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Is this the end of the headphone for me?

post #1 of 21
11/27/06 at 11:49pm
Thread Starter 
Ayre Ax-7e, with Harmonic Pro-Silway MKIII XLR sounds excellent with VR-1. Silly me, headphone is for kids I think my headphone rig has been demoted to 2nd citizen status now.

So what's the point of headphone if your speaker rig is better?
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post #2 of 21
11/28/06 at 12:12am
That's some nice cornucopia of gear. The VR-1's are silly good for the money, and the Ayre is excellent too.

I wouldn't sell off the headphone gear yet, though. The two are different enough that you really need both. I still go through periods of listening to mainly speakers vs. headphones.

Hey, maybe you need to try the K1000 on the Ayre..
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post #3 of 21
11/28/06 at 12:39am
If the best headphone you've used is the HD650/HD600/SR325i then I say you need to try something higher end

K1000, OII, HE90, R10, etc...
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post #4 of 21
11/28/06 at 1:05am
Thread Starter 
Don't forget HF1 I have and many I have heard but don't own, i.e. all Grado models less the GS1000. I have not heard O2, heard K1000 didn't do too much for me. maybe its the amp. I am generally afraid of trying KK because their peculiar amp requirements.

But Dynahi with HF1 is better than HD650 and I believe the sound is not far behind the very best. I cannot say I hard anything better than HF1 yet.

I can get hear strong 40hz from VR1 with ayre...LOL...I just did a tone sweep, HD650 can go down to 25hz, and HF1 can go down to 30hz. but the 40hz VR1 just sounds more powerful .... how strange.
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post #5 of 21
11/28/06 at 1:12am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jon L View Post
That's some nice cornucopia of gear. The VR-1's are silly good for the money, and the Ayre is excellent too.

I wouldn't sell off the headphone gear yet, though. The two are different enough that you really need both. I still go through periods of listening to mainly speakers vs. headphones.

Hey, maybe you need to try the K1000 on the Ayre..
sell..hell no. do you know how hard is to find Dynahi without DC servo (super matched FET) I might sell the HD650 though since I do like HF1 more.
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post #6 of 21
11/28/06 at 2:08am
Quote:
Originally Posted by chesebert View Post
Ayre Ax-7e, with Harmonic Pro-Silway MKIII XLR sounds excellent with VR-1. Silly me, headphone is for kids I think my headphone rig has been demoted to 2nd citizen status now.

So what's the point of headphone if your speaker rig is better?
I hope my next speaker purchase will do the same thing for me. The HF-1s and CD3ks aren't doing it for me so I'm probably going to sell them. For me, speakers offer more potential. Just waiting on a response on how they sound before I buy.
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post #7 of 21
11/28/06 at 2:03pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by chesebert View Post
Ayre Ax-7e, with Harmonic Pro-Silway MKIII XLR sounds excellent with VR-1. Silly me, headphone is for kids I think my headphone rig has been demoted to 2nd citizen status now.

So what's the point of headphone if your speaker rig is better?
Next year sennheiser will announce their new baby, this might be something up your stream. According to some insiders, it's gonna be something totally different then hd650!

I still believe that senneheiser will introduce a new top end headphone in 2007, they always delivered what they announced.

