First setup recommendations for closed headphones and dac + amp
Dec 25, 2012 at 7:46 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 3

Arch42

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I've been lurking for a while and bought a set of Grado sr80's five months ago based on the recommendations in this list http://www.head-fi.org/a/headphone-buying-guide and I absolutely loved them whenever my roommate wasn't watching tv or making some kind of noise. I can usually turn them up high enough to drown out most of it, but I would prefer a more isolated (and upgraded) setup, so I gave the Grados as a Christmas present to a fellow music-lover who lives alone.
My budget is around $300 total, but I'm willing to go as far as 400 if need be. Mostly what I listen to is rock and classic rock, but I'm also trying to branch out to classical and as a lower priority, jazz. I think the Grados were on the weak side regarding bass, but I'm by no means a bass-head; I prefer clarity and soundstage (which I know is hard to achieve in closed cans, so they don't have to isolate incredibly, just a step above Grado). Taking from the headphone buying guide again, the main cans I've been looking into are the Beyerdynamic dt880's, 250 or 600 ohm. If they isolate any better and I can find an amp and dac to match them, I think they'd be great. 
As for amps, from guitar I'm familiarized with the differences in transistors and tubes, and I must say I'm a fan of the latter but willing to compromise. An attractive dac+amp combo I was looking at was http://www.amazon.com/Hi-Fi-Man-EF2A-Tube-Headphone/dp/B004357WL8/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1356481523&sr=1-1&keywords=hifi+man+ef2a this guy after reading some great reviews on it, but I then read that it clashes with most of the cans I was looking at and is better suited to Grados. I read another thread recommending http://www.amazon.com/Little-Dot-WE408A-Headphone-Amplifier/dp/B00A2QM4PQ/ref=sr_1_19?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1356478473&sr=1-19&keywords=little+dot with the 32 ohm version of the dt880's, but I'm kind of reluctant to get that low impedance because of higher end tube amps I may eventually upgrade to and reviews I've read about the 250 and 600 being better. Does anyone know how well it would drive the higher impedance variants? If so, I could get the little dot and the dt880's and a fiio e7 for use as a dac. If not, could anyone recommend another tube amp around that price range? I'd also be willing to go for a fiio e17 if some people can report good experiences with that combination. I'm not set on the Beyers either, so if someone could point me towards a bigger list of headphones that may work, I'd be happy to do the research on them.
Thanks in advance for any advice!
 
Dec 25, 2012 at 9:00 PM Post #2 of 3
Quote:
I've been lurking for a while and bought a set of Grado sr80's five months ago based on the recommendations in this list http://www.head-fi.org/a/headphone-buying-guide and I absolutely loved them whenever my roommate wasn't watching tv or making some kind of noise. I can usually turn them up high enough to drown out most of it, but I would prefer a more isolated (and upgraded) setup, so I gave the Grados as a Christmas present to a fellow music-lover who lives alone.
My budget is around $300 total, but I'm willing to go as far as 400 if need be. Mostly what I listen to is rock and classic rock, but I'm also trying to branch out to classical and as a lower priority, jazz. I think the Grados were on the weak side regarding bass, but I'm by no means a bass-head; I prefer clarity and soundstage (which I know is hard to achieve in closed cans, so they don't have to isolate incredibly, just a step above Grado). Taking from the headphone buying guide again, the main cans I've been looking into are the Beyerdynamic dt880's, 250 or 600 ohm. If they isolate any better and I can find an amp and dac to match them, I think they'd be great. 
As for amps, from guitar I'm familiarized with the differences in transistors and tubes, and I must say I'm a fan of the latter but willing to compromise. An attractive dac+amp combo I was looking at was http://www.amazon.com/Hi-Fi-Man-EF2A-Tube-Headphone/dp/B004357WL8/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1356481523&sr=1-1&keywords=hifi+man+ef2a this guy after reading some great reviews on it, but I then read that it clashes with most of the cans I was looking at and is better suited to Grados. I read another thread recommending http://www.amazon.com/Little-Dot-WE408A-Headphone-Amplifier/dp/B00A2QM4PQ/ref=sr_1_19?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1356478473&sr=1-19&keywords=little+dot with the 32 ohm version of the dt880's, but I'm kind of reluctant to get that low impedance because of higher end tube amps I may eventually upgrade to and reviews I've read about the 250 and 600 being better. Does anyone know how well it would drive the higher impedance variants? If so, I could get the little dot and the dt880's and a fiio e7 for use as a dac. If not, could anyone recommend another tube amp around that price range? I'd also be willing to go for a fiio e17 if some people can report good experiences with that combination. I'm not set on the Beyers either, so if someone could point me towards a bigger list of headphones that may work, I'd be happy to do the research on them.
Thanks in advance for any advice!

 
DT880s are open headphones mate.  They won't isolate much better than your Grados.  The DT770 are closed, but don't get the 80 ohm, their sound is atrocious.
 

 
Dec 25, 2012 at 9:13 PM Post #3 of 3
Ah, thanks for the graph. I had seen them described as only semi-open, but there hadn't been an explanation of what that meant. Guess I'll move on to other options.
 

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