Just got my first decent headphones, Grado GS1000e. Now what
Aug 2, 2015 at 6:02 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 24

acside

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So I impulsively bought a pair of GS1000e headphones. Having never ventured into HiFi audio there is no other equipment in my home. I am looking for some recommendations on a DAC and amplifier. After reading through the various forums it seems I will need a tube amp to get the most out of these grado's.
 
Would the little dot I+ amp with a different set of tubes be a good place to start? I worry about spending $500 + for an amp setup when I may not be impressed by the Grado sound and end up returning them.
 
Any input is appreciated. Thank you!
 
Aug 2, 2015 at 7:07 PM Post #3 of 24
Yes. Some people think tube amps are necessary to get the best sound out of most headphones; some don't. If you are into accuracy and transparency, there are solid state headphone amps that will measure accurate and distortion free within the range of hearing.

Yes. The Little Dot I+ is a good tube amp for the money. I eventually sold mine and stuck with solid state amps :)
 
Aug 2, 2015 at 10:54 PM Post #4 of 24
Personally, for any kind of audio, I've always preferred solid-state amps, it tends to be much easier to engineer them to have low noise and distortion.
 
Aug 3, 2015 at 12:21 AM Post #5 of 24
I think you should wait a bit before buying an amp for them. Try them without an amp(because they definitely are driveable by most sources) and if you are unsatisfied or feel the need to get an amp, then decide. You should make purchases based on the advice of others only when you can't make your own conclusions, like if you won't be able to try the gear before buying. No sense in putting down the cash, no matter how low a sum, on something with a high potential to be unnecessary. 
 
Aug 3, 2015 at 12:28 AM Post #6 of 24
Easiest way to get both an amp and a dac would be to get iFi Audio's Micro iDSD. Or one could get a Schiit stack.
Best way to find out what your like is to try out different ones with your first "decent" headphones so you can get your first "decent" amp and dac! But make sure the sound is to your liking that's all.
 
Aug 3, 2015 at 9:43 AM Post #7 of 24
  Easiest way to get both an amp and a dac would be to get iFi Audio's Micro iDSD. Or one could get a Schiit stack.
Best way to find out what your like is to try out different ones with your first "decent" headphones so you can get your first "decent" amp and dac! But make sure the sound is to your liking that's all.


FUnny that this guy puts "decent" in quotes.  Because he's making a good point. . .the Grado GS1000e are FAR more than just decent!
 
Aug 3, 2015 at 10:00 AM Post #8 of 24
 
FUnny that this guy puts "decent" in quotes.  Because he's making a good point. . .the Grado GS1000e are FAR more than just decent!

Yes, that was exactly my point of putting decent in quotes. :p
 
Aug 3, 2015 at 10:29 AM Post #9 of 24
  So I impulsively bought a pair of GS1000e headphones. Having never ventured into HiFi audio there is no other equipment in my home. I am looking for some recommendations on a DAC and amplifier. After reading through the various forums it seems I will need a tube amp to get the most out of these grado's.
 
Would the little dot I+ amp with a different set of tubes be a good place to start? I worry about spending $500 + for an amp setup when I may not be impressed by the Grado sound and end up returning them.
 
Any input is appreciated. Thank you!

 
Grados don't need a lot of power so slow down a bit and think everything through. For example, take into consideration what source you will use: CDP, computer, smartphone, etc. You might need a DAC to send a cleaner, fixed voltage signal to the amp, so might as well get an amp with a DAC in it also. 
 
If you don't plan on getting headphones that are more difficult to drive even an Ibasso D-Zero MkII can be (more than) enough - it has a lot of power and also has a DAC in it. Alternately, do you want to easily transport the GS1000e? If so, would you rather get to where you're going and hook up say an Android or iPhone to the D-Zero MkII, or just use a portable player like the Fiio X3, which can also be used as a DAC with a computer/laptop?
 
Aug 3, 2015 at 7:56 PM Post #10 of 24
So it looks like I should find a good DAC because the Grado's are easy to drive with pretty much anything?. Most of my listening will be from my macbook using flac or other high quality files. Over the weekend I picked up a Dragonfly, its sounds better but I feel there is still more that I am not experiencing from these "decent :)" headphones. Hopefully I can settle on something and return the dragonfly.
 
The iFi system suggested looks nice. Is there really a need for high kHz resolution? Is it easy to hear the difference between 192kHz and 768kHz or 384kHz assuming my media supports that resolution?
 
Thank you for all of the input so far!
 
Aug 3, 2015 at 7:58 PM Post #11 of 24
  So it looks like I should find a good DAC because the Grado's are easy to drive with pretty much anything?. Most of my listening will be from my macbook using flac or other high quality files. Over the weekend I picked up a Dragonfly, its sounds better but I feel there is still more that I am not experiencing from these "decent :)" headphones. Hopefully I can settle on something and return the dragonfly.
 
The iFi system suggested looks nice. Is there really a need for high kHz resolution? Is it easy to hear the difference between 192kHz and 768kHz or 384kHz assuming my media supports that resolution?
 
Thank you for all of the input so far!

Wow, you're a quick worker...
 
Aug 4, 2015 at 1:16 AM Post #12 of 24
  So it looks like I should find a good DAC because the Grado's are easy to drive with pretty much anything?

 
Well, if you buy a DAC, it should have a headphone amp in it - you can't just hook up the Grados to the RCA outputs, even with an adapter.
 
You can start with the Ibasso D-Zero MkII - it has both a DAC and amplifier and can work with some smartphones. If at any point you get headphones that are harder to drive it has a lineout directly from its DAC, so you just buy an amp.
 
Aug 25, 2015 at 2:45 AM Post #13 of 24
How are your Grados faring?  I urge you to stick with them, mine are really starting to sing now with 6+ weeks playtime.  I used to feel the need to tweak my eq settings slightly to boost the bass curve to suit, nowadays I'm finding a flat curve sounds just lovely.
 
Are my ears changing?  Perhaps, but I just compared a set of audeze lcd 2.2 and the bass was nowhere near as behind as I thought they would be.  They've most certainly settled into a damn fine pair of headphones
smily_headphones1.gif

 
Aug 30, 2015 at 2:38 PM Post #14 of 24
I just received my 1000e's last Tuesday and was totally disappointed with what I heard.  On first listen the bass was boxy and boomy.  Weird though, the treble and mid-range was decent.  Since then I've been running them almost non-stop hooked up either to my laptop or an older amp via 5 CD player.  Today (5 days later) when I got up and listened to them they sounded a lot mellower and the bass more accurate and controlled.  Now they're quite pleasing when listening to jazz as long as I don't compare them to my Senn HD 800's or 650's.  Giving them until the end of the week (around 200 hours burn-in) to decide whether or not they stay or go.
 

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