The best of the best (Headphones and Headphone amps)
Hey, as well as looking for a portable solution (which I have started another thread for) I also am looking for an ultimate Hi-Fi solution headphones wise. I'm willing to save for a of year or two (pr threee or four!) for a truly ultimate headphone/headphone amp combination as I want something truly fantastic, as a speaker system for me is and will be for a long time inconviniant/impossible! At the moment I'm using an iPod classic attached to a Fiio e7 via dock connector to 3.5mm jack, playing through my Beats By Dre Pros (I know, but for now I like them).
All my music is ripped straight from CDs and kept in uncompressed WAV format. I listen to a lot of late 90s and early 2000s hip hop such as Cypress Hill and D12, reggae including Ini Kamoze and Damian Marley, and even venture into the likes of Cold Play and Kasabian! What I want to do is pool together a list of really good headphone/amp combos with source suggestions (I will most likely end up sourcing with a Cyrus player such as the CD 6).
I want to spend probably between £1000 to £1500, excluding the cost of the source as I want something truly fantastic. Just because I have Dr Dre headphones doesn't mean I'm deaf to good sound, as I'm really not, I truly admire my Uncles Hi-Fi system of a cyrus DAC X+, AVI intergrated amplifier and monitor audio bookshelf speakers (can't remember which model), as well as his grahem slee novo feeding of his DAC, which he listens to on his ATH-M50s 'phones. At the moment I'm really liking the idea of a beyerdyanmic T1/A1 pairing, but other than those I really don't know what else to consider. Thanks in advance for any suggestions, and hopefully this will also help out those with a fair amount of spare cash also trying to decide a really good headphone system. They can be open, closed or semi-open headphones, it doesn't matter, and the amp doesn't have to matc by company. I'm just looking for a really nice system for home listening!
hmmm, could you describe the sound quality a bit more and also what are you sourcing it with?
Stax SR009 and either the valve(tube) amp or the solid state amp they sell. That's the ultimate at this time. Make sure and buy from the very best source.
They sure look nice and I didn't even know they made electrostatic headphones, but they are far to out of my price range, I'm looking to source with a nice 2nd hand cyrus CD player, some really nice cable which my uncle will make for me (he makes really good cables) and really a max of £1500 on the headphone/amp combo, and although I could probably push a bit more than that those SR-009 are like three and a half thousand before you add the cost of the amp!
PS I'm not to keen on valve amps, they don't have enough attack for my liking.
If I wanted to sell someone the very best sound under £1500, I'd sell them a Senn HD800 and a decent DAC-plus-headphone-amp combo. Just try it out with some good high resolution music tracks.
Sourced from a Cyrus CD and Amp.
Its hard to describe how it sounds. The base is incredable deep and I think I can actually feel. The soundstage is precise. You can hear the individual voices and instuments. As an example in (I think) Leonard Cohans Greatest hits - on of the tracks has some bells which move from one speaker to another. On the headphones you can easily trace the path of the bells.
Probably a rubbish explanation - but the best for now.
As for price- I got the GS1000s not the GS1000i's because they were half the price and 90% of the quality. That should bring the total costs down to your price range.
Nice suggestions guys, I think I'm edging more towards the grados rather than the sennheisers, as many believe the grados to have a more dynamic sound and incredible soundstage, but then again, I've liked every pair of sennheisers I've owned and they are tempting to(the HD800 that is). However, I'm still considering the beyerdynamic t1/a1 combination as that is also supposed to be fantastic. Anyone had any experience with the T1 or the A1?
PS would the sennheisers run well on the audiolab m-dac, or the grados for that matter? Any other suggestionsn for a headphone amp or amp/dac combo?
PS would the sennheisers run well on the audiolab m-dac, or the grados for that matter? Any other suggestionsn for a headphone amp or amp/dac combo?
Also how does the bass response compare between the sennheiser hd800 and the grado gs1000i, after reading both reviews i'm starting to see they're more equal than i originally thought.
From the specs the M-DAC appears to have very sufficient output. Grados are not known to be very neutral. I had the PS500 which was excellent with some upper-bass reduction, but the ultimate detail was still lacking compared to the HD800. I have no reason to suspect that the PS1000 or GS1000 will equal the resolution of the HD800, although the Grados may sound warmer and make instruments sound more colorful.
Hmmm, so you would say the grados have a deeper but more coloured bass response while the sennheisers are more transparent? Also does anyone know how the sennheiser hd800 or the grado gs1000i compare to the beyerdynamic T1 'phones. Also does anyone have any thoughts on the denon ah-d7000, or for any other 'phones or amps?
The HD800 goes more or less flat to the lowest audible frequency. The Grado with EQ may equal that, but would require EQ to suppress the bass emphasis. The Beyerdynamic T1 response tests show a large peak around 8 to 9 khz, which may not offend some users, but I'd pass on that one. I've had Beyer DT48's, DT1350's, maybe others, and while they have razor-sharp definition, they can sound harsh due to uneven response.
Hmmmm, some good ideas, I may consider the grados or the senns a lot more seriously now, although the beyerdyanamic t1/a1 combo still is tempting due to their being lots of very good reviews on them...
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A bit above your price range - but I can recommend Grado GS1000i + Beyerdynamic A1 headphone Amp. If you go onto ebay you may be able to get them in your price range.
I have the GS1000 + A1 and I have not heard any speakers better