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Head-Fier Nightmare: Off to College, what gear to bring?!

post #1 of 35
4/9/06 at 2:40am
Thread Starter 
So basically I had been planning over the past few days for a huge equipment upgrade (~$1200). I was almost ready to put down all my money, when suddenly I realized something.

I'm going to college next year. Is it worth it to bring all my crap there?

Since I'm going to live in the dorms, it's going to noisy ain't it? Is it worth it to buy all these hi-fi headphone equipment only to discover that I can't hear the details after all due to all the sound around me? Will I even have time to listen to my expensive rig back in the dorms?

Isn't a portable rig even more important if I'm going to college? If so, then I have to restart my planning and decide on a DAP, a portable amp, and some awesome IEMs.

Or maybe I should try to get a transportable rig? Laptop -> USB DAC -> Amp -> IEMs/Cans? Argh. But then, that means I won't have a DAP. I don't want to carry my laptop everywhere I go though, right?

Oh snap, so if I'm not mistaken, I should ditch the idea for a major nonportable upgrade for now and concentrate my money on a portable rig. Eeeks. Portable head-fi gear has never been my specialty. Heck, the only IEMs I've listened to for more than 5 minutes are the ER-6, ER-6i, and E2c! And I have never listened to high-end IEMs before at all.

Laptop source and focus on IEMs? (Bithead -> High-end IEMs)
Focus on laptop source? (MicroDAC or something similar -> Amp -> Medium-end IEMs)
DAP source and focus on IEMs? (DAP -> Amp -> High-end IEMs)
DAP source and focus on amp? (DAP -> Good Amp -> Medium-end IEMs)

Oh yeah, I should also take some time looking at mini-to-minis.

So maybe I should stop ranting and let you guys plan me a college rig. Laptop as source? DAP as source?

My budget is around $1000 (DAC if needed, DAP, amplifier, IEMs, mini-to-mini connects)




ARGH, wrong forum! I'm so sorry! >_<; Can a mod move this to... somewhere more appropriate.
How could I have made such a big mistake.
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post #2 of 35
4/9/06 at 2:57am
First off, yes, depending on roommates it is most likely going to be very noisy. Furthermore, you don't want to leave overly expensive equipment around the room if your roommates are the drinking type.

Truth be told your headphones should be fine as long as you maintain some sort of protection. Depending on how far away you're traveling you may want to keep only a portable rig. Of course it also depends on how willing you are to lug a whole bunch of heavy audio equipment up for a desktop setup, not to mention limited desk space.

Finally, be careful not to mention how much your stuff costs. At least not to people you don't explicitly trust and people who won't mention it to others.

Just a couple of tips, I'm sure others will have more.
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post #3 of 35
4/9/06 at 3:03am
It is more then worth it... trust me... it will get many many hours of use... here is my rig at school.



Then again I got to the private Christian school in the middle of the corn fields and the biggest issues we have with theft is a can of soda going missing.
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post #4 of 35
4/9/06 at 3:58am
interesting....for me it's the opposite...i'll be heading home during the summer and i'm worried what will happen when my parents find out what i've been doing with my college money
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post #5 of 35
4/9/06 at 4:21am
Are you kidding? With all the noise and commotion in the dorms, you're going to NEED headphones.

If you're worried about theft, get a wooden trunk or something like that you can put your headphones in when you're not around.

