Spec me an Amp

u8myufo

u8myufo

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I am looking for a decent Headphone amp to go with my pair of Sennheiser HD650`s. So far I was thinking maybe one of the Musical Fidelity X-Can series. Would buying secondhand be a wise move? Not sure if anybody has any advice on this or maybe I should take the phones to my local Hi-Fi dealer and have a listen. Only problem there is if they have enough choice in stock new or used for me to compare.
 
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srichards said:
http://www.cheshireaudio.co.uk/acatalog/copy_of_copy_of_Headphone_Amplifiers.html

These people do mail order and you can often borrow things for a demo before making a definite decision.

Worth checking with your local shop and see what they have in too. If there isn't much then it could be worth venturing further afield to somewhere that does have a greater choice to demo.
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Thanks Suz
Forbiddenbiker said:
Quality over power everytime....:thumbs:
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I would like to think so Adam, maybe this then :D http://www.audioelevation.co.uk/Cartv3/Details.asp?ProductID=175 and I might as well go the whole hog :thumbs: http://www.audioelevation.co.uk/Cartv3/Details_options.asp?ProductID=357
 
I used the x-can with my HD600's - breathtaking
 
u8myufo said:
Did you run the input through a Dac first Richard or straight to the X-Can?
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depends

vinyl - via a Koetsu MCR-1 phono stage
CD - via a Mark Levinson 360 DAC (I generally use a No.37 transport only CD player)

I swap the cables off the back of my pre-amp depending what I am listening too
 
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Richard King said:
depends

vinyl - via a Koetsu MCR-1 phono stage
CD - via a Mark Levinson 360 DAC (I generally use a No.37 transport only CD player)

I swap the cables off the back of my pre-amp depending what I am listening too
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Some tasty kit then, what speakers do you use if you dont mind me asking Rich.
 
one that goes up to 11, spinal tap style? :shrug:
 
u8myufo said:
Some tasty kit then, what speakers do you use if you dont mind me asking Rich.
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Main set up is Martin Logan Arieus & Depth

I have a set of Kef reference 4's for the really noisy stuff

In my office I listen to Bose, but that system is to be moved to the studio
 
If it's anywhere as good as my headphones then this has got to be worth a try: Grado RA1
The fact it's machined from a solid block of mahogany is just brilliant IMO.
 
I can see it will end up being worse than choosing a camera, thanks for the links anyway. Spoke to my local place and he has a couple for me try, at least I can get some idea as to what my bins will sound like as I have not really pushed them yet. One of them is the Graham Slee Novo, ok not top of the range but I think it will suit my needs. Not sure if you can advise on that model compared to anything else similar in price regards to spec, as I am no good with numbers, OHM`s or any of that other techy stuff :D
 
If you can get to one of the big hifi shows, they normally let you take your own music to listen on their kit.

Not up to date on the current kit, but your not going to need huge power for a set of headphones, so what about one of the new crop of valve amps.
 
acetone said:
If you can get to one of the big hifi shows, they normally let you take your own music to listen on their kit.

Not up to date on the current kit, but your not going to need huge power for a set of headphones, so what about one of the new crop of valve amps.
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Thanks Acetone stirr it up a tad more wont you :D TBh I was looking at this one http://www.trustedreviews.com/Trends-PA-10-Tube-Headphone-Amplifier_Headphones_review Problem is unless I get to try it I can only go by what reviews I can find. Oh Yeh I missed the Audio Visual show at Bristol this year but usualy go (Just for drooling purpose`s you understand ) ;)
 
Just to make it harder for you then. :D

The problem with hifi, like photography, is that the source is the important bit…the lens quality or the Turntable, CD player, WAV or MP3 player ….eek.
Unfortunately all the equipment we're talking about here will emphasise any lackings in the source material and you wont get what you pay for in comparison until a high quality source is fed into them.

So if you really want to get te best from your quality headphones then the source player/material needs to be improved first.
 
