|
Why headphones?
A while back, I was looking for some way to take the music from home and play it
while I was on vacation or even relaxing in the back yard. The answer was
a pair of Grado SR60 headphones. They were relatively cheap, very
portable, and sounded great. I could just plug them into one of my
portable players and feel like I wasn't giving the music away to a pair of cheap
earbuds. Of course, I started reading head-fi forums and ended up buying
more headphones for home and away.
Having 3 yappy pups has made it easy to justify the efforts! Below are some of my headphones and headphone amps.
|
Updated Living Room Headphone Area |
I decided to update an area in my living room for headphones and
to add some addition bookshelves for storage. A while back, I
fell in love with the IKEA Expedit shelving that I would see on some
of the audio sites I frequent. I thought it might work for
storing records, books, and most importantly, my headphone related
gear.
The next thing I needed was a nice, comfy chair. I have lusted for a
Eames Lounge chair ever since I first saw it on an episode of Frazier.
At that point, I decided I would eventually have one. However, I did not
take into account my 6'5 frame... I had tried the chair on a recent trip to New
Orleans, but I had my car in a parking area that had a 15 minute limit, so I did
not get the time with the chair that I had hoped. After some conflicting
information on whether I would fit, I contacted Smart Furniture in
Chattanooga, TN and asked them if my height would be an issue.
Surprisingly, they said it would be a problem. The guy that runs the shop
is over 6 foot and his head is unsupported by the chair. That just
wouldn't work for headphones! :( Like a kid that learned he was allergic
to chocolate, I decided to seek an alternative.
While there isn't a substitute for chocolate, I found that there wasn't
really a substitute for Eames, either. However, we looked in Memphis
and found the Ekornes Stressless chairs. Personally, I prefer the
look of Eames, but these things are comfortable and do not look like your
average chair. I talked to Natalie at Smart Furniture and decided to order
it. If you notice, I also got some risers that attach to the bottom of the
chair and ottoman that make it taller. Also, we bought the Ambassador
which is their large sized chair.
A couple months later, I went back to the Smart Furniture website to get the
measurements for the chair. I noticed they were now giving away the $525
personal table with the purchase of the chair. After a few rounds of
emails to Smart Furniture, they agreed to give me a table, too. They said
I would not get my chair until October since my order had to be cancelled, but
somehow it arrived in July with the table and I am a happy camper.
Many people have asked about the blue lights in the center of the
bookshelves. They are flameless candles that have many different colors
and run off of batteries. They come with a remote that allows you to
select colors and turn them on and off.
I also moved my Marantz 2220B into this setup so I could listen to the tuner.
I love the wood box my dad built for it and wanted to put it on display where
people would see it.
Grado SR60 - As I mentioned, these were my first pair of decent
sounding headphones. I was never happy with earbuds and these
were the answer to that problem. The SR60s have a bright sound
that goes well with guitars, both rock and acoustic. I
still take them on nearly every trip out of town because they are
light, very portable, and sound great plugged right into my portable
players.
The only issue is that they leak in and out a lot of sound, so
while I like them on trips, they aren't something to wear on an
airplane.
|
Sennheiser HD580 and X-Can V3 Headphone Amp |
Senn HD580 headphones - When I started spending more time by the
PC in my home office, I decided to build a decent setup for
listening to music. It was the perfect place because I could
use my computer to stream files while working or surfing the web.
I did a lot of research and found the Sennheiser HD580s on sale. Senn was bringing out the similar sounding HD600s, so the price on
these had been slashed.
I thought at the time that I was saving some money, but found
that I needed a decent headphone amp to get the most from them.
Many owners of these headphones had paired them with a Musical
Fidelity X-Can V3 headphone amp and were happy with the results. Luckily, I found the
amp on Audiogon and it had new "Russian rocket" tubes and a Pinky
power supply. Normally, I am not someone that would spend a
lot on power cords, but this addition gave the X-Can a power switch
that was sorely missing from the original unit.
In the picture to the left (there is a larger pic on my
home office page) you can seem my
initial setup. The HD580s had the original plastic covers that
I switched out before taking the picture above.
The X-Can V3 is a hybrid amp, so it has some of the features of
tube and solid state amps. After searching many other amps, I
decided on a hybrid because it seemed to be better all around if I
decided to pair it with other headphones in the future.
I should mention that I added a Beresford DAC around the same
time. I chose it because it had two optical inputs and two
coax inputs, so I could use it with more than one music setup.
