New high-end rig - Page 2  

Is there any reason in particular that you're so fixated on the Woo amp?

I haven't heard it personally, but according to some knowledgeable people, the power output isn't all that great.

And the OII is really one of those headphones that needs lots of it , so for 5k, I'd rather get a BHSE or KGSS.

Quote:

Originally Posted by davidplmlsn 

Ok, so what do you guys think about the following setup? 

 

PC -> Hegel HD20 -> WOO WES -> SR-007 MK2.

 

According to Hegel the HD20 is supposed to rebuild the audio from the source so I presume that the source (PC) won't be the bottle neck?

Also, how do I connect the DAC to the PC with coaxial cables when my PC have no coaxial input? Do I need some sort of adapter?

with that much money, you can get a r10 with a great amp and better dac (or source). 

and have you considered the sr-009? or any of the others "top tier" cans?

Quote:

Originally Posted by davidplmlsn 

I am getting tired of listening to music using my Beats by Dre, so I have decided to make an upgrade.

 

I want some of the best I can get my hands on (in an affordable price range) so I have looked on the Stax SR-007 MK2 earphones.

 

Thing is, people say the SRM-007tII amp is not as good as other amps in a similar price range, such as the KGSSIs this true? I don’t want to by some really great headphones with an amplifier that do not bring out the best in these

 

What setup would you recommend me using?

 

I listen to all kinds of music such as hip-hop, rock, symphony, pop, mainstream ect.

 

Also, I would like to use the headphones in my home cinema. Also, I assume I will need a DAC in order for me to transform music from my PC into the amplifier and into the headphones?

 

I don’t really want to spend countless of hours researching the topic. I just want some REALLY great stuff right here, right now.

Ok I am going to take you in a whole different direction. This will rival the stax system you are looking at for 2ch stereo and flat out destroy what you are looking at for home cinema and MC SACD, DVD-A,  Blu Ray. Take a look at my profile.

If you mainly will use your system for 2ch symphony type of audio then stick with the stax setup you are looking at. But if you mainly use for MC rock type audio and MC Blu Rays then what is in my profile is worth looking into.

David - I've read through this thread, and I think I understand what you're getting at. Unfortunately, as you can see, it is a little hard to pin down people on what is "the best" on this forum, as in life in general. :)

That doesn't mean that you won't like the rig you are building - it sounds like a great combination (keep in mind the source suggestions).

I'm going to assume that you understand your finances and your stated budget of $5K is a reasonable choice for you, and that a speaker system is impractical, all based on your posts so far. Given your description of "all types" of music, from John Williams to MJ, I'll again assume that  you are not a primarily symphonic / jazz listener, and I'll go against the grain here and say that the O2 is not a bad choice - you are almost guaranteed to like it a lot. It does not have as polarizing a base of opinions as say the HD-800 (which I own). But I would suggest that you rid yourself of the idea that you will have, or are going to get everyone to agree, that you have "the best rig". Think of it as buying a Ferrari Italia 458. It is a fantastic car. In many ways, it is the best sports car available period - for some people. But not everyone. I won't elaborate on that example, but I think you can catch my drift.

Moving on - you mention that you're from Denmark, and not too many people own a WES there - fair enough. In the world of Stax, the very best amps are hard to come by, however, and I think you will see that many here have reached where you are through a steady progression - however it probably did not cost them as much as you think. People buy used gear here and on Audiogon. You may be wary of this (and rightly so - don't just buy any used equipment blindly), but they slowly worked their way up to it, buying and selling items, attending meets, finding like minded people in the area to help with auditioning more gear etc. By bypassing or shortcutting this process, you might also be shortcutting the process of finding your favorite type of sound and equipment type. But again, it's hard to go wrong with the Stax setup you've described, just rid yourself of the concept of an objective "best" setup that can be bought blind.