Forbiddenbiker said:
who knows, looks nice ..well adapted for PC..:shrug:

I like the bit where it says the rich full treble can be a bit harsh to some but after a few hours its smoothes off... :thinking: :D
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:lol: Yeh. I do understand what you are saying about the source though Adam, you only get out what goes in, this is obviously going to be a problem for me. Basically all I am after at the moment is to get the best out of my phones at an affordable budget. None of my gear is reference stuff :( I have it in the front room which is aprox 14ft x 12ft, a Cambridge audio amp and a pair of B&W 601 s3 speakers. The walls in our place are over a foot thick of natural white lias stone, at the time when I bought the speakers the guy from my local place brought up three other pairs to compare. One set was over £1000 and that was secondhand but they did not sound right with the kit I had so I chose the B&W`s. I do have a lot of my music on the PC as well which is another thing to think about. Should I consider upgrading the soundcard on the PC :shrug: I know there are some better ones other than Creative so that might be an avenue to explore if it helps squeeze a bit more out. Any advice on that front would be gratefull too, I do not play games on the PC so a dedicated card would be ok.
Rich
 
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The whole source first idea is actually irrelevant when you think about it. The source actually makes less difference to the overall sound compared to the amp/speaker/room interaction. Poor speakers will just sound poor with anything including an expensive cd player. I'd always spend the bulk of the money on the amp/speakers basically!

Some of the cambridge audio amps are quite good. Is it one of the ones with a built in DAC? If not I'd consider either changing to one that has or getting something like a Beresford dac which is excellent for the money. PC music using lossless audio files and a reasonable DAC can be pretty flipping good.

Speaker positioning is also critical. Some need to be more in room and some prefer to be close to a wall.

I think it is more to do with component synergy than anything. Pick cheap stuff that works well together and it will often sound better and more satisfying than expensive gear chucked together.
 
Creatives stuff gets mixed reviews depending on gawd knows what, its not good enough for the HiFi buffs it seems. I looked six months ago and ended up buying some DaC from Tottenham court road, its not rubbish, does record full WaV files nicely (I use Audacity freeware software)

So i've just had another search and like Suz suggests the Beresford DaC as good and also the Dacmagic from cambridge .


srichards said:
The whole source first idea is actually irrelevant when you think about it. The source actually makes less difference to the overall sound compared to the amp/speaker/room interaction. Poor speakers will just sound poor with anything including an expensive cd player. I'd always spend the bulk of the money on the amp/speakers basically!


.
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:) Nah Suz, You stick any poor speaker on a great front end, with reasonable amp and it will win your comparison, in comparison. Its just like photography, the exposure is the important bit ...boosting the size of a poor exposure will soon show its errors and noise ...well the same goes for HiFi. If you had my main front end, which just happens to be a reference turntable...couple of 70s singles say... It would blow you away big time I assure you. .;)
 
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Crap speakers always sound crap to me :) I have tried quite a few things in varying combinations over the years.

What speakers do you have?
 
srichards said:
The whole source first idea is actually irrelevant when you think about it. The source actually makes less difference to the overall sound compared to the amp/speaker/room interaction. Poor speakers will just sound poor with anything including an expensive cd player. I'd always spend the bulk of the money on the amp/speakers basically!

Some of the cambridge audio amps are quite good. Is it one of the ones with a built in DAC? If not I'd consider either changing to one that has or getting something like a Beresford dac which is excellent for the money. PC music using lossless audio files and a reasonable DAC can be pretty flipping good.

Speaker positioning is also critical. Some need to be more in room and some prefer to be close to a wall.

I think it is more to do with component synergy than anything. Pick cheap stuff that works well together and it will often sound better and more satisfying than expensive gear chucked together.
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I am with you on that one Suz. Also like people judging pics on here, no two persons eyes are the same which is a fact I believe. Not everybody`s hearing is the same neither.
 
I've tried arcam amps, older cyrus two with psx. Latter are a little gem actually. Kick most modern amps under £3k into the weeds without much effort. Also played around with a valve amp and a dirt cheap battery powered digital amp which was actually just as good as the valve amp!

Front end now is ancient nac 52 and a hummy nap-250. Both olive. Old Briks on the back end. Not sure I've heard Kan's.