As for an amp, you should buy one of the homebrew ones listed here. Then make it kinda scary looking- have a screw or two missing or halfway in, stick extra wires hanging out, put stickers on it, and so forth. Make up a story about how it shocked your little brother and how he had to get a skin graft at the hospital. But you "fixed" it and it hasn't shocked anyone since. Tell that story to people on your floor. Nobody will touch it and no one will think it worth stealing.
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post #6 of 35
4/9/06 at 4:49am
Quote:
Originally Posted by granodemostasa
interesting....for me it's the opposite...i'll be heading home during the summer and i'm worried what will happen when my parents find out what i've been doing with my college money
Nice, I am in sort of the same dilemma, as my parents are still not aware of my HF-1 purchase. I've got less than a month to think of how to tell them if they take notice. I could blow it off as a cheap headphone that I heard sounded good from here. After all, until one takes off the pads, they don't see the beast in hiding .
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post #7 of 35
4/9/06 at 5:55am
Isolation is key for dorm headphone use. I use my HD280's more than my grado's, because they block out my room mate, and he doesn't get bothered by my music either.
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post #8 of 35
4/9/06 at 6:40am
I'd worry more about theft more than what you'd take to college. Freshmen especially like to leave their doors open so they can get to know each other (well, at least that was the case when I was in college), and with people going in and out, you don't want something stolen! Take your cheapest-looking stuff, and NEVER mention how much they actually cost.
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post #9 of 35
4/9/06 at 9:33am
Laptop with an external HD (300 GB or so), a HeadRoom Micro Dac, Portable Amp (AE-1 or The Hornet or SuperMacro III Ver. 6), a DAP, one (1) IEM and one (1) Full Size Can.

The laptop/hd will be both your storage for mp3 as well as your cd transport. The rest of the items will fit inside your desk drawer out of the way (and more importantly out of everyone's sight). Oh yeah and an UPS.

Good luck.
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post #10 of 35
4/9/06 at 10:50am
I would advise you to get to know your roommates first. Only after you think you can trust them, then bring your stuff. Speaking from personal experience of getting my stuff stolen.
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post #11 of 35
4/9/06 at 11:41am
Thread Starter 
Eeeeks. Thanks for the advice. I'm a single-child, so I've had little experience living with other kids. Also, there is basically a 0.1% electronics theft rate at my high school. I leave my laptop on the top of my locker and in various places in the hallways unattended without being worried of it being stolen. College is quite different apparently.
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post #12 of 35
4/9/06 at 11:50am
Quote:
Originally Posted by nabwong
I would advise you to get to know your roommates first. Only after you think you can trust them, then bring your stuff. Speaking from personal experience of getting my stuff stolen.
QFT.

Get to know your roommate first, that's a smart move.

As for gear, I'd try to diversify. I would try to direct your funds to getting both home and portable setups. Trust me, you'll want some isolation while on campus or in the library studying, and the same goes for in your dorm room.

For a portable rig, I always got tired of carrying around an amp, and having to worry about changing the batteries etc. So, I'd suggest you just get a nice pair of IEM's to use with your DAP. Simplistic, good sound, and great isolation.

As for a home setup, the suggestion to get an external hard drive was good, and I'd echo that comment. It's much more convenient (and safe!) to keep all of your music in one spot. Plus, you don't have to worry about CD's getting stolen. I'd also look into some smaller DAC's and amps that will really help you minimize space. Closed headphones are probably the best bet too, but I'd also hang on to those SA5K's and HD650's, unless you plan on selling them off to help fund some other cans.

edit: Let's see what I can put together for fun I'm assuming you'll use your laptop and are keeping your SA5K's and HD650's

Source: Firestone Audio Fubar II DAC - $0
Amp: Headamp Gilmore Lite - $300

DAP: iAudio X5 30gb - $260
IEM's: Shure E4 - $200

TOTAL: $760 - That leaves you with $240 for miscellaneous items like cables (I'd recommend Signalcable for cheap well-built cables), or even another set of headphones.
IEM's:
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post #13 of 35
4/9/06 at 12:04pm
You know, another great solution would be to just get the HeadRoom MicroStack. That's $600 right there, and now you have $400 left to get some IEM's, a Mini -> Mini cable, and some Ramen Noodles
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post #14 of 35
4/9/06 at 12:30pm
Strongly suggest Akwok be your role model.
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post #15 of 35
4/9/06 at 12:35pm
I'm preparing for college too. I'm not to worried about theft because I will have the suite door, my door, and a lockable box to put my stuff in. If you are in a dorm style room, I'd suggest the lockbox for sure.

That got me thinking. I will try to wire the Laptop-DAC-Amp in a way that I just have to open box and play instead of having to take all the stuff out to listen.
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