The worst that can happen is as you get into this hobby you may find something you like better (or cheaper), and you may take a hit from buying this equipment new, but if that's acceptable, it's quite a way to enter the high end - welcome!  I suggest you look into local meets and find some local head-fi buddies, regardless of whether you end up with this described rig or not.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sonance 

 

I'm going to assume that you understand your finances and your stated budget of $5K is a reasonable choice for you,

I agree, but 5K$ is the price of a "stock" WES.

considering that the OP will buy everything new, here's what we got: 

4999$ for the WES 

2600$ for the O2 

2000$ for the hD20 

GRAND TOTAL: 9599$. 

without any shipping, tax, or custom fee. 2 times the budget.

Quote:

Originally Posted by davidplmlsn 

Ok, done a little research. 

 

As I can see FLAC is usually just CD's ripped without lose.

 

Most people on this forum say they can't hear the difference between FLAC and 320kbps. According to HDtracks a CD is supposed to be 1400kbps.

 

If that is the case then I presume that I want be able to tell the difference between FLAC and 192/24bit either?

 

 

 

if you're gunnin for the top please tell me you're not plannin on listening to MP3s..... even at CBR 320kbps!!

CD = 16 bit/44.1, roughly 1400kbps yes. This means in compressing down to 320 you've already thrown away close to 80% of the information.  24/192 files are gonna contain loads more info. Also, there is no point in ripping CDs at 24/192 as the info just isn't there to begin with.

Based on all your questions you're obviously very enthusiastic but I get the feeling you're not quite ready for top-end Stax my friend. Please don't take offense in this comment though.

Think of it like this: yes a Ferrari Italia is an awesome car, but when you give it to someone who has only driven a Mazda 2 before, do you think he would be able to appreciate the car fully and to be able to extract as much performance out of it as a seasoned pro?

yes you CAN go straight for the Ferrari and learn to drive properly on it, and after a while become good that way. It's just most people prefer to work their way up and accumulate experience/knowledge in the process so once they get there they know exactly what they want/what to look for etc etc

just a thought =)

Quote:

Originally Posted by D_4_Dog 

yes you CAN go straight for the Ferrari and learn to drive properly on it, and after a while become good that way.

 

yep, but even this way the driver don't know where the difference is, if he really want to know it he has to try other things.

Regarding the bit rates - just trust your own ears.

The vast majority of people who wax lyrical about the night and day differences between a modern LAME 320 rip and FLAC cannot pass double blind tests so don't take it too seriously. If you dbt yourself and pass, finding the difference is obvious and worth re-ripping - re-rip it.

I personally rip to FLAC myself because.... why not? Its future proofed then and I like conceptual idea of the perfection even though I know I can't pass DBT.

The difference between 24bit and 16bit audio, meanwhile, is actually nothing to do with "sound quality" - that is a misunderstanding.

It's to do with the dynamic range they can handle.

With 320LAME and FLAC everyone agrees there is actually a difference and the debate centres around whether the human ear can actually hear it, or whether it is placebo. That will go on forever probably.

With 24bit and 16bit it is a matter of science.

There is no difference between the actual sound of a guitar chord in native 24bit and properly down sampled to 16bit - the difference is if you had a track where that guitar chord was played from so quiet you can hardly hear it right up to so loud it burst your ear drums, the 16bit track could not go to the top and the 24bit track could.

Of course no such track I know of has ever used the full dynamic range of a CD, and if one exists in 24bit surely it would require you gradually turning down the volume as it progressed to avoid damaging your ears.

I'm no sound scientist, this is just what I have gathered from reading bits and pieces so if I have this drastically wrong I'm open to correction.

Do not spend $7500 on an amp and dac and only $2500 on headphones, it is just plain ridiculous.

I suggest you get the absolute best headphones, e.g. r10s, sr-009, he90, qualia, etc.

Then you can look into spending more on a dac or amplifier.

I know I will get attacked for this, but personally I don't find there is much of a difference between amps or dacs unless they are purposely coloured.

You really need to think about whether you want to spend ~$10,000 on a setup that you may enjoy less than a $1000 setup.