[W0lfd0g]

Looking at setting up a night stand rig consisting of the following
 
iPod Classic > Onkyo ND-S1 > StageDAC > Corda Concerto > W1000X
 
Need something closed so as not to disturb my long-suffering wife at night.  Currently have the AT AD900s and find them to be quite comfortable listing to in bed, but would like something with a little beefier bass. 
 
Only have the iPod - All of the other items will need to be purchased.  Can't go over approx AUD $2,500.00.  Looking at getting LCD2s later down the track, so want a DAC/amp combo that would work well with them too. 
 
Would like your response to following issues:
 
1. Would the W1000X leak much sound?  To what extent?  My wife is a fairly light sleeper.
2. Is the suggested DAC/Amp combo a good match for W1000X and LCD2s?  Was also considering Burson AH160D
3. Are the DAC and the dock a waste given the crappy source (mind you, high quality rips)?  Would I be better off just going audio out straight into amp?
 
I do most of my listening in bed and want to get the setup right, but don't want to flush my hard earned down the tube either. 
 
In case it helps, I listen to classical, jazz, choral & many flavours of rock. 

 

[W0lfd0g]

Have thrown my money to the wind on the following items:
 
1. LCD-2s
2. Beyerdynamic DT250s
3. Meier Audio Corda Concerto
 
I have an old Pioneer DV-563A SACD player I will use as a source.  Thought I would sacrifice on the DAC and the W1000X just to get a taste of the LCD-2s a little earlier than otherwise. 
 
Counting down the days.  The ticking of the clock is a torment.
 
Will give you my rather inexperienced impression of the DT250s paired with the Concerto as a set up to listen to in bed once they arrive. 

 

[MtnSloth]

Nice! I'm looking forward to your report. Any particular reason for getting the DT250s? (That is just curiosity speaking BTW.)

 

[Proglover]

Damn, Stagedac-Concerto as a night stand rig.
I'd be happy to use it a a living room rig. You made a good choice, although I hope you have some space left at you night stand, once you have those Meiers there
 
If I had to choose a high end closed one for those musical flavours, I'd go with Beyerdynamic T5 probably.
 
Enjoy your rig!

 

[W0lfd0g]

Quote:

Nice! I'm looking forward to your report. Any particular reason for getting the DT250s? (That is just curiosity speaking BTW.)

Would have liked the W1000X but with a limited budget something had to give.  Decided not to get the DAC either, but have just unboxed a Cambridge Audio Azur 550C as source.  This saving gives me enough to purchase the LCDs.  I figured the DT250s would be a nice compromise for a closed set of phones - Reasonably warm, non-fatiguing sound (so I have read) and will keep my better half happy at night.  Unfortunately, haven't been able to track down a pair to audtion, but with a generous returns policy am willing to take a gamble. 
 

 

[W0lfd0g]

Quote:

Damn, Stagedac-Concerto as a night stand rig.
I'd be happy to use it a a living room rig. You made a good choice, although I hope you have some space left at you night stand, once you have those Meiers there
 
If I had to choose a high end closed one for those musical flavours, I'd go with Beyerdynamic T5 probably.
 
Enjoy your rig!

 
Wish I could say that only going to be my second back-up rig.  No such luck.  I do most of my listening in the evening and so am setting up a comfortable listening corner in our bedroom away from the curiosity of our toddlers. 
 
Cambridge Audio Azur 550C > Concerto > LCD-2 / DT250
 
I am new to the headphone scene and really appreciate your response.  The T5 sounds like it could be something to consider for the future, but have already pulled the trigger as noted above.
 
Was also interested in the D7000s, but could only find these for $2K in Australia!  Apparently won't ship down under from US.  Oh well.  We can only live in hope.  So many headphones.  So little money!
 
BTW:
 
1. Why would you recommend the T5s?
2. Do they suit a range of music?  My tastes are quite, well, eclectic.  Choral, classical (chamber & orchestral of any conceivable description), jazz, rock, hard rock, some heavy metal. 
 

 

[Proglover]

Well, I can't fully recommend you T5, because of the simply reason I didn't hear them.
I can say though, that I would make the T5 choice myself for those musical tastes.
 
LCD-2 are ofcourse great, are known to be great allrounders also.
 
But if I were to choose closed (or semi-closed) headphones in high end, with in my mind they not only have to perform well for my beloved rock/progressive musical tastes, but also for classical and jazz, I'd indeed go for T5.
D7000's are great for rock, but the Tesla will outperform them on mids and highs quality.
 
For closed, I've settled on D7000's, as a matter of fact, I'm buying T1 within 2 weeks, which are the open equivalent to the T5.

 

[W0lfd0g]

The DT250s are arrived... and went again
 
Nothing wrong with the sound quality though.  Coming from the AD900s, I found the extra bass to be a welcome stranger.  Initially the bass sounded sloppy to me, but seemed to tighten up after just a few hours.  Burn in or a psychological adjustment?  Does it matter?
 
Anyway, listened to a few hours of prog rock, some Paul Simon and choral stuff.  Loved the Alan Parson Projects "Turn of a Friendly Card" but found the choral (a recording of a Robert Fayrfax mass) to be lacking a little in clarity. 
 
However, the purpose of these phones was to listen to music without disturbing my wife.  At anything but the lowest levels my wife could still hear these at night.  As this severely restricted my choice of music and my enjoyment of it, the DT250s had to go.   
 
Instead I decided to get a pair of IEMs.  Would have liked to try some Ortofon e-Q7s, but the supplier I got the DT250s from don't stock these.  Instead, had some trouble choosing between Etymotic ER-4P / S and the Shure SE535s.  Decided to give the Shures a listen so have ordered them in.  Headphonic (Australia) have a generous 20 day trial period, so I feel quite safe with this decision. 
 
This should solve the isoloation problem - Just hope that they are comfortable enough in bed and that the SQ is alright.  Fingers crossed as the search continues.

 

[MtnSloth]

Thanks for the update on the DT250s. Too bad about the sound leakage. I know it wasn't on your mind, but what about the reverse? How good would the DT250s be at keeping a lot of fan noise out?

 

[W0lfd0g]

Can I assume that you are referring to PC cooling fans? 
 
I built an i7 based rig last year running a GTX480 graphics card - Not easy to cool quietly but I mounted an after market cooler: An Arctic Cooling Accelero Xtreme Plus.  Run it fast and loud when gaming, slow and quiet when listening to music.  Same goes with case fans and CPU fan.  
 
The DT250 would have now trouble at all blocking out ambient noise when these fans are run slowly.  I doubt that they would fully block out the sound of the three fans on this cooler when it is running full pelt. 
 
I would have liked to have tested this out for you, but the phones have already been sent back.  Actually, I should have considered using them as a gaming set of phones myself.  Probably would have worked quite well, but I have different needs and only so much cash I can justify spending at the moment (that is, only so much that I can justify to my wife

).
 
All I can with any confidence is that it is a little difficult having a conversation while wearing them.  Not unlike trying to hear with cotton wool shoved in your ears.  

 

[MtnSloth]

Actually, that would be a fairly big room with 100s of fans . . . I wish I could learn to tolerate IEMs . . .

 

[W0lfd0g]

????  Workplace, or you live in hell and are trying to keep yourself from frying?

 

[MtnSloth]

Work. I'm sure you can guess; lots of servers trying to do their thing.