[Community of A/V Enthusiasts]
Dedicated Headphone Systems
Recently I've started to work on building up a dedicated headphone system to supplement my main AV system. As a programmer, I spend 8-10 hours a day staring at a computer screen and have to spend time in an environment where speakers would not be appreciated, or possible. Now it's pretty easy to build up a high quality headphone system for not too much money: computer storage is cheap enough that I have all 400+ albums stored as FLAC, USB DAC's can offer a considerable improvement in sound for $200 or less, and a set of headphones that you can get for $300 will offer far better sound than a pair of speakers you would buy for the same price.
I have one friend that has a dedicated headphone system for his work (using an iPod with lossless audio, a portable amp, and AKG headphones) and all of his coworkers look at him like he is crazy to spend $300 on headphones, though he has a work setup that probably sounds better than any of their home theater setups. Does anyone else run a dedicated headphone setup for their main or secondary systems, or are they just an afterthought for when they are not in front of their main theater?
I have one friend that has a dedicated headphone system for his work (using an iPod with lossless audio, a portable amp, and AKG headphones) and all of his coworkers look at him like he is crazy to spend $300 on headphones, though he has a work setup that probably sounds better than any of their home theater setups. Does anyone else run a dedicated headphone setup for their main or secondary systems, or are they just an afterthought for when they are not in front of their main theater?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Thebesthereis on -
I spent "close" to $700.00 on my Grado RS1 just to commute back and forth to work via subway. I use them nearly year-round except for the summer months when wearing them can be a bit cumbersome (due to the length of the wire and nowhere to stash it) and thermogenic (due to the cushions) which leads to added sweltering conditions. During the summer months or whenever it's too hot out or just not practical (depending on where I'm going) I use my Shure SE530PTH earphones. I'm running it with my Archos AV500 portable DVR. About 40% of the music is ripped to a "loss-less" audio format due to HDD size. It's only a 100GB hard drive so in that aspect, I can fit more music in it if I compromise with MP3s for the music that doesn't necessarily "need" to be in a loss-less format.
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Permalink Reply by T. Rodney Tatum on -
I own The AKG K701's, but not for a dedicated two-channel system. I use them in a dedicated theater system when listening to music during the wee hours of the morning. My sons use wireless Sennheiser's in their rooms for game playing. Everyone but me uses earbuds for portable music needs.
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Permalink Reply by Chris Heinonen on -
Are you running a dedicated headphone amp for your AKG's? They are well known for being very bass-light (and compared to a pair I'm reviewing right now, they are very shy in comparison), but there are certain amps that they pair really well with that play to their strengths (soundstage, tonal balance) and can really help to make up for their weaknesses, mostly by improving the bass. A new amp for them is probably my next purchase, once I discover if my cubicle mates can deal with the open nature of them.
T. Rodney Tatum said:I own The AKG K701's, but not for a dedicated two-channel system. I use them in a dedicated theater system when listening to music during the wee hours of the morning. My sons use wireless Sennheiser's in their rooms for game playing. Everyone but me uses earbuds for portable music needs.
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Permalink Reply by NekoAudio on -
You may consider recabling. I re-cabled my AKG K 702's specifically for this issue.
Chris Heinonen said:Are you running a dedicated headphone amp for your AKG's? They are well known for being very bass-light...
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Permalink Reply by richard mccleskey on -
did you ever get a headphone amp?
I have Grado's RS1 headphones and Headrooms Ultra Micro Amp n DAC with me Macbook/ iPod as a source. I keep me iPod w/ lossless files(prefer to keep them in AIFF but only have an 80GB iPod) connected to me MacBook and run a fiberoptic cable from it to me DAC. I really enjoy this setup! never thought I would get into headphones again after me STAX from mid 80's(at the time did not like being tethered) but it became me preferred system and even for movies.
I also use the DAC between me MacBook/ iPod and NAD w/ Totem Dreamcatchers. I have only had these Dreamcatchers for a little less than a month so I have been listening to them. when me pocket permits I would really like to get a better Integrated Amp for them.
having a small footprint has become an issue with me over the years. I downsized me first system years ago but it soon became not small enough. a bud turned me on to me first Grado SR80's a few years ago. I was hammered by them! this became a solution to a small footprint and good sound. I still love listening to speakers and even more now with me Dreamcatchers.
Headroom was planning on a upgraded Desktop Amp with Dolby 2.0 but I think this had been put on the back burner. I was looking forward to the release of this headphone amp but not sure it will even happen now..
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Permalink Reply by Chris Heinonen on
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I don't have a different amp yet, but I have the NuForce HDP headphone amp and DAC on the way to me for a review, so I will see how that does with the AKG K701's and the Grado SR60's. I might have another pair of headphones coming in for review as well to test it with, but the review windows might not overlap so I'll have to see.
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Permalink Reply by richard mccleskey on
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you will have to let us know how that goes for you.
what other headphones are you getting?
Chris Heinonen said:I don't have a different amp yet, but I have the NuForce HDP headphone amp and DAC on the way to me for a review, so I will see how that does with the AKG K701's and the Grado SR60's. I might have another pair of headphones coming in for review as well to test it with, but the review windows might not overlap so I'll have to see.
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Permalink Reply by T. Rodney Tatum on
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Since winning the Lexicon MC-12B, I have lost my headphone jack. To pair with my AKG701's, I am considering The Emmeline II "Raptor" from Ray Samuels. Anyone have a take on this tube unit? I would like to pull the trigger next month if at all possible. This unit sells for just under twelve hundred dollars.
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Permalink Reply by Gary Walker on -
Our hearts all bleed for you having to live with the shortcommings of the Lexicon.
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Permalink Reply by NekoAudio on
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T. Rodney Tatum said:
I would suggest searching for or asking about Ray Samuels gear at Head-Case and Head-Fi.Since winning the Lexicon MC-12B, I have lost my headphone jack. To pair with my AKG701's, I am considering The Emmeline II "Raptor" from Ray Samuels. Anyone have a take on this tube unit?
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Permalink Reply by T. Rodney Tatum on
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It's not a shortcomming. The pre-pro doesn't have support for headphones. This provides me with the opportunity to add another toy to my collection. This is exciting!
Gary Walker said:Our hearts all bleed for you having to live with the shortcommings of the Lexicon.
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Permalink Reply by Chris Heinonen on
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While not as attractive, you could get one of the fully balanced headphone amps from Audio-GD that are really highly regarded over at Head-Fi. The Phoenix is right around the same price, with info and links to reviews here:
http://www.audio-gd.com/enweb/Phoenix/Phoenix-1.htm
I'll let people know what the other headphones I'll be reviewing are after I manage to get them, as I've got no idea when that might be. I'm hoping to get the HDP next week, but since they found a small issue in the first run of units (the L and R channels are reversed on the 3.5mm input, which I wasn't planning to use except as an optical input) I might have to wait for that to be fixed.
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