Disturbing Trend - Page 9

just to be clear...my edit was for the misspelling of "enthusiasm."

ok thanks for clearing that up.

I thought you left the playground already .

i emailed Bomana a while ago, and do agree with her statement, that using a portable amp with stupid-high end heapdhones holds them back.

i have run my HD-650, hd-580, dt-770, R10, K1000, Hp-2, RS-1, SR-325, SR-200 and a few others from my sr-71 and a $20 jobbie i hobbled together with $10 output caps, and a 1Wpc amp chip...

they ALL work from both amps (yes, even the k1000, but i listen QUIET, and it sounded worse than any other) but the big question is WHY?

in my further thought, the topic of price came up. it then dawned on me that there are presently NO builders of a decent quality dedicated home amp at anything resembling a decent price.

examples:
you want a singlepower: $500 later, you have an amp.
you want one of Ray samuels amps: $500 later, you have an amp.
you want a la-roco home amp: $500 later you have $500 you cant get back, and no amp (sorry if this drifts the thread to the topic of money stealing ****heads)
you want a headamp: again, youa re looking downt he barrel of about $500 to start.
rockhopper: again, its serious coin.

the above are seriously sweet amps, but now on a different note:

if you look back a few years, there were QUITE a few builders who were building Pimetas, PPA's, m^3 and other similar home amps on a regular basis. while you can get some solid sound out of these amps, they dont HAVE to cost much. pimetas (ok, a portable amp in a big case tricked into sounding good by wasting more power...) regularly sold for $200 in home configurations, and will STOMP most of the portables, even some that cost more.

to conclude: i do agree with boomana that portable amps can easily be bettered at home, but when money plays a factor its very hard to get in the home-amp arena today.

I have a $100 home amp and it sounds better then any portable that costs $100.

"Fullest potential" is a very nebulous phrase. In the audiophile world, there will always be an amp that is more expensive and more powerful than what one owns. Therefore, the very concept of a "peak" experience cannot exist, unless it is a relative peak.

Furthermore, it is impossible to judge audio in absolute terms. We all have our own expectations as to what a particular piece of music is "supposed" to sound like, and that colors our judgments on the audio gear that is making the music. What sounds right and wrong, and what sounds good and bad, varies with the music and the listener.

Objectively, audio equipment should reflect the recording as accurately as possible. But the true sound of the original recording cannot be heard, because we need audio equipment to reproduce it, and that conduit interprets the sound rather than regurgitates it. It is like drawing our ideas and dreams on paper - it will never turn out exactly like we pictured it.

I do know what bad audio sounds like. But the difference between good and excellent sound, I have not had the pleasure of hearing.

I have a very modest set-up, and I enjoy it. I distinctly remember the poster jamato8 favorably comparing the Xin Reference amp to his Woo 6. Also, there is this thread:
http://www.head-fi.org/forums/showth...eed+supermicro
that states that the Supermicro IV wins out over the Heed Canamp. And so, I have been convinced to pre-order a Xin Reference amp.

Even with this purchase, I feel as if I am going overboard. I could have donated the money to charity. I could have bought groceries. I could have saved up to pay for medical school. I could have used the money more wisely.

In a world with so many problems, and with so problems that can be made better with money, is it really worth it to spend it on improvements in how we hear recorded music? A question always worth pondering, I think...

I used to think the same way. I could not imagine using anything other than a dedicated cdp. I then decided a few months ago, it was time to try something different. I picked up a Slim Devices Transporter and loved the convenience of having almost 500 gb of lossless music at the touch of a computer key or remote. It is an excellent source. I then decided to pick up a Wavelength Cosecant (it was a great deal I couldn't resist) and so far I am amazed at the sq from the usb dac. I don't think I will ever go back to those little silver discs.

I can't wait for you guys to hear this and hopefully tell me I am not crazy.

I've been around just shy of 4 years and I remember when the hot amp that everyone wanted was a PPA. I worked my way up from a Marantz 1070 integrated to a Pimeta to a PPA. I enjoyed them all. But I agree with the above that back then I might have paid $300 for the PPA (I think that was the cost) and that was serious money for a great amp. I think my first big buck amp was the Eddie Current HD300 at somewhere just north of $500. I couldn't believe I spent that much money on an amp. When it arrived, I loved it and felt it was worth it as I have with various amp purchases since then, some far north of the $500 I thought was a lot a few years ago.

I've had a number of portables, all good and all could drive the 650. I'm pretty sure I've posted on numerous times in the past in response to posts, to get a Hornet (insert whatever portable) to drive those 650s if that's what you can afford especially if you needed a portable amp but couldn't afford two amps. I don't believe any of them rival my home system which costs multiples of a portable. However, if I couldn't afford more, then I would be making do with what I could get and I would be happy. All of this is quite subjective and very personal.