I have recently stopped using the Beresford, but I will most likely
add it to a audio setup that I am eventually going to have in my
garage. I am moving my weights from my office to an area out
there, so an audio setup isn't too far down the road. :)
The Ety ER-4Ps - As I mentioned, the Grado SR60s are great headphones
for trips, but they do not isolate sound. I needed some headphones
that I could wear on airplanes, in waiting rooms, and when I wanted to
listen to music while my gal watched TV in the same room. I wanted
something that did not require a headphone amp, would sound great, and
would be easy to put in a pocket when they weren't in use. The
best answer I came up with at the time was the ER-4P earphones.
Luckily, I timed it right and these were on sale for even less than you can
buy them today. Since I purchased them, many other brands have come
out with decent earphones, but I really appreciate the sound of these,
so I don't think I will look to buy another pair for this purpose.
That being said, these do not work that great for exercise.
They have a microphonic cord, so you can hear it if it moves. It
is possible to wrap the cable over the top of the ear to calm the noise
a bit, but who wants to exercise with expensive earbuds anyway? I
have been using Motorola Bluetooth headphones to eliminate the cable.
However, they sound awful, so if you are critical of sound quality while
you exercise, you
may be better off with some Senn PMX80s.
In the pic to the left, you can see my Etys rolled up in front of my
tube amp. I have the cushy foam ear tips on them. They also
come with some ear flanges that are more durable.
AKG K701s - These are my favorite headphones. They sound
amazing and are extremely comfortable. After reading the reviews
for these headphones, I knew I would like them. They have been
called "hyper-accurate" and that is really what I was looking for.
While the Senns have a nice warm sound, you are always limited to the
warm sound even when you want more accuracy. The AKGs, on the other
hand, give you accuracy and you can tone it down with a tube amp or
vintage Marantz receiver if you want a warmer presentation.
When I got the AKGs, I was going to use them with the my X-Can V3 amp
and just rotate my Senns and AKGs depending on the music I was going to
play. However, I often just used the AKGs and my Senns were being
wasted. I thought about selling them, but instead, I decided to
move them to the bedroom and invest in another headphone amp and DAC.
My choice for the DAC was a Cambridge DACMagic. Like my
Beresford DAC, it has several inputs and can be used with more than one
source. It also has three filters that will give the listener a
different sound with the push of a button.
 For the headphone amp, I found many great reviews of the Heed CanAmp.
It was a solid state amp, which worried me a little, but I decided to
risk it and buy one. The amp is notorious for working great with
the AKGs, but many liked it with the Senns, so I figured I would be
covered by putting it in the system that works the best. The Heed
makes some of the complaints about the AKGs disappear. Many
complain about the lack of bass in the AKGs. I think those people
are used to over-emphasized bass in some headphones or they don't have
the AKGs paired with the right amp. The Heed makes the bass go a
little deeper and adds some extra punch to each bass note. Heed
CanAmp + AKG K701 headphones = match made in heaven.
In the picture to the left, you also see a Roku Soundbridge (music
server) and a TC-754 preamp. The preamp is known for having a nice
phone stage, which I have never used, but it also works nicely for
switching sources. I have a signal from a Yamaha SACD player,
Cambridge DacMagic, and living room system all being fed into the
preamp. The Roku, PC, and Mac Mini all feed digital into the DacMagic. All in all, a nice little setup. The preouts of
the Heed feed a Marantz receiver which I can also use for headphones or
I can feed the signal to a pair of Insignia speakers.
As I mentioned earlier, I moved my X-Can setup into my bedroom. I
had it paired with an Entech DAC and it was a nice setup for bedside.
However, my Entech DAC just stopped working. I needed a new DAC,
but I could not decide on what I wanted. I knew I did not want to
spend a fortune on a new DAC, but I hated the looks of the V-Dac that I
was considering.
In the end, I decided to get a Little Dot Dac_1 and a Little Dot MKIII
headphone amp. The DAC would remedy my bedroom situation, but I
was also curious about an all tube amp. David (the owner of Little
Dot) offered a discount
on shipping if I bought them together, so I went ahead and pulled the
trigger. I decided at the time, I would move the X-Can setup into the
living room, pair it up with my SRC2496 DAC and buy a PS Audio DLIII DAC
for my main system.
Since I moved the Senns to the living room, I needed a new pair of
headphones to use with my Little Dots. I read that the Audio
Technica ATH-AD700 headphones
were selling at a deep discount, so I bought some. Interestingly,
Stereophile also used the AD700s in their review of the Little Dot MKIII
headphone amp, so I had some confidence they would sound decent. The pairing is perfect for a bedside setup.
The comfortable AD700s paired with the sweet sounding MKIII was the
perfect way to listen to music before a nap or before going to sleep for
the night.
The AD700s also get beat up because of their lack of bass. The
MKIII does give them more bass presence, but they are still not bass
heavy enough for some rock/rap music. While that is a small issue,
the trade off is a huge, speaker like soundstage and a sweet midrange.
