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My setup is coming together!

post #1 of 11
12/22/10 at 10:20am
Thread Starter 

Hey all!!!  I am fairly new here, so I guess hello is a good place to start!

 

I'm picking up a set of used Senn HD580s next week...little Christmas present to myself.  Here they are, a fresh picture from the seller.  They do come with the cables, though they weren't attached at photo time.

 

I've also gotten myself in line for a Bottlehead Crack Tube amp for these headphones...to me, in my limited $$ world, I cannot see myself in a better situation for sweet tunes...!  Both Amp and Headphones put me back less than $350 total...I would like some advice going forward however...

 

Source is my main concern.  I don't have much else than a portable CD player or my iPhone 3GS at the moment.  I already know through experience that the iPhone gives off some crappy playback...even at loss-less.  I can hear the digital artifacts through my Shure E3's...I know that won't get better with more transparency in my system.

 

Any advice in Source is welcomed...I'm keeping on a tight budget though...so keep it under $500.  LOL

 

Also, Cables!  I see a lot said about headphone cables, etc...

 

And lastly, mods to these headphones?  I don't think they probably need any judging by the photos...but any advice from owners of these awesome cans?

 

Thanks everyone and Merry Christmas early!

 

Sam

 

Off iPhone 1410.jpg

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post #2 of 11
12/22/10 at 2:00pm

Under $500!? That gives you a huge amount of leeway in choosing a source. You could get a used Parasound DAC, a Cambridge DACMagic, or an HRT Music Streamer, all of which would be great options. Check out the FS forums here from time to time, as well as eBay and Audiogon.

 

As for cables, erm, see my sig.

 

Also, the 580s are awesome! Good luck and sorry about your wallet.

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post #3 of 11
12/22/10 at 2:02pm
Thread Starter 

LOL! 

 

Well, it really has been a small price to pay!

 

OK, so well under $500.  I figured if I could keep headphones, amp, cables, and source to under $1000 total, I'd be happier than a clam in sand.  Any less than that is just gravy!

 

Could one score a decent source for under $200?

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post #4 of 11
12/22/10 at 2:06pm
Thread Starter 

HA!  On cables...thanks man...you might just keep my project under $500!  :)

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post #5 of 11
12/22/10 at 2:13pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by yosemitesamiam View Post

LOL! 

 

Well, it really has been a small price to pay!

 

OK, so well under $500.  I figured if I could keep headphones, amp, cables, and source to under $1000 total, I'd be happier than a clam in sand.  Any less than that is just gravy!

 

Could one score a decent source for under $200?



Oh, absolutely. Under $200 you could get an E-MU 0404, which has been my go to computer DAC for a while now. 

 

But can you split the difference and go $300? That would get you the awesome Emotiva XDA-1, if you can deal with it taking up a good deal of space. Are you just using a computer source? There are tons of USB Dacs out there.

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post #6 of 11
12/22/10 at 2:43pm
Thread Starter 

I would like to be somewhat portable...not airplane portable necessarily as most of my travel and overnight stay I drive to...but would like a system that I can pack up, yes, including the Crack Amp, and take with in the car.  That said, that PCI piece is nice, but I travel with a laptop...  The Emotiva unit is really nice...but maybe a bit big being a 1U rack mounted unit...though a mini road case with the Crack Amp built in would be SOOOOOO TITS!

 

Anyway, I'm going to play dumb a minute...is this really the missing link between my CDs and Apple Loss-less iTunes stuff and supreme audio?  I'm envisioning a mp3 looking device that has the D/AC built in, with its own storage so I don't need the computer...maybe I'm just a bit whacko!  Or is that piece of my source (the music itself) not discussed yet?

 

Thanks man!

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post #7 of 11
12/22/10 at 3:00pm

I was referring to the 0404 USB, which is the USB version of the PCI card, which actually helps as it separates it from the world of EMI in the confines of the computer case.

 

I think the most important things in terms of getting the best audio quality are your headphones and your music. After that, the next most important bit is the amp, but you've got that covered. The last link in the chain is to get a decent quality DAC. If you really want portability, you could even go cheap and get a Nuforce uDAC 2, which is very portable. The Firestone Fubar II is nice, but requires its own wall wart power supply, thus requiring another outlet. The Pro-Ject USB Box is another nice quality USB powered DAC (no additional power adapter needed.)

 

All CD players and MP3 players have their own DACs. It's all about the quality of that DAC. There are some mods (ex. iMod) that allow you to get digital out of an iPod or other device, but generally with portables all you need is an amp, because as far as D/A conversion is concerned, you take what you get.

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post #8 of 11
12/22/10 at 5:40pm
Thread Starter 

Gotcha!  So computer for tunes, into a USB e-mu unit, into the amp, to the cans, to the ears...whew...maybe I DO need a road case!  gs1000.gif

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post #9 of 11
12/22/10 at 5:45pm

Sounds good. Be advised that the drivers for the E-MU can be pretty finicky (much more so than those for any of the other 3 products mentioned), It requires it's own power cord, and you'll cables like these to connect it to RCA inputs on an amp.

 

http://www.amazon.com/HOSA-TECHNOLOGY-CPR405-Audio-Interconnect/dp/B000NE8G54

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post #10 of 11
12/22/10 at 8:45pm
Thread Starter 
Hmmm, so right now I'm envisioning a PocketDoc device that connects iPod to DAC via USB. Then balanced out to amp. ...rather than RCA or 1/4".
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post #11 of 11
12/22/10 at 10:03pm
Thread Starter 

http://store.pure.com/store/pure/en_US/pd/productID.221628800



Here we go!!! This may be the answer!!
Edited by yosemitesamiam - 12/23/10 at 8:02am
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