I'm certainly no expert audiophile, but thanks in large measure to the information I've gathered from the generous members of this forum, I've managed over the years to put together a simple, yet fairly respectable, portable music system. At present, I have a good number of classic, alternative and hard rock albums loaded to an 80 Gb video iPod using Apple's lossless encoding. The iPod is connected to an iQube amp via a Silver Dragon pocket dock cable, and a pair of Shure SE530s IEMs rounds out the package.
Even with barely 50 hours on the iQube, this outfit performs magnificently and makes for a great travel companion. As an aside, I recently uploaded an old CD of Pink Floyd's The Wall, and for the last couple of weeks I've been completely mesmerized by the remarkable clarity and masterful way in which this album was engineered and recorded. Another Brick in the Wall (Part 1) particularly stands out as unbelievable. It truly is an eye opening experience to realize just how much you've been missing in the past.
At any rate, some work projects can have me on the road for weeks or more at a time and, logistically speaking, it would be no problem for me to pack along an additional pair of full sized headphones if I so desired. They would primarily be used in the relative peace and quiet of a hotel room (where passive sound dampening and/or noise cancellation technology would not be necessary). Unfortunately, I've never owned a pair of good quality full sized cans, and I'm not sure what's reasonable to expect performance wise as compared to a good IEM like the Shure SE530s. So I guess the question really boils down to two parts; 1) would my current amp be capable of adequately driving something like a pair of AKG-701s or HD650s, and 2) is it likely that my listening enjoyment would be enhanced enough to justify their cost? I realize the second part of the question is highly subjective, but I'm curious in general terms how the listening experience differs when using a good pair of cans as opposed to a good IEM in an already quiet environment.
Even with barely 50 hours on the iQube, this outfit performs magnificently and makes for a great travel companion. As an aside, I recently uploaded an old CD of Pink Floyd's The Wall, and for the last couple of weeks I've been completely mesmerized by the remarkable clarity and masterful way in which this album was engineered and recorded. Another Brick in the Wall (Part 1) particularly stands out as unbelievable. It truly is an eye opening experience to realize just how much you've been missing in the past.
At any rate, some work projects can have me on the road for weeks or more at a time and, logistically speaking, it would be no problem for me to pack along an additional pair of full sized headphones if I so desired. They would primarily be used in the relative peace and quiet of a hotel room (where passive sound dampening and/or noise cancellation technology would not be necessary). Unfortunately, I've never owned a pair of good quality full sized cans, and I'm not sure what's reasonable to expect performance wise as compared to a good IEM like the Shure SE530s. So I guess the question really boils down to two parts; 1) would my current amp be capable of adequately driving something like a pair of AKG-701s or HD650s, and 2) is it likely that my listening enjoyment would be enhanced enough to justify their cost? I realize the second part of the question is highly subjective, but I'm curious in general terms how the listening experience differs when using a good pair of cans as opposed to a good IEM in an already quiet environment.
