Need some advice on "Mid-Class" headphone amps
Oct 19, 2001 at 10:08 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 23

ShinyGreen

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Hello.
Well.. I was quite satisfied with my crappy old audio system until last week. =) But after listening to X-Cans + HD600 at my friend's house I really wanted a kick-ass headphone system.

I have a friend coming from Japan around Christmas and asked him for CD3000 because this might be the one that can fulfill my musical preferences, besides buying it from Japan would have quite a bit of advantage in terms of price.

As part of system upgrading, I am thinking of buying a new Arcam Alpha 9 or Diva 92 or FMJ 23. I haven't made up my mind yet. But for sure, I like Arcam sound. =)

Finally, my question. I'm looking for a headphone amp that is about "Mid-Class", up to about "$600". I guess that Earmax Pro, Headmaster, and Headroom Home make that price range. Also I heard about Corda a lot and I'm wondering if Corda is any close to the amps that I mentioned. I listen mostly to Classic (let say 70%), and pop, rock. And if everything goes well, I am thinking to get HD600 and RS-1 along the way, so I hope to get an amp that can drive all of them. I would really appreciate your advices. Thank you.
 
Oct 19, 2001 at 10:30 PM Post #2 of 23
If you're a classical lover and dig tubes the Earmax Pro is a great choice! I've heard that the EMP's bass is excellent for a piece of tube driven equipment whilst the mids are lush and warm.

On the other hand if you prefer transparency and ultra analytical detail the Headmaster would be for you. It can also be used as a pre-amp plus the latest model of the Headmaster comes with a remote control for volume.
 
Oct 19, 2001 at 11:16 PM Post #3 of 23
The Cosmic is on sale until next Friday for $599. It is truly awesome and a great value - I know because I own one. It does great with the Senn 600. The new Cosmic has a three position gain switch to accomodate efficient and inefficient headphones.

I was also wondering if you are my long lost cousin Shiny
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Oct 19, 2001 at 11:21 PM Post #4 of 23
Wanna back up Todd here... the Cosmic is wonderful! It's THE portable amp to get if you want a great system. Works awesome with all headphones, has the crossfeed thing workin' for it... get it and the traveller bag and you'll be set! Can't say enough good things about it.
 
Oct 20, 2001 at 12:09 AM Post #6 of 23
Thanks a lot guys for advices. =)

I see that the Headroom Cosmic and Home don't have a lot of price differences and I'm not planning to use it as a portable amp. With versatility out of the way, how those two compare to each other?

And I LOVE classic. As I said, 70% of the music I listen Classic, and that's why I'm considering tubes. But I also listen to pop, jazz, rock. So I kinda wanna get an amp that can give me good OVERALL performance. By the way, Headmaster being a preamp is little useless for me since I don't have multiple digital sources. Hmm... Oh also, would be better if the amp is good to drive all HD600, CD3000, and RS-1.

Thanks again for your advices.

Oh, and whose your long-lost Shiny?
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Oct 20, 2001 at 1:14 AM Post #9 of 23
I doubt the Earmax Pro will be beat by anything in this price range for Classical or acoustical music.

I gave the Headmaster a try and the synergy clearly wasn't there with the RS-1 to my ears. This amp is more at home driving Sennheiser's IMO.

On the other hand the Earmax Pro is awesome with the HD600's and RS-1's. Anything with strings will make you drool.
 
Oct 20, 2001 at 5:44 AM Post #10 of 23
I listened to a new Cosmic with the CD3000's at the headroom meet. sounded pretty damn good to me...
 
Oct 20, 2001 at 6:51 PM Post #11 of 23
Thanks guys. I really appreciate your great advices.

Hmm.. then I think I got a look for SS than tubes since tubes seem to have a bit of problems with the music other than classic.

Then how does Cosmic vs Home vs Headmaster work out with Cosmic's portability out of talk?
Part of reason for that is that I don't wanna go out in streets with stupid-heavy looking CD3000 on.
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Oct 20, 2001 at 7:11 PM Post #12 of 23
The Cosmic is an awesome little amp. I think now that I have said that, half of the last Dallas meet have recommended the amp. That's the only one of the three that I have personally listened to, but I will say that the Cosmic had a lot (A LOT) of the characteristics that the Headroom Max has, which costs a whole lot more than the Home. I'm pretty sure you can get the Cosmic with an AC adaptor and everything... so it could be for home use... and, if you ever wanted to use it for portable reasons, you'd have that option too. You might look around for reviews of the Cosmic/Home and the Headmaster to see which one might be better for your tastes based on other peoples opinions. That's how I bought my equipment anyway.
 
Oct 20, 2001 at 7:14 PM Post #13 of 23
If you can spend a little more, go for the Berning MicroZOTL, or if you can wait, get the new Antique soundlabs amp... all tubes...
 
Oct 20, 2001 at 7:59 PM Post #15 of 23
Great advices! =)

Yeah.. I guess I will have until the new ASL amp comes out.
I think I prefer tubey sound for classic, so if new ASL amp can give me a reasonable performance for pop, rock, and jazz, I'll go for ASL amp.
Thanks guys.
 

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