[danyal711]

Hi,
 
For the last several years, I've tinkered with various full-size speaker setups at home. I've now decided to jump into the world of headphones and am looking for a bit of advice.
 
In terms of the sound I'm going for, I like systems that are very linear and don't add too much of their own coloring. Nothing too heavy on the bass etc.
 
All of my music will be playing from a Mac so I'll need an Amp/DAC combo (USB). Currently, I'm debating between either the Woo Audio WA7 or the Burson HA-160D.
 
I listen to all types of music, anything from electronica to country so I need the headphones to be versatile.  I've been looking into getting the Denon D7000 used or D7100 (I've heard they are fairly different in terms of sound. Also looking into the Beyerdynamic DT 770 or T70. My biggest criteria with the headphones is that they have to be closed (I don't want to bother people around me).
 
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[MalVeauX]

Quote:

Hi,
 
For the last several years, I've tinkered with various full-size speaker setups at home. I've now decided to jump into the world of headphones and am looking for a bit of advice.
 
In terms of the sound I'm going for, I like systems that are very linear and don't add too much of their own coloring. Nothing too heavy on the bass etc.
 
All of my music will be playing from a Mac so I'll need an Amp/DAC combo (USB). Currently, I'm debating between either the Woo Audio WA7 or the Burson HA-160D.
 
I listen to all types of music, anything from electronica to country so I need the headphones to be versatile.  I've been looking into getting the Denon D7000 used or D7100 (I've heard they are fairly different in terms of sound. Also looking into the Beyerdynamic DT 770 or T70. My biggest criteria with the headphones is that they have to be closed (I don't want to bother people around me).
 
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 
Heya,
 
Look into:
 
Mr Speakers Mad Dogs with Alpha Pads
Beyer T5P
AudioTechnica A2000X
AKG K550
Denon D7100
 
None of these need the power you're describing from the WA7/HA160D. You can do it with a simple Fiio E10 or even Fiio E07k from your mac. You can of course put way more engine behind them if you think you want to spend that money there, but I would stress putting all that budget towards nice headphones, and high quality music for them to render, instead of putting even more into your source equipment than the actual headphone itself. It's not like the speaker world. In the speaker world, having a $1400 amp for your $500 speakers is fine. But headphones need next to no power and you're not going to have to pay premium for the kind of power supplies found in good speaker amps.
 
Of the above, I would get the Mad Dog with Alpha Pads and a Fiio E07k/E10, or for pure portability the Fiio E12.
 
Very best,

 

[danyal711]

Makes sense. I guess my biggest concern would be if the DAC in a unit like the Filo would be the bottleneck in that chain? Even if power isn't an issue, I would still want to get a DAC that's as high quality as possible. Portability is not a major concern of mine.
 
But it seems like you would be a fan of allocating way more money to the headphones, and a cheaper DAC vs. headphones / DAC for roughly equal price.

 

[kasimoa]

You can drive the Denon AH-D7100 with an iPad Mini and the sound really good. But equally sound great with a good DAC/AMP combo. For a closed headphones these headphone have a amazing soundstage.