic thing to have done, yes indeed....), and based on a professional review I found somewhere on the 404's that said that there was a peculiar artifact in the bass response that was absent in earlier versions. Two weeks to break in, then I'll have "NOS" Stax.

Main reason for posting: Yamasinc appears to have done just an excellent job, and that's worth knowing for other Stax owners who may be considering upgrades and/or maintenance with that company, which is the authorized U.S. distributor.
mdhoover OP
695 posts
 
Although the headphones look beautiful, I was mistaken that they had been refitted with the original diaphragms that were used with the Lambda Pro Signature earspeakers. That diaphragm was discontinued several years ago and is no longer available. Therefore the repaired unit is esentially the 404, with its thinner diaphragms, according to the technician I spoke to at Yamasinc. They sound very good, but the original owner heard them on Sunday and said they didn't sound as good to him as when they had their original old Lambda Pro Signature diaphragms. Oh well, they still sound very good. But Swampwalker, you were right it would seem.
swampwalker's avatar
swampwalker
5,138 posts
 
Md- Please forward the final sentence of your post to my wife ;~) Glad that Yamasinc was able to hook you up.
mdhoover OP
695 posts
 
Now that the headphone system is up and running (I still haven't worked up the courage to change the tubes on the SRM-T1), it sounds excellent. It could still sound better, in my opinion. So.........what do you guys think of the ED-1 "diffuse field" equalizer made by Stax? Would this fill out the bass without introducing too much distortion, or is it more of a device to create an enhanced "soundstage" for the headphones? Is it worth pursuing one of these units which originally retailed for around $600? If so, what's a good price, and where can I steal one?
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