I know boomana pretty well and she has some pretty serious gear but none of it came to here easily. She worked pretty darn hard to get the gear she now owns. Certainly harder than I've had to get what I have. I don't think there is anyone that should feel she is trying to belittle you. She made a choice to sacrifice weekends to be able to afford what she has. That might not be for everyone. We all do what we can with what we have. If people want better there are ways to do it but there are sacrifices that go along with that. It comes down to how far are you willing or maybe more important, need to go. It's true though, the journey is fun. The last four years have been a great ride for me. I don't know if I am considered one of those experience posters because I certainly have never considered myself one. Having said that, I probably have something to offer newbies and will try to post more on stuff other than beer, meets and beer.

By the way, I don't know if the above has anything to do with the OP.

My unrelated 2 cents:

Once upon a time I came here and was recommended various portable amps for my 580s. I tried a slew of them and luckily found a home pimeta and then went to a rega ear. Very modestly priced home amps that destroyed the portables.

Since then - a whole lot more amps and I can honestly say I've never found anything that to my ears comes even remotely close, dollar for dollar under the $200 mark, to the Original Master for Senns, grados, akgs, and beyers. Used they go for ridiculous prices (I just sold mine with an upgraded power cord for $150).

Now that's interesting (to me at least) because it isn't recommended very often and more rarely still to folks with descent cans asking for an amp, portable or home, under $200. I was once one of those folks in that situation and was recommended portables, and definitely had the sense that a home amp in the same price range wouldn't be significantly better than a portable. All that to say I really was missing out! Had someone recommended the OM to me and had I listened it would have saved me a ton of trial and error - all part of the journey I suppose

OMG, Well if were all still so worried about not having enough drive for these monster super headphones, then drive them with a pair of 500w Bryston mono-blocks, or maybe a set of Crown stadium amps...lol

Is that enough voltage,current,and damping factor for ya???

Dont worry, Be happy!

heck ya I forgot to mention this extremely good amp for the dollars entry from Ping. If I had just $200 this would be the amp for me

Charges of "elitist!" are usually leveled by people who have a sneaking suspicion that they're never going to be considered part of any elite.

This makes perfect sense to me.

This still does not.

I've read countless posts from members with just as much if not more experience than Boomana that the LD series of tube amps offers great synergy with the HD650s especially for the extremely modest price tag but despite this however, I still don't understand how this statement does not come off as belittling. I personally don't see how this statement is much different from Bose bashing and if I hadn't read Boomana's posts in the past and found that she wasn't that kind of person, it would've come off to me as condescending.

yes i had one. I went tubes but now i pretty much regret it. That was my first home SS amp and it made a HUGE impression on me when i first jacked it into the chain. With my first true tube amp(ppx3) its nice, but a get a meh feeling, while costing multiples more.

Isnt the reason why they dont get any more impressions/recommendations is that the OM has been discontinued right? If its true All the head-fi noobs out there are truely missing a benchmark in entry level hi-fi such as the ksc-75, zhalou and the like.

Anyways i think people are reading into boomana's comments too much. People are replying as if she were talking in absolutes when its simply not the case. Im feeling that she is bothered by recommendations that she feels are inappropriate. Want a great sounding portable setup for on the go? How about an IPOD>mini^3>AKG 81 or AT ES7
The dollar spent/performance(SQ) achieved would be much than an IPOD>cmoy>701. So, in the spirit of boomana, what is wrong with saying that a 701/650 deserves a home amp since there are home amps in the $200-$500 range that take good advantage ( i want to avoid the word "Fully" as there is no such thing) of these cans? I mean nobody recommends home headphone amps for the K1000 or a ferarri F430 for rush hour commute for work do they? I think more people should recommend more based on needs and what they feel is really appropriate based on their experience and less on what the hear/read. Also its ok to go recommend nothing in favor of saving/waiting for better things to come. If someone comes in and says i have a $300 budget for source/amp/headphone, im going to flat out say get a great low imp can for $300 and thats it. Wait and save untill you have more because your not going to be happy spreading that budget thin. We do this all the time,too much sometimes, playing the the waiting game in PC hardware, but i think it would be more helpfull here.

I like her sig . You seem to be taking her comments very personal.. But I'm the guy that was called a snob when I said, the 580's aren't a Hi End headphone.. Sorry a 580 isn't on the same level as a R10.. & yes.. When I listen to my balanced 650's through my DAC1.. I think, this sounds really good, but it can sound better..

Her sig is looking down on & ridiculing people? Give me a break. You are reaching for anything at this point..