But, it never hurts to try anything else...
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post #8 of 21
11/28/06 at 2:06pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by skyline889 View Post
I hope my next speaker purchase will do the same thing for me. The HF-1s and CD3ks aren't doing it for me so I'm probably going to sell them. For me, speakers offer more potential. Just waiting on a response on how they sound before I buy.
Some really good speaker setups can sound sooo good. Mostly much more expensive then a headphone setup though. But hey are really appealing! Problems are: money, space and accoustics!
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post #9 of 21
11/28/06 at 2:18pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by chesebert View Post
So what's the point of headhone if your speaker rig is better?
Yes, most likely they will be relegated to being used at those times you need isolation.
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post #10 of 21
11/28/06 at 3:26pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by tourmaline View Post
Problems are: .... accoustics!
I think room acoustics is one of the largest problems with speakers, and oddly enough it is one that most people completely ignore.
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post #11 of 21
11/28/06 at 6:57pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by tkam View Post
I think room acoustics is one of the largest problems with speakers, and oddly enough it is one that most people completely ignore.
It's not that difficult to get room acoustics right. There are simple ways of fixing dodgy acoustics like carpets, rugs, pieces of fabric, repositioning of furniture, curtains, etc... all simple 'mods' that can blend into your home surrounds. The main problem I think is not, room acoustics, but space. With enough space, room acoustics can be fixed rather easily unless you strive for near-perfection, in which case a dedicated listening room is a must. My experience is that you don't need perfect room acoustics for a good speaker system to sound stunning. As long as you're sitting within the sweet spot with adequate damping, listening to a well positioned pair of speakers, driven by well selected components, you can experience the magic.

With space comes the possibility a much greater soundstage from being able to position the speakers further away from the walls. Having a high ceiling also helps a lot. It also allows the use of larger floor standers as opposed to book shelf speakers. Of course, you can get massive book shelf speakers (eg Marten Design, Focal JMLab... not really 'book-shelf' sized anymore), but floor standers nearly always offer a more expansive sound stage and a more dynamic, free bass because of their bigger enclosure.
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post #12 of 21
11/28/06 at 8:03pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by milkpowder View Post
It's not that difficult to get room acoustics right. There are simple ways of fixing dodgy acoustics like carpets, rugs, pieces of fabric, repositioning of furniture, curtains, etc... all simple 'mods' that can blend into your home surrounds. The main problem I think is not, room acoustics, but space. With enough space, room acoustics can be fixed rather easily unless you strive for near-perfection, in which case a dedicated listening room is a must. My experience is that you don't need perfect room acoustics for a good speaker system to sound stunning. As long as you're sitting within the sweet spot with adequate damping, listening to a well positioned pair of speakers, driven by well selected components, you can experience the magic.

With space comes the possibility a much greater soundstage from being able to position the speakers further away from the walls. Having a high ceiling also helps a lot. It also allows the use of larger floor standers as opposed to book shelf speakers. Of course, you can get massive book shelf speakers (eg Marten Design, Focal JMLab... not really 'book-shelf' sized anymore), but floor standers nearly always offer a more expansive sound stage and a more dynamic, free bass because of their bigger enclosure.
well..floor standers that's good offer more expansive sound, bad floor standers don't do much. I got more magic out of my VR1 than the Vienna Acoustics Beethoven. Different room, different electronics, same CD, different result I am still very suprised by the bass performance, I just retested and I can fell 36hz from VR1, I remember with NAD amp I can barely hear 45Hz. I am amazed that such a small monitor can produce the big sound in my not so big room.
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post #13 of 21
11/28/06 at 8:56pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by tkam View Post
I think room acoustics is one of the largest problems with speakers, and oddly enough it is one that most people completely ignore.
Oddly enough, I have found it to be the exact opposite of this. Especially with bookshelf speakers, I've found that getting the exact distance from the walls and the exact angle of toe-in to be relatively useless. Yes, with proper room treatment and speaker placement, your rig will sound even better, but it's not absolutely necessary. I've found that there are easier, cheaper, and more effective ways to improve sound quality.

P.S.-Any word on the Minis yet Sleestack?
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post #14 of 21
11/29/06 at 10:57am
The VR-1 are definitely big sounding. Better still with a sub. I changed my solid core silver speaker cables to some copper cables on loan and this help a great deal in dynamics.

I also changed my setup. It used to be like 3 or more feet from the rear wall but now its 1 feet. The bass is smoother (using a frequency sweep) though my room is a bit on the dry side.
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post #15 of 21
11/29/06 at 11:03am
i love speakers too. but in half a year i'm moving in with a family member for short term. see then its back to headphone.
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