For bedtime, I won't be listening to Metallica or Eminem, so it is not
an issue. I would eventually want to add some Beyer 880
headphones, which are supposed to be very similar to the K701s, but it is
not on my short list right now.
I should mention that I use Airport Express units to feed a signal into
the Little Dot DAC_1 and into the X-Can V3 in the living room.
With Apple's Airplay, I can listen to my iTunes music or music from apps
on my iPad. I love the flexibility of these setups. The
Little Dot DAC_1 has two sets of outputs, so I also feed my Denon
receiver a
signal from this setup when I am in the mood for speakers.
|
Realistic
HP-100 Electostats |
Realistic HP-100 Electrostatic Headphones - Sometimes when
you are a music fan, headphones just find you instead of you
finding them. I was looking for another Super-T amp to run
some speakers in my bedroom setup. I have always liked the
T-amp sound, although some say they lack bass (are we seeing a
trend here? :), and was writing on a forum about them and the
fact that I might buy a used Super T-amp. Well, a forum member
was using a Super T-amp setup with the Realistic headphones and
said he would sell them together for less than I could get a new
Super-T. Who am I to refuse such an offer?
He said the cord for the Realistic was too short and made the
setup of little use in his situation. I also find it short,
but I my chair is only a foot or so from the headphone setup, so it is not a
big deal. I use the Little Dot MKIII RCA outputs to feed
this system.
The headphone cups are bit worn down, so these headphones
aren't something I wear for hours on end, but I will put them on
when I use my massage chair or just want to read in the sunlight
of the nearby window. The sound of this setup is
incredible given the age. I read somewhere that Stax
simply rebranded their lower end electrostatic headphones for Radio Shack.
It is funny that I wanted the Super T-amp for listening to
speakers, but I have disconnected the speakers and only use it
for these headphones now.
|
Audio
Technica ATH M-50 Headphones |
ATH M-50 Headphones - I mentioned that I moved the X-Can V3 headphone amp to my
living room. Well, in addition to pairing it with my Senn HD580s, I wanted
some headphones with a bit more isolation. The M-50s are somewhat
inexpensive, offer good isolation, and can also be used for portable music
when I did not want to use my Grados.
As you can see, I no longer have the SRC2496 DAC in this setup. It also
stopped working (I had some remodeling in the house and the dust killed more
electronics than I ever imagined...live and learn). I was using my
Beresford DAC, but something interesting happened. I added a 4311CI
receiver to my main system and it sounded better (thanks to Audyssey room
correction) without the PS Audio DLIII in
the mix. I decided to pair it with my X-Can V3 amp. As I mentioned
before, it is also being fed
by an Airport Express. As you can see, I am using an iPad to control the
music.
The M-50s aren't the last word on resolution. Instead, they offer decent
all around sound quality that fits most any kind of music. I prefer the HD580s
to them, but sometimes the living room is too loud to listen to the HD580s
without being disturbed. For those occasions, the M-50s fit the bill.
For the price, they certainly check a lot of boxes for those that listen to a
wide variety of music.
My main complaint is not the sound. It is the pleather cups that can
make my ears sweat after I use them for a while. Not a big deal, but I
prefer the soft cups in my other headphones.
The NuForce uDac DAC/Amp - I bought this to use with my iPad.
It hooks up to the camera kit's USB input and sends a digital signal
from the iPad to the uDAC. It worked great for a while, but
Apple decided to restrict the signal coming from the iPad, so it no
longer works. I bought something called a T3hub that fools the
iPad into making it work with the uDac again. The issue
is that it is now more unwieldy than I like and, as a result, this
setup gets very little use with the iPad these days. I
normally just plug the headphones directly into the iPad or use the
iPad to sent music to the Airport Express units I have around the
house. I like the uDac for when I use a laptop, but that has
become a rare occurrence since I bought the iPad.
I also have a PA2V2 portable headphone amp. I bought it
mainly to hook between a Phatbox music player RCA outputs and the
Aux input on my car. It helped the sound far more than I
expected. I no longer have the car, but I still have the PA2V2
that I use on occasion when I am on vacation. It amplifies the
sound and gives a better musical presentation than the headphone
output on the iPhone/iPad. I just hook it to a LOD (line out
dock) that bypasses the players internal amp.
Finally, I also have a FIIO E5 portable headphone amp. It
is much smaller than the PA2V2, so I thought it would be less
cumbersome. What I have found is that it does not sound as
good as the PA2V2 and it is still too cumbersome to use when I don't
want to use the PA2V2.
Of course, I could write more about my portable players that I
use with these setups, but I will save that for another day.
|