People's hearing definitely differs a lot. One persons clear and lively is another's aggressive and harsh. Also female persons have different hearing responses to males too. And we ignore knobs and flashing lights more :) A lot of people are also suffering from hearing loss and don't realise it which will further influence their choices.
 
Peoples hearing differs, but like sight if we’re all looking through a fog non of us can see much …lift the fog and bring back the clarity and we can all see better….and same with hearing.
Maybe I can prove it to you with these two full on band width recordings which Id like you both to download ( well as full as I can get them anyway)

Just right click and save as .They are big WAV files aprox 60 meg each .should .take about ten mins each to download.

Cant Nobody Love You. Solumon Burke.wav

Soul Serenade. Byron Lee and the Dragonaires.wav

You'll need a Wav player...Use Audacity freeware software or media player classic does them.
Maybe even try converting them to mp3 and compaire them with the originals.
Forgive the pops and crackles of these 1960s 7 inch singles and the distortion of a hundred DJ plays with a knackered old needle and have a listen to the dynamic range and sheer detail and control of every note and nuance.
 
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srichards said:
I've tried arcam amps, older cyrus two with psx. Latter are a little gem actually. Kick most modern amps under £3k into the weeds without much effort. Also played around with a valve amp and a dirt cheap battery powered digital amp which was actually just as good as the valve amp!

Front end now is ancient nac 52 and a hummy nap-250. Both olive. Old Briks on the back end. Not sure I've heard Kan's.
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The Cyrus is a class little amp ...similar to the Naim nait (sp?) if you remember that.

Thats some pretty nice stuff Suz :thumbs:
 
Forbiddenbiker said:
Creatives stuff gets mixed reviews depending on gawd knows what, its not good enough for the HiFi buffs it seems. I looked six months ago and ended up buying some DaC from Tottenham court road, its not rubbish, does record full WaV files nicely (I use Audacity freeware software)
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Thanks for that Adam, I understand what a Dac does but are you suggesting that if I get a DAC that will be the end of it? Or will I still need to come from the Dac to a dedicated headphone amp :shrug:
Cheers
 
I think.. because I’m at the same stage as you really trying to get the best out of stuff... Yes the DaC will convert the digital code via usb to analogue as best as it can be done.

..so then simply plug the analogue DaC output into any spare input on your Cambridge amp and use its headphone socket. (which I’m assuming it has because you own a set of headphones)

The Cambridge stuff used to be good clean amplification, I don’t know much of there current stuff but I’m thinking yours is probably similar. So using a quality DaC is the best way to improve/translate the source materials quality (mp3s etc) and the amp can cleanly boost the better signal giving you an improved 'sound quality' than you has previously.

or have I not quite got your problem?
 
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I remember the Nait but refused to go anywhere near anything by naim as they had those silly din connectors. They still annoy me now!
 
:D Ah yeah, I forgot about those bloody things... the Nait didn't have them though thankfully, I had one for a while.

u8myufo said:
Thanks for that Adam, I understand what a Dac does but are you suggesting that if I get a DAC that will be the end of it? Or will I still need to come from the Dac to a dedicated headphone amp :shrug:
Cheers
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Which way did you go Rich, get anything yet?
 
Forbiddenbiker said:
:D Ah yeah, I forgot about those bloody things... the Nait didn't have them though thankfully, I had one for a while.




Which way did you go Rich, get anything yet?
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Sorry Adam, just waiting to see what my camera will cost to get sorted and I can then go from there. I think it will be a Dac though just not sure which one yet.Will keep you updated.
 
TriggerHappy said:
Just come across this thread. That's the DAC I have in my setup and I'm pretty pleased with it.
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Well that is good to know Jamie :thumbs: I am going in blind really as I will be unable to test it with the kit I have but most reviews give it a bit of cred :thumbs: Where did you buy yours from btw?
 
I don't use mine as a headphone amp like you are intending. I have a subwoofer hooked into the pre amp and run the fixed output to an amp linked to stereo speakers so my experience may differ a little but if the quality is anything like I get you'll be delighted. I bought mine direct from their website a little over 12 months ago.
 
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